2008 All-Australian Team

[SaintsSeptember]

You are making a goose of yourself Chewy.

Are you going to go by the ambiguousness of what the coach said or what you see by actually watching us play.

If you listen to what Mark Thompson said on The Couch that night he said they like to station Scarlett where he is most effective for the team. Unfortunately, ignorant people like yourself and Mike Sheahan have interpreted that as "freeing" him up to be attacking, when it actually means ensuring he can stay around the defensive 50. What they don't want is a situation like the Collingwood game where he is having no impact trailing his man up the wings.

The fact is for anyone who has watched Geelong this year you'd see he played on the best forward. I love it how all our defenders seem to be loose men. None of them can defend. Who does everyone think is containing the Franklin's, Lloyd's, Lynch's, Fevola's, Bradshaw's, Pavlich's, Hall's etc if Scarlett isn't?

It is so frustrating that the exempt few bozos choose to disregard Scarlett's stopping abilities because he backs his judgement and attacks off his man, and because he is so good at the more attractive latter everyone forgets, or deliberately dismisses that he is the best stopper there is.

Actually other teams can be better at containing these guys than the Cats. It's just that the Cats normally outscore them in a shootout.
Fevola was far more effective against the Cats than he was with Max Hudgeton playing on him the week before.

If Scarlett was playing in a team with a weaker midfield/forward line he would not be rated so highly.

 

[Sir Ducksworthy]

Re: My all australian line up!!

Ross Lyon-coach r u takin the piss??!!

 

[Sir Ducksworthy]

Re: My all australian line up!!

Not bad, but absence or Nick Riewoldt is odd.

 

[Last Line Hero]

I watched them too...and its no fairytale he didnt play one on one (on th best fwd) anywhere near as much this season. Doesnt mean he wasnt the best FB or anything, and probably just evolved that way over the season due to what the opposition were doing and the advantage that could be gained using him much more for rebound.

Thompson probably had 20 good reasons and maybe even left it up to Scarlett and Harley to decide as each game unfolded. In a season when rebounders were regulalry targetted it makes sense to mix it up with a rebounder that cant be shut down doesnt it ?..especially when dominating the middle and hence a lot of the ball is coming in via floaters and pressured kicks.

He's the #1 defender in the game who happens to play for the #1 team at the moment...means people want to discuss his role and should. Dont be defensive about it thinking people are questioning if he was any good.

I'm not concerned about whether people think he's good, you'd be an idiot to not think he was. It's the fact that people think he doesn't play on the best forwards when he clearly does. Scarlett hasn't rebounded any more this year than any other year look at his stats. The difference is, he has more talent around him to ensure his rebound is significantly more effective. The fact is he has always and has continued in 2008 to rebound off the top goalscorers, unfortunately because they spend most of their day tailing him rather than the opposite the fact he's on them seems to fade into obscurity. If you are going to discuss his role, make sure you've got the facts right because when people state otherwise based on nothing but the odd snippet of what they hear, and not what they see then I have no choice but to step in and tell it like it is.

Actually other teams can be better at containing these guys than the Cats. It's just that the Cats normally outscore them in a shootout.
Fevola was far more effective against the Cats than he was with Max Hudgeton playing on him the week before.

If Scarlett was playing in a team with a weaker midfield/forward line he would not be rated so highly.

How do you judge effectiveness? Fevola had 2 possessions in 3 quarters on Scarlett, didn't win a 1v1 all night long, finished with 3 goals. Similar results on the scoreboard in both games and similar outputs from Fevola, he had 3 on Max too. Teams can be better on any given night at containing these guys, but none do it as consistently and with the impact that our defenders do. In case you hadn't noticed our 'against' score is the best in the business by a fair margin.

As for your last point, I'll put that down to ignorance. It's like beating a broken record but you people seem to fail to comprehend that Geelong have been excellent the past 2 seasons, Matthew Scarlett has been regarded as the best FB in the league for alot longer than that. We built our side around him and he was an AA, International Rules rep, B&F winner when our Catters were struggling. Scarlo has proven himself in a big way when the going is toughest.

 

[Bollox]

I'm not concerned about whether people think he's good, you'd be an idiot to not think he was. It's the fact that people think he doesn't play on the best forwards when he clearly does. Scarlett hasn't rebounded any more this year than any other year look at his stats. The difference is, he has more talent around him to ensure his rebound is significantly more effective. The fact is he has always and has continued in 2008 to rebound off the top goalscorers, unfortunately because they spend most of their day tailing him rather than the opposite the fact he's on them seems to fade into obscurity. If you are going to discuss his role, make sure you've got the facts right because when people state otherwise based on nothing but the odd snippet of what they hear, and not what they see then I have no choice but to step in and tell it like it is.

Why didnt u shorten that garbage by simply saying...

"he's my last line hero...he's really good and anyone tht wants to even discuss his role or slot is an idiot"

Waste of time anybody bothering with this sort of childish crap on offer

 

[Last Line Hero]

Why didnt u shorten that garbage by simply saying...

"he's my last line hero...he's really good and anyone tht wants to even discuss his role or slot is an idiot"

Waste of time anybody bothering with this sort of childish crap on offer

With all due respect, if you don't like being challenged Bollox then piss off.

People can discuss Scarlett all they like, but if you are going to present facts that are wrong and not based on eye- witness evidence but what you hear out and about then you are going to have to deal with me, and other Cats fans, giving it to you like it is based on actually watching the Cats play.

The lowest form of poster on this site is one who goes off sooking saying that someone else is talking crap without actually stating why that is so and being able to back it up. It makes you look like a sore loser.

So try and save some face now and tell me what was so childish about my last post and where I went wrong without resorting to pathetic insults. Was it how he plays on the best forwards? Was it that he is willing to rebound off them? Was it that he rebounds off them no less than he ever has? I can't wait for your rebuttal, trying to outpoint someone who has watched next to every minute of every Geelong game this year.

If you can't handle your more ignorant points in this matter being critiqued by someone who can critique them then you'll just have to stop posting.

 

[Powersaur]

Actually other teams can be better at containing these guys than the Cats. It's just that the Cats normally outscore them in a shootout.
Fevola was far more effective against the Cats than he was with Max Hudgeton playing on him the week before.

If Scarlett was playing in a team with a weaker midfield/forward line he would not be rated so highly.

He has been the best full back in the league this decade. Geelong have been the best team for two years.

 

[Last Line Hero]

[/b]
He has been the best full back in the league this decade. Geelong have been the best team for two years.

It's refreshing when at least some know what they are on about.

 

[Mr Lizard]

It's the fact that people think he doesn't play on the best forwards when he clearly does.

I'm only going on the Hawks v Geelong game, could you perhaps explain to me why Andrew Mackie started on the league's best forward in Franklin in that game? Scarlett was only moved to him once Franklin started to look a bit ominous late in the first quarter.

If this was Bombers starting ploy against the best forward in the league, am I wrong in thinking this same move was tried in other games against other good forwards?


You watch more Geelong games than I do, please enlighten me.

 

[Chewy]

It's the fact that people think he doesn't play on the best forwards when he clearly does.

How about the recent game against North, when David Hale was their "go to" guy and he had Harry Taylor's measure? Eventually, Thompson shifted Scarlett across to Hale, although it didn't seem to matter too much and the North big man kicked another 4 or 5 goals and finished with a bag of 8. There were other examples earlier on in the season. I can't remember them now. I'm sure if I dug up the old match reports, I might be able to find mentions of it here and there.

Bollox is right. At times in 2008 (more so than 2007) Scarlett has been relieved of the #1 stopper duties. You need not be so defensive about this. Not many would suggest that Scarlett isn't the competition's premier defender. I don't have the misconception that when Scarlett runs off his man and rebounds the footy, that it automatically means that someone else is picking up the opposition's #1 forward.

There was nothing ambiguous about Bomber Thompson's answer to Mike Sheahan's question. Sheahan asked, "If Scarlett was Geelong's best defender, then why was not always used against the opposition's #1 forward?" Bomber replied, "It's a mentally taxing role. Footballers can get jaded if they always used in such a role. Scarlett is a great rebounder. We like to use him wherever it best suits the team. If sometimes it means we play him on a half back flank, then so be it. He likes it."

I'm paraphrasing. Those aren't exact quotes. But that was the general gist. There was NO ambiguity. I can't see why you would take umbrage at this. What's the big deal? When I made an earlier comment about the lack of stoppers in the All-Australian squad, I wasn't being disrespectful of Scarlett, merely pointing out a fact.

• Matthew Scarlett - consensus pick as the best full back in the AFL, freed up at times in 2008 and occasionally relieved of the "big" jobs
• Max Hudghton - St Kilda's stopper, every week he played against the opp. best forward
• Luke McPharlin - Freo's best defender, also spent a lot of time up forward where he was no great shakes (he kicked 21 goals in total, 5 against West Coast, mainly 2 goals here, 1 goal there... ordinary...) Antoni Grover played many games against the best opp. forward
• Sam Fisher - excellent season at CHB, very consistent, got better as the year went on, outshined Bock over the last couple of months.
• Nathan Bock - awesome form early, despite Rutten usually taking the best best forwards, Bock did some big jobs and orchestrated Adelaide switches, his form tailed off slightly
• Dale Morris - Bulldogs #1 stopper, very occasionally used against the key forwards, but these jobs usually went to Brian Lake, Tom Williams (when fit) or Ryan Hargrave. Morris was mostly responsible for shutting down the danger medium-sized forwards.
• Darren Milburn, Tom Harley and Andrew Mackie - occasionally relieved Scarlett and shared duties on talls and smalls, but Harry Taylor was mainly required to play key defender
• Add Hodge, Enright and Pratt as the remaining defenders in the A/A squad, none of whom played on the key forwards

So, I repeat, it seems strange to me that the A/A selectors would name SEVEN big marking forwards, including Richo who spent a lot of time in the forward line as a marking target, but they'd only name Hudghton and Scarlett as the guys who regularly picked them up. McPharlin 50% of the time. Occasionally Fisher or Bock, if there was double trouble, twin towers up forward.

It seems very light on for big gorilla defenders. I reckon the A/A forward line would take the A/A defence to the cleaners. Ridiculous they couldn't find room Hawthorn's Trent Croad in the squad. I'm not crying about it. Obviously he's zero chance to be named in the 22, so it doesn't really matter. I'm just trying to understand the inconsistencies in selection process.

FIVE members of Geelong's back six.... Geelong defence is great, but it's the selectors' jobs to make some hard decisions. I reckon they honestly have no idea how to split them. Either they will select all five, or they're just going to guess, draw the names out of a hat or play favourites. Maybe they'll just reward the A/A newbies. Who knows?

 

[AG]

Each teams key defenders:

Adelaide: Bock & Rutten
Brisbane: Merret & Patfull
Carlton: Thornton & Waite
Collingwood: Wakelin & Brown (O'Brien as well when Brown went forward)
Fremantle: McPharlin & Grover
Essendon: Fletcher & Michael
Geelong: no need they are all picked.
Hawthorn: Croad & Gilham
Melbourne: Warnock & Garland
North Melbourne: Firrito & Gibson
Richmond: Moore & Thursfield
Port Adelaide: Carlile & Chaplin
St.Kilda: Fisher & Hudghton
Sydney: Bolton & Barry
West Coast: Jones & Glass
Western Bulldogs: Lake & Williams (when fit)

Of the ones that missed not many are actually deserving of All-Australian. Bolton, Jones and Patfull had fantastic starts to the season and the 3 were in my AA squad after R12. Bolton fell away badly in the last 6 weeks, Jones was injured after about R15 and Patfull was thereabouts.
Croad, O'Brien, Rutten, and Lake are the only others that would come close and of those Croad is the only one unlucky to miss for pure 1-on-1 defensive capabilities.
Moore also deserves a mention, he will be an AA defender by the time his career is over.

 

[Perth Swans]

B: Tom Harley (captain), Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn
HB: Corey Enright, Nathan Bock, Sam Fisher
C: Matthew Richardson, Joel Corey, Jimmy Bartel
HF: Ryan O'Keefe, Lance Franklin, Brent Harvey
F: Matthew Pavlich (Vice-Captain), Brendan Fevola, Steve Johnson
R: Dean Cox, Gary Ablett, Adam Cooney

INT: Luke Hodge, Brett Kirk, Aaron Sandilands, Nick Riewoldt

 

[AG]

^^Dale Morris in for Milburn. Otherwise pretty good.

 

[Nightwolf]

If Mitchell doesnt make this team, im willing to label him underrated.

 

[Last Line Hero]

I'm only going on the Hawks v Geelong game, could you perhaps explain to me why Andrew Mackie started on the league's best forward in Franklin in that game? Scarlett was only moved to him once Franklin started to look a bit ominous late in the first quarter.

If this was Bombers starting ploy against the best forward in the league, am I wrong in thinking this same move was tried in other games against other good forwards?

You watch more Geelong games than I do, please enlighten me.

Thompson said on The Couch in the aftermath of that game that the Cats expected Franklin to play more of a role roaming around the forward 50 and out across half- forward as he often does, whilst Roughead was tipped to go to FF.

Thus, Scarlett started on Roughead, who is a superstar and was in arguably better form than Franklin at the time. However, when it was established that Buddy was playing close to goal the move was made.

I think you need to go back and rewatch the game too, because Scarlett went to him within the opening 10 minutes. Roughead is no slouch remember that.

How about the recent game against North, when David Hale was their "go to" guy and he had Harry Taylor's measure? Eventually, Thompson shifted Scarlett across to Hale, although it didn't seem to matter too much and the North big man kicked another 4 or 5 goals and finished with a bag of 8. There were other examples earlier on in the season. I can't remember them now. I'm sure if I dug up the old match reports, I might be able to find mentions of it here and there.

Bollox is right. At times in 2008 (more so than 2007) Scarlett has been relieved of the #1 stopper duties. You need not be so defensive about this. Not many would suggest that Scarlett isn't the competition's premier defender. I don't have the misconception that when Scarlett runs off his man and rebounds the footy, that it automatically means that someone else is picking up the opposition's #1 forward.

There was nothing ambiguous about Bomber Thompson's answer to Mike Sheahan's question. Sheahan asked, "If Scarlett was Geelong's best defender, then why was not always used against the opposition's #1 forward?" Bomber replied, "It's a mentally taxing role. Footballers can get jaded if they always used in such a role. Scarlett is a great rebounder. We like to use him wherever it best suits the team. If sometimes it means we play him on a half back flank, then so be it. He likes it."


I'm paraphrasing. Those aren't exact quotes. But that was the general gist. There was NO ambiguity. I can't see why you would take umbrage at this. What's the big deal? When I made an earlier comment about the lack of stoppers in the All-Australian squad, I wasn't being disrespectful of Scarlett, merely pointing out a fact.

Just to clarify, is Hale a dominant power forward is he? 35 goals suggests not. Hell, Tom Lonergan booted 31 in 8 less games. Hale is a near- enough to an unknown who had a day out. Cats back 6 didn't pay him enough respect and just went with the best physical match- up whilst Hamish McIntosh was at FF. When it was established Harry couldn't contain him Scarlett went to him, pretty rudimentary, if that is your example to prove your case, then your case is weak. A bloke by the name of Georgiadis from the Bulldogs apparently kicked 8 on SOS in the late 80's, are you going to use that to say he isn't a great stopper?

 

[murph#3]

FB: Fisher Scarlett Morris
HB: Enright Bock Hodge
C: Richardson Bartel Cooney
HF: Harvey Riewoldt O'Keefe
FF: Franklin Fevola Medhurst
RR: Cox Judd Ablett
INT: Mitchell Petrie Harley (c) Corey

 

[AG]

^^Not sure the captain will be on the bench

 

[cats2rise]

Lake is the king of Marks off opposition kicks and this alone saves heaps of goals.

Harley is the King of Marks off opposition kicks.

Lake can be a prince, or princess if he wants but Harley has been the best in the competition this year.

 

[Tippaz]

B: Tom Harley (captain), Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn
HB: Corey Enright, Nathan Bock, Sam Fisher
C: Matthew Richardson, Joel Corey, Jimmy Bartel
HF: Ryan O'Keefe, Lance Franklin, Brent Harvey
F: Matthew Pavlich (Vice-Captain), Brendan Fevola, Steve Johnson
R: Dean Cox, Gary Ablett, Adam Cooney

INT: Luke Hodge, Brett Kirk, Aaron Sandilands, Nick Riewoldt

i reckon i'm 2 different to you mate

my team:
B - Milburn, Scarlett, Harley(c)
HB - Hodge, Bock, Enright
C - Kirk(vc), Bartel, Harvey
HF - Riewoldt, Franklin, S.Johnson
F - Medhurst, Fevola, Pavlich
R - Cox, Cooney, Ablett
i/c - HILLE, Corey, Fisher, Richardson
(very very very unlucky: Judd, Mackie, Motlop)

well, i've loaded up on talls
and Hille > Petrie or Sandilands
8 Geelongs players. wow.

 

[Sainters08]

Surely Kirk can't make the AA Team?

 

[AG]

Surely Kirk can't make the AA Team?

Doubt it. He was a certainty at about R17 but his form dropped off after that.

 

[Sir Ducksworthy]

FB: S. Fisher, M. Scarlett, D. Milburn
HB: L. Hodge, N. Bock, C. Enright
C: A. Cooney, C. Judd, J. Corey
HF: R. O'Keefe, N. Riewoldt (c), B. Harvey
FF: B. Fevola, L. Franklin, P. Medhurst
Foll: G. Ablett, J. Bartel, D. Cox
I/C: A. Sandilands, S. Mitchell, J Roughead, M. Richardson
Coach: M. Thompson
Really Unlucky: Selwood, Morris, Hayes

 

[AG]

^^Roughead wasn't even in the squad. Gary Ablett in the ruck?

 

[Alex Roberts]

^^Roughead wasn't even in the squad. Gary Ablett in the ruck?

Ablett in ruck your a d.ickhead gunner!!!!

 

[Lupton Warchild Pittman]

Neon's omission is an absolute farce, then again battlers the like of Daniel Pratt make such squads. The AA Selection should be how the Seppos do the All Star games for the MLB.