Training 2024 Pre-Season discussion

[CatToTheFuture]

I'm guessing first game back is at home, rd 11 v GWS 25 May.

I'm not a betting man but I'd be going with rd 6 versus Brisbane in qld

 

[Vdubs]

I'm not a betting man but I'd be going with rd 6 versus Brisbane in qld

me either, but older player who went down like he was shot....most annoying for me as he, along with Blic and the Henry boys are the players I most look forward to watching,

+/- a bit of Danger, JC , Stewart and Holmes.

 

[Spearman]

The Holmes to the back line thing has really grown legs. All we know is he played half of a match simulation in the back line when all the main midfielders were rotated out of there for significant periods.

My guess is he spends less than 10% of his time in the back line once the season starts. It just looks like a move to help him learn a different part of the game and give guys like Clark and Knevitt time in the middle and on the wing in a meaningless practice match.

This was my view as well. It's a lot about development. He would benefit from the experience of picking out his running lanes.
As I've said before, sit him down also with some Wojo highlights.

 

[Catman]

The first test of the new rule

Why Geelong this week will provide an intriguing look into latest AFL crackdown

“I think we’re going to get our first little test.”

www.sen.com.au

Won't publish player weights, but want clubs to reveal exact player injury timeframes. Yeah, I know it was part of the negotiated CBA, but like many things in the AFL, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Won't publish player weights, but want clubs to reveal exact player injury timeframes. Yeah, I know it was part of the negotiated CBA, but like many things in the AFL, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

I can reason the injury timeframe one on the basis that it actually does impact your ability to estimate how good your team is going to be in the short to medium term, whereas player weights aren't really giving you an entirely accurate measure. You don't need to look at the number to know Bruhn has gotten heftier and that Bowes has trimmed down.

I would however point out that the information on injuries is pretty valuable to betting agencies and I'm sure that's the biggest driver there. Money talks.

 

[00VicWard001]

I don't understand the criticism of Clark. I just watched the replay and he was probably our second best mid behind Bowes.

His ball use was absolutely fine. He was clean and classy on the inside. His kicking was decent. He had 1 really bad handball after a mark and a weird moment where he went to kick the ball on the wing, decided not to, dropped it and the ball went out for a throw in. But apart from that his disposals were good.

I saw nothing in him last year to suggest he was a good pick. But he showed 100x more against Carlton than what he showed in the VFL last year. And this was against good opposition (he was directly matched to Doherty for big portions and Cripps, Cerra and Hewett played big midfield time).

I reckon he'll play round 1 and part of the reason for trying Holmes in the back line is to allow Clark some midfield time.

He looks tough, determined and hungry. For me, it looks like a lightbulb has flicked on. Maybe he spent time with Atkins, maybe he always had it, maybe it was Steven King, who knows....

 

[00VicWard001]

If there's a certainty in footy it's that teams tries to copy the reigning premier in some way. Without fail.

Every premier has to innovate in some way to get to the top. It's not just lack of injuries, or A grade players. The game plan and execution is vital.

Therefore, after the premiership (or probably during the season), every team firstly tries to break down what is making that team successful, to pretty much find ways to stop them. Once they do that, they probably start seeing things that really are game changing and that they may be able to exploit themselves.

I remember Gawn talking about how he and Grundy could probably do what Blicavs and Stanley did, and alluded that they could probably do it better.

Obviously, from the outside and from hindsight, copying that premiership team exactly cannot work and never works. But there are aspects of that game plan that propel the next premiership team (even if it's the same club) back up to the top.

I can't think of a time in modern football where the premiership team has had tactics that have been completely left field. Whenever someone seems to try that, it ends up a disastrous season.

I also think that it's a bit of a misunderstanding that what the premiership team did is completely unique to that team - it's often the media that label it as such. Other teams are doing variations of what that premiership team did - Daicos from half back is a variation of Rioli (Richmond) or Tom Stewart, or Caleb Daniel, or Luke Hodge or Daniel Rich and so on. It's nothing truly new, it's just the ability to execute at a high level that makes it look special or unique.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Man I usually rate Kingys analysis, because even if wrong it's usually pretty well reasoned.

Watched the fox footy season preview last night and I have to say it's like he didn't even look at our playing list. Just half arsed a "I don't see it" response about up and coming players.

 

[And_ROOS]

Man I usually rate Kingys analysis, because even if wrong it's usually pretty well reasoned.

Watched the fox footy season preview last night and I have to say it's like he didn't even look at our playing list. Just half arsed a "I don't see it" response about up and coming players.

Despite the fact we still have a strong list, and this year will get a weaker fixture, so many have us missing the 8.

 

[Willo_]

Man I usually rate Kingys analysis, because even if wrong it's usually pretty well reasoned.

Watched the fox footy season preview last night and I have to say it's like he didn't even look at our playing list. Just half arsed a "I don't see it" response about up and coming players.

well our youngsters haven't played enough games yet for Champion Data to have given King his opinion

 

[STPer18]

Health Update | Cameron Guthrie

Cameron Guthrie suffered an injury at the start of Geelong’s match simulation game against Carlton.

www.geelongcats.com.au

Geelong Cats midfielder Cameron Guthrie is likely to miss 8 -10 weeks with a right quadricep tendon injury.

Guthrie suffered the injury in the start of Geelong’s match simulation game against Carlton last Thursday.

Geelong Cats General Manager – Football Andrew Mackie said:

“The prognosis indicates Cam will be sidelined for 8-10 weeks, Cam is the ultimate professional who will attack his rehab diligently with the support of our medical team and we look forward to having back on the field in the early part of the season.”

 

[CatToTheFuture]

well our youngsters haven't played enough games yet for Champion Data to have given King his opinion

Under rated point, but also 21 of our premiership 23 are playing and he has plenty of data on Holmes, Bruhn, Henry

 

[Willo_]

Health Update | Cameron Guthrie

Cameron Guthrie suffered an injury at the start of Geelong’s match simulation game against Carlton.

www.geelongcats.com.au

"precautionary"

Never stop Geelonging Geelong

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Health Update | Cameron Guthrie

Cameron Guthrie suffered an injury at the start of Geelong’s match simulation game against Carlton.

www.geelongcats.com.au

So dogs at gather round at the earliest, Carlton at the mcg at the latest. North or Brissy the most likely.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

"precautionary"

Never stop Geelonging Geelong

Imagine how bad it would be if they didn't take him off the field and forced him to play though. Surely taking said precaution counts as precautionary.

 

[catempire]

Health Update | Cameron Guthrie

Cameron Guthrie suffered an injury at the start of Geelong’s match simulation game against Carlton.

www.geelongcats.com.au

Kudos to the club for adhering to the new injury reporting edict.

 

[Willo_]

Imagine how bad it would be if they didn't take him off the field and forced him to play though. Surely taking said precaution counts as precautionary.

I may be just a harsh judge, on something that grinds my gears... but saying it is precautionary IMO gives the impression that it isn't serious.

 

[Cattas_21]

I may be just a harsh judge, on something that grinds my gears... but saying it is precautionary IMO gives the impression that it isn't serious.

Correct, it usually means that they don't think there is an actual injury as such, and the player could continue to play the game out, but they are keeping him off 'just in case'

 

[Willo_]

Correct, it usually means that they don't think there is an actual injury as such, and the player could continue to play the game out, but they are keeping him off 'just in case'

yeah and i know some people don't or won't care... but all they have to say is just it is a quad issue, will have scans early in the week to assess the severity and go from there.. simple. The silly games they play just annoy me and it treats us like fools

 

[Footy Smarts]

Urgh. Brisbane away is just over 8 weeks from the injury. Fingers crossed he's back for that cause it's a tough run of games. The first 5 weeks are doable without him if we play well.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I may be just a harsh judge, on something that grinds my gears... but saying it is precautionary IMO gives the impression that it isn't serious.

Yeah I was going a bit of tongue in cheek that last post. Clearly not the intended use of the word precautionary

 

[D BRIDGE]

The moment Guthrie went down it looked bad.

I instantly thought it was going to be a month at least.

The way the club reported it as precautionary at the time gave false hope to some others imo (not me but definitely others).

There was nothing to be gained from it.

Poor form as per usual in this department.

The disconnect I feel between me and club continues to grow.

I love the GFC, but I do not feel part of it… it’s almost as if fans are treated like reporters that get given minimum chips.

It all adds up.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Urgh. Brisbane away is just over 8 weeks from the injury. Fingers crossed he's back for that cause it's a tough run of games. The first 5 weeks are doable without him if we play well.

We need him for June to September, not worried so much about the early rounds.

We need to win obviously, but if we can get to 5-2, or 4-3 without Cam, while getting valuable minutes into Bowes, Clark, Bruhn, Holmes, Knevitt, Mannagh and whoever else they throw through the midfield, that'll pay dividends when it matters.

I know we're all a bit gun shy after the horror start last year, but we don't need to start like a house on fire.

We just need to be good enough to not be chasing our tails all season, and if we can do that and then have one of our best players return, I'd expect we're in for a pretty good year.

For instance

St Kilda - W
Adelaide - L
Hawthorn - W
Bulldogs - W
Norf - W
Brisbane - L

W/L: 4-2

That's within reason I'd say, and if he could return for the Carlton game that would be a huge inclusion.

We win that, and we're well on our way to being back where we belong.

 

[D BRIDGE]

I’m not fully convinced Guthrie will just come back and be his old self.

He hasn’t really played for a while, is aging and will be coming back from a couple of long injuries.

Fingers crossed he does… but we can’t count on it happening.

 

[Mattttty]

me either, but older player who went down like he was shot....most annoying for me as he, along with Blic and the Henry boys are the players I most look forward to watching,

+/- a bit of Danger, JC , Stewart and Holmes.

He's also arguably our most important player. I know there's half a dozen players you could suggest fit in that category but not only is he the exact kind of player we're screaming out for in the exact role we need filled, but he was also our B&F in both 2020 and 2022. I think many commentators underestimate what a big impact him being out had on us last year.

Oh well, at least it creates some space for a few young guns to have a crack, I suppose!