Young talent time for 7-0 Cats Jackson Thurlow emerged as a future star for Geelong in his first game on Friday night. GEELONG vanquished another challenger on Friday night. And, as is also becoming the norm, it unearthed another youngster seemingly capable of having an impact at senior level. Against Essendon it was 19-year-old Jackson Thurlow. Earlier this year it was Mark Blicavs and last year it was George Horlin-Smith, Jordan Murdoch, Jordan Schroder, Jesse Stringer, Josh Walker, Jackson Sheringham and Lincoln McCarthy. Thurlow looked comfortable throughout his debut, picking up 17 touches - although he admitted later he "blew up" in the first quarter, such was the game's intensity - and said much of that was because of the Cats' leaders. "The way that James Kelly, Joel Selwood, all those boys (treated) me before the game, it made me feel like I'd played 50 games already," Thurlow said. Joel Selwood is captain for a reason, he's unbelievable - an unbelievable player and an unbelievable bloke - and the way he introduces everyone into the team, like Jordan Schroder as well, who's played only one game, it's first class. Teammate Mathew Stokes, one of Geelong's best in Friday's 28-point win over the Bombers at Etihad Stadium, said the club's culture allowed youngsters such as Thurlow to shine. "I think it reflects well on our leadership and our club in general," Stokes said. When a young kid comes in, they understand pretty quickly what's expected of them, at training and during a game. We've got a development group with (VFL coach) Matty Knights and (assistant coaches) Nigel Lappin, Paul Hood and Max Rooke, who put endless hours into these guys. Once they get the opportunity, they know what's expected of them. We see that every single time, they produce - and that's also a reflection on them. While Stokes was good against the Bombers, and Steve Johnson shone with 36 possessions - the first time in his career he had topped 30 disposals in three consecutive games - coach Chris Scott was rapt with the contribution from the team's youngsters. We were really pleased to see Jackson Thurlow have such an influence in the first half of the game ... Schroder, Horlin-Smith and those guys they look at home to me," Scott said. Ever wonder why Geelong seems to come good every second year? Stokes may have let us know why in response to a question about the Cats' uncanny ability to pile on goals in time-on of each quarter. "We've normally had pre-seasons where, like Hawthorn and Sydney this year, you get all the way through to the Grand Final and you don't have your spell, you don't get your body refreshed and then you've got to cram your pre-season into 2 1/2 months," he said. This year we've been really good, we had a really good break - probably the best break we've had in a long time - and then we've had a really solid pre-season. I think we're seeing the benefits of that.