Season 2019 - Geelong

Football Discussion Non Essendon Stuff
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Geelong

Coach – Chris Scott

2018 –
Points For – 4th
Points Against – 1st

Top 5 Best and Fairest

  1. Mark Blicavs
  2. Patrick Dangerfield
  3. Tim Kelly
  4. Tom Hawkins
  5. Joel Selwood

2018 Rising Star Noms

Jack Henry (Round 7)

Ins – Luke Dahlhaus, Nathan Kreuger, Gary Rohan, Jordan Clark, Ben Jarvis, Jacob Kennedy, Darcy Fort, Jake Tarca, Oscar Brownless, Tom Atkins

Outs – Aaron Black, Stewart Crameri, Ryan Gardner, Cory Gregson, Matthew Hayball, George Horlin-Smith, Timm House, Lincoln McCarthy, Daniel Menzel, Jordan Murdoch, Jackson Thorlow

My Prediction

The Cats have gone back to the trade table again in it’s efforts to stay in touch. Feels a little like an aging beauty queen who thinks that regular botox injections will hold back the aging process. Something just didn’t work last year, they have quality players all over the field but seem to lack depth.

The backline performed well last year, they look thin down there but Stewart has come along really well and I though Kolodjashnij looked better last year as well. Blicavs had an awesome year and they get good drive from half back through Tuohy. The question mark back here feels like their ability to run out of the backline.

The midfield has a good top five, Dangerfield, Selwood, Ablett, Kelly and Duncan would match just about any other team in the competition. This is where the question of depth comes in though as well as their willingness to run both ways. I don’t think of any of the top five as players who work hard defensively. The drop off then is pretty strong as well, Scott Selwood, Cockatoo and forwards running through the middle. They can’t afford an injury and need serious minutes from their best players.

They chased Dahlhaus last year to help them tidy up the lack of defensive pressure in their forward line and he may do that, but he has downside as well. His lack of discipline will be and interesting challenge for Scott. Hawkins had a great year last year and they will be hoping he can bring his best again. They need Ratugolea to get his body right as he looked exciting last year before his injury. I still think they have issues with depth here as well and are very reliant on Hawkins.

The rucks are a serious concern. Last year it felt like they couldn’t get one of them to stand up and it impacted their midfield and cost them against teams with a quality ruck. It will be interesting to see if one of their rucks puts their hand up this year. If Smith could find his best then they are a much better team because I think Buzza and Stanley don’t feel like first rucks. The coach I am still not sold on, he has his contract extension but I think over the next couple of seasons, we will get a feel of how good he is as he needs to regenerate his list as they need greater lift from their younger players.

All of that being said, they had the best performed back line last year and fourth best attack. There is clearly some talent there and their best players are as good as anyone. It is their second and third tier of players that hold them back from being a challenger. I think they are clearly a top eight team still but it wouldn’t take a huge amount of bad luck for that to change. I think this year they are a 6-8 sort of team.

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Blicavs won their bnf !?

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I want them to suck, but they won’t.
If everything clicks for them they could pinch a flag. I don’t think they will, but I think that’s more likely than them missing finals.

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I think they will fall off the cliff this season. I don’t rate their midfield despite the gun players they have and I’m not entirely sold on their depth. If Tomahawk doesn’t have another great season I could see them missing the 8.

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That’s his second, isn’t it?

He’s that sort of player that coaches would love. Flexible, determined, all of that.

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A very good midfield (when all fit which is the big issue) and (hate to say it) have a coach that seems to get the most from the team.

To me they are a bit “patched up”, importing other clubs cast offs to play a role. To win a premiership you need a bit more than this. GAZZA is aging, and while still a little champ. is not the player he once was. Hawkins is a big lump of a bloke, but not as dominant as previous years, and is a bit of a lone hand up there. Not sure about their depth either.

I reckon they have the team to play finals, but not to win the flag.

will finish from 4-8.

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The end is not far away for the Cats, and I reckon they know it. Not sure if it will be this year or next, but it is coming. Personally, I can’t wait.

Aside from Gold Coast and Carlton I reckon the bottom six of their best 22 is the worst in the comp.

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Best 22
B: Stewart Taylor Bews
HB: Tuohy Blicavs Koldashnij
C: Duncan J Selwood Cockatoo
HF: Parfitt Abott Ablett
F: Rohan Hawkins Dalhaus
R: Smith Dangerfield Kelly
Int: Stanley, Menegola, S Selwood, Guthrie
Emg: Fogarty,Murdoch, Henry,

Im sending Taylor Back, but could be switched forward if they dont have a matchup.
Abbott looked like he might go alright as the key tall forward from their finals campaign.
Rohan, Dalhaus to join parfitt and Ablett as 4 small forwards buzzing around.
Play ablett 80 forward/20 mid swap with Danger.
Hopefully Fogarty gets some more games under his belt.
First 18 looks solid, lack a little run from defence, but with Taylor back there that should help with some intercept marks and create drive, also have the option of putting Rohan back there if required.

A long term injury to Dangerfield and they might be in trouble, he carries them now, but there are probably players after more opportunities.
And some young blokes i dont know much about which may go alright.
Outside best 22 depth is mostly kids who have only played a handful of games.
Will they miss menzels goals, probably not if Rohan and Dalhaus bring a similar output.
WIll Hawkins look even slower this year?

As allblack said their ruck was a issue last year, they need Zmith to stand up, or a young kid to come on a lot and at least throw their body into it like Nankervis Tigers Ruck.

I hope they fall off a cliff too, but adding Dalhaus will ease the fall and they will just miss finals.
Finish 9-12th, will still belt the suns, blues etc

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My two cents,

  • I’m not sure why there’s a lot of hate around here for the cats?

  • That’s a very impressive cull that they made to their list

  • I think both Danger’s & Selwood’s best work is behind them now.

Their healthy home ground advantage may help them scrape into the eight again.
Will probably finish 8 - 14 range.

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Dangerfield spent a lot of time forward last year due to their lack of forwards and some niggling injuries. If they clean that up he can go back to pure mid and he is damaging when he does that.

Their biggest issue is the huge lack of depth, right across all lines. Someone doesn’t play well or is well matched they can change it too much as they don’t have the depth to do so. They tend to just rely on Paddy and Selwood to get them going when the chips are down. Both of them have ongoing issues because of how hard they attack and the battering over the years they have taken.

They are on a dangerous slope to falling off the cliff.

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Seems to work for Jane Fonda.

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They are absolute montys to miss the 8 I think. It will probably be 9-12 but I have no doubt they’ll miss. Their most important players (Danger, Selwood, Ablett) are all aging and will incur more injuries. Likewise Hawkins. Kelly may be due for a case of the second year blues and Dahl is dreadfully overrated (and easily tagged out of games). I think they’re in massive trouble (hooray).

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My 2 cents
Geelong been up since 2007
Im sick of seeing them in finals,
Time for a spell
Also Selwood and Danger are Figjams And the coach.

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Clubs cannot defy equalisation gravity for ever. In spite of the “great” midfield they did not combine well last year. Maybe if they work on that they can extrude just one last year in the finals only to bow out early. But I expect them to drop out of the 8, like Sydney and Hawthorn will in 2019. Their eras are at an end. Its now a matter of how long it will take them to rise from the ashes.

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Also I’d like to give a shoutout to @Allblack for doing these threads year after year. A lot of work obviously goes into them and they are awesome. Well done sir

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They’re us circa 2002-2004. Have some stars and are hanging on but are not brilliant. They probably need to start again, but that’s s tough decision to make.

We should beat them again this year.

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I think the system may have finally caught up with the Cats. They haven’t had a decent crack at the draft for some time, so being denied access to top-end young talent, whether from finishing high on the ladder and/or trading away their first round pick, they now find themselves with the prospect of not having the talent come through to replace their ageing players. There are some nice kids there, Parfitt, Cockatoo, etc, but nowhere near the same number as other sides. There’s also a massive hole in their list in that 23-27 range. Most of their best players are 28+. I don’t see them improving on their 2018. They could cling onto a 7th-8th spot or miss the finals for only the 2nd time this decade.

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They might just scrape into the 8. The have no depth and are still relying on their stars.

Their midfield is still quality, other areas of the ground not so much

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Massive call to tag Dahlhaus.

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Not really. They’ve got other better players who should ideally be tagged first, that’s true. But while a tag on one of those players might be only slightly/moderately effective, a tag on Dahl completely takes him out of the game.

So you can tag Danger, and have him pick up 30 possies anyway, or tag Dahl and destroy him. If I was a coach I know which one I’d pick

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