Play on: Geelong superstar Dangerfield agrees to deal for 2027

Geelong and Patrick Dangerfield have agreed to a contract for 2027, confirming that the Cats’ superstar veteran will play on into his 20th AFL season.The Cats and their skipper have reached agreement on terms for a one-year deal for 2027, meaning Dangerfield will play on as he wished and push towards the 400-game mark, according to industry sources familiar with Dangerfield’s deal, speaking anonymously to discuss player contracts.Patty Dangerfield has agreed to terms with Geelong to play on in 2027.AFL Photos via Getty ImagesDangerfield, who was drafted by the Adelaide Crows in 2007, will suit up for his 12th season at Geelong, an astonishing return for a player and club who joined forces for the 2016 season and helped arrest a potential slide for the Cats.Dangerfield was due to play his 15th game of 2026 on Friday night against the Demons and the 375th of his career, having surmounted a calf injury that saw him miss games from rounds two to five this season.He entered Friday’s game with 18 goals and an average of just under 15 disposals, having been deployed mainly as a forward rather than midfielder since 2025, when he was instrumental in Geelong overcoming Hawthorn to reach the grand final with one of his career-best games in the preliminary final (31 disposals, three goals, nine inside 50s). He was second in the AFL for goal assists last year.Should Dangerfield, who has been carefully managed by the Cats, play all the remaining games and one final, he would need a further 20 games to reach the 400 game mark in 2027. He turns 37 in April.Dangerfield needs four votes in the Brownlow Medal to become the highest polling player for that award in the game’s history, surpassing ex-teammate Gary Ablett (262 votes).Dangerfield, one of the AFL’s most decorated champions with a Brownlow Medal (2016), eight all-Australian jumpers (equal most of any current player with Max Gawn), had signalled his wish to play on 2027 earlier this season. He has captained the Cats for four seasons, and was an influential president of the AFL Players’ Association from 2018 until early 2025.Like several other Geelong greats, including the retired Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins, Dangerfield has played well into his 30s on significantly reduced dollars in his twilight years - a situation echoed at Collingwood, where Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe have sustained careers into their mid-30s or beyond.Geelong’s capacity to keep veterans playing on at a high level in to their 30s on moderate or reduced contracts has assisted the Cats in recruiting select players from rival clubs.They have been the leading contender for Giants’ skipper and free agent Toby Greene should he leave and have remained interested in St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall, whom the Saints retained despite Marshall’s bid for a trade to Geelong last October.Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners