2025 Pre-Season chat
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Nah, he's cooked. Been a wonderful player for well over a decade. In some ways, underrated.
He'll get to 300 and that'll be all she wrote.
Retires a 2 x premiership champion.
Our club continue to have a much better idea on when to call time on our senior players than this board do, which makes perfect sense. And also a far more clear idea of squad balance.
If Duncan's form significantly drops from 2024 (which by almost every measure possible was similar to Tuohy's 2023, not Tuohy's 2024) like for instance Hawkins did from 2023 to 2024, or Menegola did from his penultimate to final season - he'll spend most of his time out of the 1's. If his form more or less holds, he'll play a useful role.
Holmes will likely move to midfield. Which means, with Tuohy leaving, two spots in defence open up. Humphries has basically taken one, while it looks like Mullin will take the other. Thus for Duncan to be replaced you need a third player.
There are wild card factors. Bowes could move to half back, Cam Guthrie could get his body right and end up in that role, O'Connor could prove more useful than people expect. There's question marks on whether any will be that 18 disposal, 4 score involvement a game distributor as Duncan was in 2024.
I fully expect more "Nah mate LOL he's just fried, boiled, stewed" replies from the usuals.
A post like this achieves absolutely nothing, whereas each of my posts (until this one) has discussed football while bringing facts and observations to the table.
So maybe practice what you preach, as this post was 100% personal and 0% football.
Otherwise, there are moderators to advise on when conversational discourse is not meeting the required standards, or if the topic at hand is not being appropriately discussed.
cats_09
Otters United
- Jun 21, 2011
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I love Duncan and what he's bought to the team over the past decade plus
But based on the noticeable drop late in the season & how they seemed to try to manage him as the year went on, I wouldn't be surprised if he finished 2025 with less than a dozen additional games to his name
He's one player I can see being transitioned out of the team as we look to bring in fresh faces
But based on the noticeable drop late in the season & how they seemed to try to manage him as the year went on, I wouldn't be surprised if he finished 2025 with less than a dozen additional games to his name
He's one player I can see being transitioned out of the team as we look to bring in fresh faces
I think it was a mistake to play Duncan in 17 games so early (up to and including the NM Tasmania game). He was very leggy after that and then they tried to remedy that end of season by making him sub a couple of games in quite disastrous cameos. It looked like they tried to squeeze every bit of juice out of the orange because his numbers and output up to the Freo game at home were strong. A drop off did follow that.
He had a 7 game streak and then a 9 out of 10 game streak not long after - from there, he struggled.
Compare that to how Tuohy was managed throughout the season, which I think was much better for a veteran. He had a 3 game streak, a 5 game streak and a bunch of 2's. That's how I'd see them handling Duncan if his form replicates the first half of 2024, which it could if they keep him fresh.
Holmes spent a lot of time in midfield this past season already. It's not likely, it's a formality he will spend most of the time in the centre in 2025.
Duncan, Guthrie, Stanley, Bews . . . it's a safe bet to say they all get replaced by younger players. And that's a massive positive given we already replaced Rohan throughout the year.
Holmes spent a lot of time at half back and the wing as well (they were more his position than midfielder, until finals). I expect those minutes will decline and the stoppage numbers will increase. 12 games in 2024 with 2 or less clearances to Holmes where I'd suggest his midfield minutes were miniscule. There were 8 or 9 games where he was mostly a midfielder.
I'm not saying Duncan won't be replaced. I'm disputing that based on his overall 2024 season (and not just the end of it when they had thrashed him into the ground) any games awarded would only be a charity case to get him to 300. And contesting the basic inaccuracies that have been used to describe his output this season.
I'd love it if Bowes or O'Connor had a great year at half back at 2025. But I'm not certain we will get that. As for kids? They are trying Jhye Clark at half back, and people have suggested Knevitt. Yeah I know, we shouldn't laugh at that but these are some of our next options.
People ought not to expect a Humphries to jump out each season, as great as it would be to simply clone him and replace Duncan that way.
His last 5 or 6 games he did drop off. For some reason that made people disregard his first 17 games, which were very good. He needs to be managed minutes-wise like Tuohy was in 2024. Playing him 10 games in a row etc is what will eventually get "on fumes" Duncan.
- Apr 6, 2017
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Theres no hate. From anyone.
But players do set expectations based on previous form.
You just watch what we will all be saying if a fit Guthrie is average in 2025.
Expectations are everything. It's why SDK is copping a bit here.
I remember a guy who had certain expectations around him.
He went to Adelaide. Kicked 11. And got one vote in the Brownlow.
Maybe Duncan will have an uninterrupted preseason and he'll lift a bit. But Father Time gets everyone.
Like in 2024.
Round 1-21 form was very good. It fell off a cliff after that.
I guess where people disagree is what caused that late season drop off. Playing him basically every game through the year, which eventually cooked him. Or Duncan no longer being up to playing AFL.
It's probably somewhere in the middle and I imagine the appropriate response will be to reduce his season minutes by about 50%. Then if he ends up providing Hawkins 2024 type form, he'll be shoved out altogether. If he provides Tuohy 2024 type form, he will play an amount of games that frustrates most people here.
We are assembling a group of talls that at least we have a bit hope for. Just need a change of luck. Cos is an intriguing one… what role they try him in. Perhaps they see him more as a 2026 player
I like the young tall brigade. and how they've assembled a pretty good group with diversity and potential plenty, maybe we'll find a couple that will carry the flag after Hawkins.
I haven't seen that much about COS to get incredibly excited by (as far as his actual football smarts/defending/intercepting), although of course with young talls they can take a while to come on. It's a big period for him to hopefully break out 2025-2026.
I'd see him as more of a Kolo replacement (but more steadily as a KPD rather than third tall), but in the shorter term if he could hold down full back it could release SDK to ruck/utility or even as another key forward option.
catstorm
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- Dec 9, 2011
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Mods said to drop it, nice to see you abuse your position and keep going anyway, says a lot about you really.
Worst thing is I can’t even put you in ignore because you’re an “Admin”.
Mr Meow: no knock on Kolo, because ever since 2022 he's become an excellent and very consistent footballer for us in the back half, in fact he's been great. But what I've seen of COS at a very young age and I've been saying this ever since the 2024 pre-season games, that one day this kid is going to be a top-class elite footballer and there's nothing that I've seen from him since that would make me change my mind, it's just the MC have taken a very cautious approach with him.
I would have loved to see him play in this years 2024 finals series in some capacity because he's made for the MCG and I posted prior finals saying as much, like they did with Mullin which will end-up benefiting Mullin enormously going forward. And the reason why I thought this is because this kid COS has just 'got it' and one day will be a class above footballers like Kolo but once again that's no knock on Kolo, it's more to do with how good a footballer I reckon COS will be.
Hope you're right.
Like I said, I'm not ruling anything in or out with COS either way. It's much too early for that and I don't catch all of the VFL games.
He's coming into the couple of years where you'd expect some great signs if he's to be a true standout KPP talent. If he breaks into the team in 2025 and performs well I think it'd be a solid boost to this side, especially with how it could release SDK as a utility.
It's a big 'IF' for a number of reasons but if we can get all of Neale, Conway and COS to be permanently in the side and performing at an adequate level by end of home and away, then we'll be flag favourites, I'm sure of that but as stated there are big 'IF's' involved for that to happen. One is for Toby Conway's foot and body to hold up, because I have no doubt he'll be a top 3 ruckman in the AFL in the making excluding major injury and with COS to have 'body maturity,' because he's got the rest and with Shannon Neale, I just want him to follow on from that 'Port final' in which he was awesome, the confidence he would have got from those finals games and the extra muscle he has put on preseason will give him the 'world of confidence' to having a big 2025 season.
Mr Meow, the upside to all 3 is so exciting for us Cat fans, along with the likes of all our other very talented younger players. Our recruiting in recent years has been beyond phenomenal given our lack of elite draft picks, so much so, that you'd have to go back to 2001 'Superdraft' and prior to compare to what 'our ELITE recruiters' in Wellsy, Mackie & co have accomplished in recent times and GO CATS !!!
- Dec 11, 2009
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Nope, no hate.
Been an amazing player for Geelong.
I think the focus on Duncan has come about simply because his decline from what he used to be was the most noticeable of all this last season, given we'd already conceded the likes of Tuohy and Hawkins were already done.
It'll be interesting to see if they give him the 7 games he needs straight up off the back of a pre-season, or whether they're staggered through, say, the first 12 games of the season.
Totally on point with Mitch - he needs to be managed this season and I suspect he'll travel less and they will keep him for games where his declining pace is less of a handicap.
Will probably play more of the defensive sweeper role which could allow Zuthrie and Lawson to be more attacking.
He did decline in the latter part of the season which could have been fatigue or perhaps soreness/niggles may have affected his form - who knows?
He'd had a marvellous career and clearly still has something to offer - he's on the list and in the GFC we trust
cats_09
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Pre-mod days I used to switch off from BF for a couple of months at this time of year...
I've had conversations with others over recent years, spoken about my own experiences of things and how taking a break to enjoy the sun or time away isn't the worse option if ones finding the lack of new footy talk to be getting the better of them
At this time of year it really can have a that never ending thread of "don't mention the war" as we seem to discuss the same shit on repeat
How so? This is the exact same thing that happens all year round. Generally it's split into "this is the vibe" types and those who bring facts to the discussion.
Nobody is forcing you to engage, or even read it. People disagree and (ideally) present points that support their argument. Which IMHO is a more interesting contribution than the post you just made above, which doesn't discuss football at all.
If people are calling time on players careers they should be prepared to read arguments to the contrary and simply challenge the content of those posts on their merit.
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