Preview AFL NAB Cup Round 1 - West Coast-Fremantle-Geelong, Patersons Stadium, Saturday 16 February

[TheJimmyCartel]

Wonder who will belt ballantyne this time?

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Even arranged a special girls night out for the missus

Anyone going to the game?

How many times will "rusty" be used in the autopsy?

Can't wait to see the new guys in the hoops. Thurlow, Blitzhalves, Hartman

Wild hoses couldn't drag me...... and all crap , cannot wait to see the boys strutt their stuff
NOTE TO SELF - Make sure to buy a Record as there is a shizenhousen load of names I haven't seen in the flesh before !!

 

[Boxhead_31]

Cameron Ling, Matthew Scarlett and were both footballers with moderate athletic skills (in Ling's case none at all). They seemed to do ok.

Would go a bit further and say most of our current side are footballers first an athletes second.
Never been the quickest by foot over the ground but there is no doubting their football brains

 

[FredLeDeux]

Would go a bit further and say most of our current side are footballers first an athletes second.
Never been the quickest by foot over the ground but there is no doubting their football brains

Partridge has opened a can of worms here, someone better come up with a sensible definition of "athletic" in this context before it goes any further.

 

[manboob]

Partridge has opened a can of worms here, someone better come up with a sensible definition of "athletic" in this context before it goes any further.

Could have bigger manboobs... but hey I don't wanna be that guy complaining cause her elbows are too pointy!

 

[AlterRob]

Partridge has opened a can of worms here, someone better come up with a sensible definition of "athletic" in this context before it goes any further.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Partridge has opened a can of worms here, someone better come up with a sensible definition of "athletic" in this context before it goes any further.

Athletic is the ease shown by my 16 yo when he breezes past me playing Bball or sits on my shoulders taking a screamer playing kick to kick at training...............the older I get the better I used to be !!

 

[thejester]

No Cowan.

 

[FredLeDeux]

Could have bigger manboobs... but hey I don't wanna be that guy complaining cause her elbows are too pointy!

Well, they give new meaning to "from the sublime to the ridiculous".
Though I notice Jars is also starting to look a little ridiculous these days.

 

[you pick one]

[quote="FredLeDeux, post: 27129081, member: 133794"]I don't know what you mean by athletic skills, but Scarlett, like his father, was very fast for a bloke his size.

Me either.......At this level, there is no-one with zero athletic skills.[/quote]
I had John on my clacker a couple of times yeh he could motor,but so could I it's was called survival.

 

[you pick one]

Wild hoses couldn't drag me...... and all crap , cannot wait to see the boys strutt their stuff
NOTE TO SELF - Make sure to buy a Record as there is a shizenhousen load of names I haven't seen in the flesh before !!

I tried that last year at the NAB game on the Gold Coast,I couldn't keep up,Good luck

 

[Catdog]

Anyone know if this will be available on Telstra T-box after the games are over?

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Not sure how serious Christensen was on AW last night, be he mentioned Blicavs as the second ruck option for the weekend.

I'd take it seriously. With Simpson, McIntosh and Vardy out, we're not going to flog West into the ground this early. West Coast don't have Cox or Naitanui either (though they do have a genuine ruck prospect in Lycett), so I'd expect Blicavs, Bathie, Hamling or Walker (or some combination of those) to help out.

No Cowan.

Very disappointing...hope he gets on the park next week.

As in previous years, the lineup will be thrown around a lot between the two games. With the players we are taking over, we could go with something like the following two lineups starting on the ground (with only West and Brown doubling up).

Game 1

B: 25. Rivers, 13. Lonergan, 29. Guthrie
HB: 40. Thurlow, 1. Brown, 3. Bartel
C: 46. Blicavs, 11. Corey, 21. Murdoch
HF: 2. Smedts, 34. Walker, 5. Varcoe
F: 27. Stokes, 26. Hawkins, 32. Motlop
R: 12. West, 22. Duncan, 28. Christensen

Game 2

B: 44. Enright, 42. Bathie, 37. Eardley
HB: 45. Hamling, 7. Taylor, 19. T.Hunt
C: 33. Horlin-Smith, 23. Caddy, 1. Brown
HF: 36. Hartman, 31. Podsiadly, 41. Stringer,
F: 15. Schroder, 39. Kersten, 20. Johnson
R: 12. West, 14. Selwood, 38. Sheringham

As with others, it will be very interesting to see what they do with Brown. I remember how lively he looked last year against Gold Coast playing as a high half forward and I could really see him lining up anywhere outside the centre square (Blicavs and Hamling are a bit the same, although Brown is obviously the most AFL-ready...by far). Maybe he'll be given a chance to assert himself in a specific position, or he might just be thrown around in a few spots. His versatility may end up being his great strength and weakness, because he's got several avenues to get into the senior side, but he's probably not getting as much chance to get locked into a specific position as a player like Kersten will be.

I just think Brown has such a huge range of paths his career go to from here. He could be out of the AFL by 2015 and I wouldn't be surprised; he could retire as a multiple All-Australian and I wouldn't be surprised. But I just think he's going to end up making it somewhere...I hope it's at Geelong. He's got all the tools.

Last year's NAB Cup was really Steve Motlop's coming out party. No-one would have had him in the best 22 in January last year and I think it's really been downplayed just how much he accomplished in 2012, considering he was really at the crossroads this time last year.

 

[FredLeDeux]

MC Extra Dollop In the website's puff piece earlier this (last?) week, Brown said he had been training both forward and back.

 

[goyoucatters]

Mitch Brown in guernsey #1 turning out for both the Cats and the Eagles.

Same name AND number on opposing teams would have to be a fair rarity, you would have thought.

 

[Spemonie]

Mitch Brown in guernsey #1 turning out for both the Cats and the Eagles.

Same name AND number on opposing teams would have to be a fair rarity, you would have thought.

and from what I recall is one is a forward and the other is a defender. Would be interesting if they get matched up on each other.

 

[FromDawn2Dark]

I'd take it seriously. With Simpson, McIntosh and Vardy out, we're not going to flog West into the ground this early. West Coast don't have Cox or Naitanui either (though they do have a genuine ruck prospect in Lycett), so I'd expect Blicavs, Bathie, Hamling or Walker (or some combination of those) to help out.


As in previous years, the lineup will be thrown around a lot between the two games. With the players we are taking over, we could go with something like the following two lineups starting on the ground (with only West and Brown doubling up).

Game 1

B: 25. Rivers, 13. Lonergan, 29. Guthrie
HB: 40. Thurlow, 1. Brown, 3. Bartel
C: 46. Blicavs, 11. Corey, 21. Murdoch
HF: 2. Smedts, 34. Walker, 5. Varcoe
F: 27. Stokes, 26. Hawkins, 32. Motlop
R: 12. West, 22. Duncan, 28. Christensen

Game 2

B: 44. Enright, 42. Bathie, 37. Eardley
HB: 45. Hamling, 7. Taylor, 19. T.Hunt
C: 33. Horlin-Smith, 23. Caddy, 1. Brown
HF: 36. Hartman, 31. Podsiadly, 41. Stringer,
F: 15. Schroder, 39. Kersten, 20. Johnson
R: 12. West, 14. Selwood, 38. Sheringham

As with others, it will be very interesting to see what they do with Brown. I remember how lively he looked last year against Gold Coast playing as a high half forward and I could really see him lining up anywhere outside the centre square (Blicavs and Hamling are a bit the same, although Brown is obviously the most AFL-ready...by far). Maybe he'll be given a chance to assert himself in a specific position, or he might just be thrown around in a few spots. His versatility may end up being his great strength and weakness, because he's got several avenues to get into the senior side, but he's probably not getting as much chance to get locked into a specific position as a player like Kersten will be.

I just think Brown has such a huge range of paths his career go to from here. He could be out of the AFL by 2015 and I wouldn't be surprised; he could retire as a multiple All-Australian and I wouldn't be surprised. But I just think he's going to end up making it somewhere...I hope it's at Geelong. He's got all the tools.

Last year's NAB Cup was really Steve Motlop's coming out party. No-one would have had him in the best 22 in January last year and I think it's really been downplayed just how much he accomplished in 2012, considering he was really at the crossroads this time last year.

Lots of good points. The ruck will be interesting. Blicavs has been training there so I would expect him to do some of it. Walker already has so he's a no brainer. Interestingly Hamling did a bit of ruck at U18 level but I worry that since he's still only 82kgs he might get killed at AFL level. I don't want bigger bodies crashing into him this early in his development. Bathie has the body but I still don't think he has done any ruck work. I can only assume the MC have him pegged as a KD and want to continue to develop him there. Since it's his last year to prove himself, maybe they feel throwing him in the ruck might set him back or something?

As for the 2 teams, that's A LOT of changes between teams. There might be 34 players listed as of now but I'm pretty sure they are limited to 7 changes between games, unless it's changed this year? So that would leave 29 to play and 5 emergencies.

As for Brown he has the talent. Some people question is work rate or endeavor but a lot did the same with Hawkins. And a lot of that was to do with confidence and a sense of belonging at AFL level. Since Brown has been limited because of injuries even at VFL level, let alone AFL, has to play a part. As he stated this is the first full preseason he has had. That can't be underestimated in someone's development and conditioning. Personally I'm willing to back someone talented to make it more often than not and I also think Brown will. The question is will it be at Geelong or elsewhere? I hope it's with the Cats as well.

 

[FromDawn2Dark]

and from what I recall is one is a forward and the other is a defender. Would be interesting if they get matched up on each other.

And both wanted trades for more playing time. Both could end up on the trade table at years end. Makes for an interesting match up indeed

 

[Cohzee]

Just having a laugh mate, but yes, I do agree that above all they were brilliant natural footballers. It is interesting to consider however, that in both their cases particular physical gifts contributed to their ability to get the ball and do great things with it. Ling had tremendous endurance and resilience, and Scarlett was, as I said before, very quick and extremely strong (deceptively so apparently).

They had some decent coaches too.

 

[you pick one]

They had some decent coaches too.

Joeys boys! what more can you say.

 

[Partridge]

Sensational. The model athlete. How's his marking and kicking?

 

[Partridge]

Wonder who will belt ballantyne this time?

No one I hope. Got more important things to do.

Like winning the game.

 

[TheJimmyCartel]

No one I hope. Got more important things to do.

Like winning the game.

It was pretty tongue in cheek. I would be disappointed if discipline was an issue again this year.

 

[you pick one]

No one I hope. Got more important things to do.

Like winning the game.

You can't help injuries,but if we were to come back from the West with a stupid suspension by some one sucked in,I'll spew.

 

[you pick one]

No one I hope. Got more important things to do.

Like winning the game.

Winning the game is a long way down on my list ,but it's a long way up on belting Ballantyne,well maybe not that far up