North Melbourne legend David King has named Geelong as the AFL's number one destination club.
The Cats have spent the last few years topping up their list with seemingly countless big recruits in the pursuit for another premiership.
Fans have long questioned how Geelong has managed to continually bring such talent through the door, with the door seemingly always open for those wishing to move down the highway.
Geelong brought in Jeremy Cameron, Shaun Higgins and Isaac Smith in this year's trade period, with Cameron being the most prolific on a big-money deal.
Speaking on SEN Breakfast, King looked at all the aspects that make a player want to nominate a club.
The former Kangaroos premiership player believes the Cattery ticks all the boxes.
โI think it can shift depending on what sort of premiership opportunity youโre providing," he said.
โSo Hawthorn traditionally in the last decade have been able to grab players pretty comfortably, itโs a lot tougher now.
โSo outside of premiership opportunity, what else is there? Is it the facilities? Is it the environment?
โI look at the West Coast Eagles, theyโve got that new facility at Lathlain that I think is absolutely unbelievable, theyโve got opportunities outside of football being a two-team town.
โThe Swans, players want to go there because their role is guaranteed, theyโre getting you for a specific purpose. Thereโs a predictability to the way they play because they havenโt changed in eons.โ
Many players have been chasing a particular lifestyle when deciding to move to the Cats. The coastal life is it a lot more relaxed and allows players a tad more freedom than the hustle and bustle of Melbourne.
A few big players over the years have moved to Geelong in pursuit of the lifestyle - Cameron is a keen fisher and was very excited the possibility of being close to the water and in an environment conducive to the lifestyle.
King believes the Cats have a number of reasons as to why the can keep luring players with such a successful strike rate.
โI think Geelong right now are the number one destination club for a whole host of reasons,โ he said.
โAnd I think the actual area of Geelong, the new-look Geelong, itโs the boom, everyone wants to live there, theyโve got the beaches around the corner, theyโve got the lifestyle without the hustle and bustle and I think thereโs a real attraction in that.
โI do think Geelong now with their ability to offer the lifestyle, itโs something thatโs thrown into the mix thatโs totally different.
โJeremy Cameron wouldโve looked at that and said โmy boat can be a kilometre down the road and Iโm away from football straight awayโ.
โI think the coach (Chris Scott) is very flexible in the times he wants these players at the football club.
โI hear Patrick Dangerfield talk all the time how they treat their players like theyโre family. Every decision is made around freeing up as much time as they possibly can have and getting away from football.
โI do think the Geelong lifestyle is something other clubs are having trouble contending with.โ
