Preview AFL Round 4 - Geelong v Richmond, Simonds Stadium, 1:10PM Sunday 22 April

[Bird Man]

We have a better midfield than the Kansgas, thing is our forward line is below par at the moment and if they don't fire u guys will take advantage and out score us

 

[SJ]

We have a better midfield than the Kansgas, thing is our forward line is below par at the moment and if they don't fire u guys will take advantage and out score us

Debatable. Maybe your two best are better than their two best (maybe), but they bat far deeper.

 

[CatTricks]

Looking forward to Rance v Pods/Hawk. Should be a great battle

 

[Bigrob_Jr]

Had a bad feeling about last week - I thought we were very vulnerable, and North had all the tools to take us down.

I'm not sure Richmond can play 4 quarters though, and when they don't turn up they are bloody ordinary.

We will be pissed off, and I expect a very Geelong burst at least once during the game. Cats comfortably (but not a smashing).

 

[Copernicus]

I'm confident we'll bounce back, but the midfield needs to start getting its hands on the ball again. As someone else said, Selwood can't do it all. He's been having a good start to the year, but it's time for someone else to step up. I'd be happy to get Christensen into the midfield rotations a bit more and have Chappy spend more time up forward, he just doesn't have time and space in the centre to create like he used to be able to. Christensen was excellent against the Hawks when used on the ball.

I'm not reading anything into the NAB Cup result, that was a training drill, and a pretty lacklustre one at that.

 

[footscore]

We have a better midfield than the Kansgas, thing is our forward line is below par at the moment and if they don't fire u guys will take advantage and out score us

big call
North are no where near as flashy or get as much publicity due to the larger fan base of the Tigers.
North's mid's are tough and love contested brand of footy whereas Richmond go missing when a game really gets tight and willing.
I suspect Deledio who's been averaging 27 disposals this year, will also go missing as he usually does in these must win matches.

It's all fine to rack them up preseason when points aren't up for grabs but this game will really highlight how far Richmond have come.

 

[Vdubs]

Debatable. Maybe your two best are better than their two best (maybe), but they bat far deeper.

but in 2012, both NM & Tigers midfields are better than ours.Our forwards and usually backs are better, but our once strength has become somewhat ordinary.

 

[SJ]

but in 2012, both NM & Tigers midfields are better than ours.Our forwards and usually backs are better, but our once strength has become somewhat ordinary.

Yes I agree, North has a better top 8-10 midfield than Geelong.

 

[cats23]

Richmond will lose and it will probably be 6 goals +
Whats Geelongs recent record for premiership points like in their hometown

Got a couple of questions fellas if you dont mind me asking.
Does anyone know what time the gates open on sunday?
Is there a curtain raiser on beforehand?
Whats the expected weather for sunday in Geelong?

In answer to your questions;
Gates open at 11am on Sunday (have you got a ticket, as it might be tricky to get one now?)
No curtain raiser unfortunately
Early forecast suggests scattered showers & 22 degrees

Looking forward to a good game

 

[footscore]

but in 2012, both NM & Tigers midfields are better than ours.Our forwards and usually backs are better, but our once strength has become somewhat ordinary.

are you serious?

come on man', I know we have started the year off sluggishly and your opinion is what makes us all use this site but I just get disappointed reading comments like this.

Christensen is in his 2nd year and he's now playing in the guts of our midfield, that's an indication of just how talented this young boy is. He's only 20 years of age and to give you an indication of how he compares, Trent Cotchin's numbers were not as good as Bundy's in his first 2 seasons of footy.
His improvement this year is going to be enormous and we can already see glimpses in previous weeks (forget this week as all the guys were flat).

Nathan Foley has been around for a while now and is 26 years of age but Kelly (28) is still a far more damaging player as his tackling, disposals and big game performances clearly have him ahead of Foley.

Selwood has been rather poor by his own hefty standards in 2012 so even I will admit that but do you really rate either one of Deledio or Cotchin as the better player at this stage?
No way...and as dynamic as what Cotchin is, he is not comparable to Joel when it comes to grabbing a game by the scruff of the neck and turning it around through sheer grit, determination and absolute courage like Selwood does.

Edwards is an absolute gun and as his ability to take marks and kick goals is as good as any mid/half forward I have seen since Chappy.
But he is 23 years of age and has an extra couple of seasons over the bloke I reckon is most comparable to he which is Mitch Duncan.
Give Mitch another 2 years and I reckon he is going to be every bit as good as Edwards because Duncan went from 13 possies in his 1st season to 17 in his 2nd season as well as booting 22 goals.
He has yet to fire a shot as he's only averaged 15 touches in 2012 but you can bet he will find his best form later in the year as he had an interrupted preseason due to a knee injury but Duncan is going to an absolute beauty!

Then of course you thrown in the likes of Bartel & Corey and in a must win game such as this Sunday's....you will definitely see which team has the better midfield

(of course, that's just my opinion when comparing the two teams.)

 

[bulletproof]

Have to agree with Bobby on this one, bit of a stretch to say North and Richmond have better midfields than us. North comfortably beat us through there on the weekend but this was in a very low pressure game, Geelong love the crash and bang games. Unfortunately we played the match on North terms and were punished as a result. Let not forget North’s best two players were the seasoned Wells and Harvey whereas Richmond is a younger group.

I can’t see us losing to Richmond at home. That would be an alarming loss if it eventuates.

 

[Vdubs]

Have to agree with Bobby on this one, bit of a stretch to say North and Richmond have better midfields than us. North comfortably beat us through there on the weekend but this was in a very low pressure game, Geelong love the crash and bang games. Unfortunately we played the match on North terms and were punished as a result. Let not forget North’s best two players were the seasoned Wells and Harvey whereas Richmond is a younger group.

I can’t see us losing to Richmond at home. That would be an alarming loss if it eventuates.

All I'm saying is this year, our midfield is below the potency, speed, depth, and effectiveness of NM in particular, and also Tigers. Past history may help out later this year, but right now, that's why we're nearly up to as many losses this year already as we had all 2011.

And NM had great service from Swallow, Bastinac and Ziebell as well as Wells and Harvey. That's DEPTH. We USED to be like that, and of course we are fatigued and can't do it forever. And how do you replace Ling over night? We can't.

Whether we lose to Richmond will definitely depend on how we handle Cotchin, Martin, Deledio, Foley, Houli and Edwards. Bartel and Selwood, no worries. How do we stack up after that. Kelly ,hopefully yes. The rest are very iffy at present. Unless it pours with rain, then Corey, Chappy, Bundy will come to the party.

 

[footscore]

All I'm saying is this year, our midfield is below the potency, speed, depth, and effectiveness of NM in particular, and also Tigers. Past history may help out later this year, but right now, that's why we're nearly up to as many losses this year already as we had all 2011.

do you rate Mitchell, Sewell, Burgoyne & Lewis?

How come those Geelong boys were able to comprehensively beat them in that 4th quarter a fortnight ago?

I highly doubt North and the Tigers could do the same.
I reckon to many supporters are placing too much emphasis on this loss because we have seen that when they show up and choose to win, they do.
It's most likely more mental though if anything (although this week, they had a legitimate excuse)

 

[MightyTiger]

All I'm saying is this year, our midfield is below the potency, speed, depth, and effectiveness of NM in particular, and also Tigers. Past history may help out later this year, but right now, that's why we're nearly up to as many losses this year already as we had all 2011.

And NM had great service from Swallow, Bastinac and Ziebell as well as Wells and Harvey. That's DEPTH. We USED to be like that, and of course we are fatigued and can't do it forever. And how do you replace Ling over night? We can't.

Whether we lose to Richmond will definitely depend on how we handle Cotchin, Martin, Deledio, Foley, Houli and Edwards. Bartel and Selwood, no worries. How do we stack up after that. Kelly ,hopefully yes. The rest are very iffy at present. Unless it pours with rain, then Corey, Chappy, Bundy will come to the party.

To be honest our Midfield is very over rated, I hate saying this but apart from Cotchin, Foley and Tuck they are all one way runners, as much as I love Martin and Deledio there efforts to work into the backline to help our defenders out is VFl standard.

Bartel IMO is in the top3 Midfielders in the competition, gimme Bartel over pretty much any other player in the Competition, I would also have him in my team before Ablett, just something about the guy that I love.

Selwood, Kelly, Corey, Chapman, Hunt, Christensen etc make up a very potent midfield, don't downplay how superior your midfield is off the back of one poor game.

Geelong is just to strong all over the ground, your backline is top notch, your midfield is still the best in the competition and your forward line is pretty potent with Pods, Hawkins, Johnson, Varcoe etc is right up there with the best.

Your kids are quality, Motlop, Guthrie, Duncan, Hunt, Smedts etc the list goes on, all of whom would slot into most teams 22, and that's saying something about the quality of these kids.

And the one thing I think is over-rated in AFL is pace, who needs pace when you can spot up a target on a consistent basis over 40-50 meters, all of your midfielders are exceptional disposers of the ball, we have the likes of Edwards and Jackson shanking every second possession they get.

Hawkins IMO is the key though, have just loved the kid ever since his finals campaign last year, the guys is a monster and the way he crashes packs and takes a chest mark reminds me so much of Carey (Not saying he's on the same level not even close but his style of play).

Riewoldt could learn a thing or 2 from Hawkins this year, is just so out of touch it isn't funny.

Our forward line has been trash this year, Vickery and Riewoldt cant take a contested mark to save themselves this year, Miller is our only consistent Forward which is a worry.

Your midfield should beat our midfield quite comfortably.

And your backline is still very very good.

 

[DanA]

I'm happy if we limp over the line, I think 50+ point wins are a bit optimistic. We've just got too many out and too many underdone.

The scary part is we're probably 6-8 weeks off having a fit team. If we can be hovering around 5th or 6th come round 10 then I think we've done well. Until then games like Richmond, North, Sydney, Freo & Essendon are going to be extremely tight.

 

[fpm84]

The scary part is we're probably 6-8 weeks off having a fit team. If we can be hovering around 5th or 6th come round 10 then I think we've done well. Until then games like Richmond, North, Sydney, Freo & Essendon are going to be extremely tight.

Scarlett and Hunt are our biggest losses at the moment IMO. Thankfully, Scarlo will be back in round 5 and Hunt hopefully the same.

 

[CatTricks]

I got an update on Dawson Simpson.

Is back into full training and will be right to play VFL in the coming weeks

 

[LC_15]

Lets all hope for:

- A good game
- And NO INJURIES

 

[winty]

I know this is an old cliche, but whoever wins in the middle this week will win the game IMO.

If Martin, Cotchin, Tuck and co. get their hands on the ball first, and Geelong's midfield play like they did on Sunday, I've got a gut feeling that Jack Riewoldt will have a field day.

While Lonergan has been like a rock down back, he is more suspectible against quick leading forwards, and better against those who like to compete body-on-body. That's why I'm always amazed Buddy tries to out-body Lonners whenever we play Hawthorn. If Buddy just got on his bike, Lonners wouldn't be able to keep up. I hope Buddy never wakes up to that fact, but I digress.

Similarly, if Kelly, Corey and Bundy step up to the plate and help out Selwood, who's played a lone hand in the middle in our two losses, the likes of Pods and Hawkins could be too much for Richmond's young, but improving, key defenders to handle.

I'm banking on the pride and competitive nature of our guys to come to the fore and see us over the line by about 6 goals, but if we're 10-15% down on our best form in the guts, or don't pay them enough respect, the Tigers could cause an upset.

 

[James1970]

Scarlett and Hunt are our biggest losses at the moment IMO. Thankfully, Scarlo will be back in round 5 and Hunt hopefully the same.

Mr. Travis Varcoe says a quiet hello.

Oh, how we miss him, especially as Byrnes and Stokes seem to have gathered moss around their ankles.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Scarlett and Hunt are our biggest losses at the moment IMO. Thankfully, Scarlo will be back in round 5 and Hunt hopefully the same.

I actually think Varcoe's our biggest loss at the moment, hopefully by mid year we will have both him and Wojo back.

Having said that Scarlo and Josh next week would be very useful too.

Josh has now misses 4 weeks with a calf so hopefully he is right to play vfl this week.

 

[Vdubs]

I actually think Varcoe's our biggest loss at the moment, hopefully by mid year we will have both him and Wojo back.

Having said that Scarlo and Josh next week would be very useful too.

Josh has now misses 4 weeks with a calf so hopefully he is right to play vfl this week.

I agree.

And we will have them back by then , already training well.

 

[Selective Retention]

Two years ago Richmond rested Cotchin and Martin against us, Melbourne rested Trengove and Scully against us. They knew they had no chance of beating us. After the Roos game anyteam on the up is going to be after blood when they play us and not resigned to defeat like in the past. The invincibilty aura is gone, this game will be bloody tough to win.

 

[4kicks]

I have just gone through quite a bit of the posts on here and to be honest, i'm a little surprised at some of the statements on here and some people's lack of faith in Geelong.
For a starters, saying Richmond's midfield is better than Geelong's is a wild statement. Sure they have got some good names in there such as Cotchin & Martin but last time i checked, Selwood, Kelly & Bartel got alright as well. Richmond's midfield also are yet to best anyone of significance... They have defeated only Melbourne after holding just a narrow half time lead against them, only to run away with it in the end. Quite a few people have labelled this coming tigers clash game as a "danger game" which i find kinda extraordinary. Where's the faith? Did people think we were screwed after we lost the last game to Sydney last year at skilled?
Of course we dont like losing but let's not jump to conclusions about the North Melbourne loss. We were simply off our game big time and North came to play. C'mon boys, lets not jump to conclusions, as the coach said post game, 1 game doesnt make a pattern. To be so far off our game and still stay in the contest and loss by under 3 goals is extraordinary. Any evidence to prove we still havent lost it can be seen less than 2 weeks ago when we defeated Hawthorn.
Call me arrogant, over-confident or cocky, but i would be surprised if Geelong didn't come out and win by somewhere over 10 goals. If history history has taught you anything it;s that acing Geelong coming off a loss is like turning up to a gun fight with a pee-shooter. This is of course just my opinion but i think you will all find when you turn up to work Monday and reread this post, it turned out to become reality.
If anybody still requires more proof that last Sunday's game was nothing more than an "off night", please have a look at this interesting video i found on youtube, - an indepth look at how Geelong can be beaten.
Chill out peeps, we had a bad day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMu924F_ThM

 

[cats23]

I agree.

And we will have them back by then , already training well.

Wojo will play VFL this weekend according to GFC website;

http://www.geelongcats.com.au/GeelongNews/NewsArticle/tabid/3933/newsId/133307/Default.aspx