Unofficial Preview Changes v Geelong (Preliminary Final)

[M Malice]

No changes.

Hawkins, Cameron, Neale, Stewart, Dangerfield and their fleet of smalls are the worry, the smalls get up and down the ground amazingly well.

 

[LongLion]

No changes.

Hawkins, Cameron, Neale, Stewart, Dangerfield and their fleet of smalls are the worry, the smalls get up and down the ground amazingly well.

Don't think we will see Hawkins on the field next week. A positive for us if he plays I reckon.

 

[Nunez]

Don't think we will see Hawkins on the field next week. A positive for us if he plays I reckon.

Hope he does. Worst case he has a good game because our mids get smashed. If our mids win the battle though, Harris will be able to play off him as he pleases.

 

[M Malice]

Don't think we will see Hawkins on the field next week. A positive for us if he plays I reckon.

Hope he does. Worst case he has a good game because our mids get smashed. If our mids win the battle though, Harris will be able to play off him as he pleases.

I think Hawkins played a VFL game last weekend, I haven't seen any reports on how he went.

I would still rather he didn't play though, in a close final he might only need to do 2-3 good things to be the difference eg. grab a ball out of a F50 throw in/ball up and snap a vital goal.

 

[Squizz89]

The coaches are clearly mindful of doing things a bit differently from that prelim a couple of years ago, where by the time we arrived we were sitting ducks really. I believe they were considering giving the players the day off today, which personally I think is a great idea. By prelim final week, we know how to play football etc, after Saturday night's game it's just getting them in the best physical & mental shape to back that up next week now.

 

[Nuggo]

Read somewhere Geelong has only play one game in 29 days and that wasn't a fierce contest. While they will be rested will they be switched on. Could work in our favour.

 

[dlanod]

I think Hawkins played a VFL game last weekend, I haven't seen any reports on how he went.

He kicked a goal in the highlights shown during our VFL game.

 

[Lace Out]

Hawkins looked pretty ordinary.Story later in the week could be that he isn’t selected.

 

[Lion_LegacyXL]

Read somewhere Geelong has only play one game in 29 days and that wasn't a fierce contest. While they will be rested will they be switched on. Could work in our favour.

Conversely, We look pretty banged up. We won't know how much of a toll that win had on us until Saturday.

 

[Nuggo]

Conversely, We look pretty banged up. We won't know how much of a toll that win had on us until Saturday.

I prefer to call it battle hardened - but yes could be our undoing. Regardless proud of the team to make it into a prelim with the year we had.

 

[Lion_LegacyXL]

Critical that we have our heads in the game early, can't afford to decide to show up 2.5 quarters into the game.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Critical that we have our heads in the game early, can't afford to decide to show up 2.5 quarters into the game.

So now we're a slow starting team?

I think grasshopper has some percentages to show you

 

[McIvor]

Kane saying this morning that Sam De Keoning will not be selected for the Cats.

Haven't followed Geelong enough to know if this is a big out or not noting that I am aware he was injured for a while there this year.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Kane saying this morning that Sam De Keoning will not be selected for the Cats.

Haven't followed Geelong enough to know if this is a big out or not noting that I am aware he was injured for a while there this year.

I'd say it's a big out. Leaves them a bit short down back unless Blicavs plays on Joe

 

[Thomasno]

Sounds to me like Neale is cooked. Barely gets near it, doesn’t get a touch in the last, and then Fagan telling us he pretty much doesn’t train. Was watching the last 2 minutes with the game on, he does everything to not go near the contest. He actually doesn’t want the ball in the last quarter he’s that sore.
Gonna be a story either way.

Couple of things:

- he literally said said post game that he deliberately took Bedford away from congestion and away from the ball in the 3rd/4th to free up Ashcroft and let him get to work

- Fagan said Neale has been having issues with this injury for “quite some time”. Quite some time ie not a new thing; the implication is that he’s playing through this for a while - and he had a number of 3 vote games towards the end of the season. There’s also been zero speculation of an injury to Neale at all in this time up until Fagan literally just said it in the press conference post game on Saturday.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Couple of things:

- he literally said said post game that he deliberately took Bedford away from congestion and away from the ball in the 3rd/4th to free up Ashcroft and let him get to work

- Fagan said Neale has been having issues with this injury for “quite some time”. Quite some time ie not a new thing; the implication is that he’s playing through this for a while - and he had a number of 3 vote games towards the end of the season. There’s also been zero speculation of an injury to Neale at all in this time up until Fagan literally just said it in the press conference post game on Saturday.

At a lot of the centre clearances Bedford started on Ashcroft and would then try to run into the space Neale was targeting (where Oscar would try to hit it). We then started to go to Ashcroft and it gave us some nice centre clearances including the one that resulted in Kai's second goal

Was a very clever bit of tactics which genius Kingsley couldn't react to

 

[Dom PC]

Just bought tickets to the game... never seen an in person Lions win at the MCG. Currently on a 3 game losing streak for going to the MGC (Hawks loss in 2023, 2023 GF and Pies this year). Here's hoping 4th time lucky!

 

[M Malice]

Got our tickets, 2nd tier on the wing(Shane Warne stand side of the ground) between 50 meter arc and centre square, very happy with that positioning... $211 each, well worth it.

 

[M Malice]

Meanwhile in less important news I just saw there has been another assassination attempt on Donald Trump... now back to the footy.

 

[BRAB]

Just bought tickets to the game... never seen an in person Lions win at the MCG. Currently on a 3 game losing streak for going to the MGC (Hawks loss in 2023, 2023 GF and Pies this year). Here's hoping 4th time lucky!

I know who to blame if we lose

 

[FootyLad0]

Kane saying this morning that Sam De Keoning will not be selected for the Cats.

Haven't followed Geelong enough to know if this is a big out or not noting that I am aware he was injured for a while there this year.

Kane getting the inside word is he? lol
Didn't know he was on the Cats Coaching Panel?

 

[ijaxcat]

I'd say it's a big out. Leaves them a bit short down back unless Blicavs plays on Joe

He hasn’t played AFL for 6 weeks after getting injured but has played 2 games in
the VFL and was very good last week. I would definitely pick him.

 

[Thomasno]

We have an uncanny habit of turning up flat the next week after an emotionally charged win so that will be our biggest enemy next week. I am hoping we go all out and hit Geelong hard!

You’d think (or hope) the motivation is different this time. It was so clear the team were down after the GF loss, because they came SO close and it’s such a long road back.

This is the final road block now to get back there and have a shot at redemption. I’d be leaning on that for motivation to keep the emotions going - Geelong are standing in the way of what they’ve fought this season so long for. I do think there’s a bit of that already going too - the sheer desperation that was on display in that last quarter on the weekend was something special, they looked like they had unfinished business to attend to and weren’t ready to be knocked out.

Players like Ashcroft, Zorko, and Berry were the ones standing up at the end as well - one who might have been the difference last year, one who doesn’t know if he’ll get another crack at it, and one who probably thinks he has some sins to atone for.

Go hard or go home, Geelong in the past have been the brick wall for us in finals - time to run through it.

 

[StevoJenkins]

I'd swear he started a few centre bounces up there - after his first possession in the forward 50 it looked like McKenna being subbed on had pushed Zorko forward for at least a stint.

Haven't watched the replay, but I believe he was moved to the middle.

 

[Elixuh]

Kane getting the inside word is he? lol
Didn't know he was on the Cats Coaching Panel?

Chris Scott probably messaged to tell him de koening isn’t playing. So that means he definitely is playing.