Geelong Sliding Doors

[iameviljez]

It's the silly season. I miss footy. I'm bored.

What are some of the more niche sliding doors moments that coulda-been for this footy club? I don't mean the big done-to-death stuff like "Ablett Jr decides to stay", "Sidebottom gets on the bus", or "Grundy over Thurlow" - I mean the little single-moment things that would have made a huge difference.

• David Spriggs doesn't go to the beach at Lorne one day over preseason. Should have been the best of his draft class
• Geelong doesn't blow a grand a game on Brian Peake, and can later afford to keep Greg Williams.
• Ablett Sr doesn't get suspended in the 1991 finals series. Same goes for Chapman 2013 and Hawkins 2019, I guess.

 

[STPer18]

If Podsiadly doesn't bust his shoulder in the 2011 GF, does Hawkins explode like he did in the 2nd half and catapult himself towards a hall of fame career?

 

[Tony Barber]

Jade Rawlings. $1 million in 2004.

 

[PzBlinky]

If we'd reverted to our natural game in 1993. Memories are fuzzy, but pretty sure we were flying by the end of the year (beat the Eagles in Perth in our last game)...reckon we would've been in it up to our necks.

 

[Footy Smarts]

If we're me to pay a reasonable rate for Hawkins we almost certainly wouldn't have got Selwood. Or if any other club hadn't been scared off by his injuries.

I reckon we still would've been a gun team 2007-2009 without Selwood but I'm not sure we would've had that continued excellence from 2010 onwards without his drive.

 

[Ricky Vaughn]

I always wondered if Hawkins didn’t KO himself on the Subiaco turf in 2012 how different that season looks.

Beat West Coast and finish 4th
Draw Hawthorn 1st up for a spot in the Pre-Lim.
Face either Sydney or Adelaide at the MCG who we handled at home.

Or maybe we still lose to WC with a fit Hawk and nothing changes.

 

[iameviljez]

Draw Hawthorn 1st up for a spot in the Pre-Lim.

I do think still that Hawthorn was a better side than us by a couple of goals that year. We just got the jump on them in the Hawkins after the siren game

 

[dazbroncos]

Dan Menzel never does an ACL and plays over 200 games.

Go Catters

 

[iameviljez]

If we'd reverted to our natural game in 1993. Memories are fuzzy, but pretty sure we were flying by the end of the year (beat the Eagles in Perth in our last game)...reckon we would've been in it up to our necks.

It was definitely what is euphemistically known as an "even year".

 

[winty]

If we'd reverted to our natural game in 1993. Memories are fuzzy, but pretty sure we were flying by the end of the year (beat the Eagles in Perth in our last game)...reckon we would've been in it up to our necks.

Or in a similar vein, what if they either

a) had a 22 game season that year (everyone only played 20 games), or
b) They introduced the top 8 in 1993 instead of the following year.

 

[Lana]

Had Varcoe kicked that, goal and we'd have overrun Hawthorn in extra time, either we'd have never traded him or Fremantle would have won a premiership

 

[Hamingja]

What if we won in 2008, would the Saints have won the flag in 2009

 

[PzBlinky]

Or in a similar vein, what if they either

a) had a 22 game season that year (everyone only played 20 games), or
b) They introduced the top 8 in 1993 instead of the following year.

Yeah, even from 7th or 8th we would've been a big chance.

 

[dudusmaximus]

Nathan Ablett plays 150+ games for us

 

[Tony Barber]

If we'd reverted to our natural game in 1993. Memories are fuzzy, but pretty sure we were flying by the end of the year (beat the Eagles in Perth in our last game)...reckon we would've been in it up to our necks.

93 went like this. And yes its just my fragmented memory.
After the loss in 92' Blight made the team defensive. And it wasn't working.

1/2 way through the year he went to the players and said 'how do you want to play and where do you want to play'

The players then designed everything. And we were smashing teams.
We beat west coast in the last game at Subiaco. And let's face it. That wasn't easy as they smacked us in the GF the year before.

And (I think), we needed Collingwood to beat Adelaide in Adelaide. And they were up by maybe 4 goals at half time.
Lost.
Another valid reason to hate the pies.

For the younger people. Think of your best stretch of cats games. Well, we were better than anything you can think of at the end of 93'.
If we got on a roll, the other team was stuffed.

 

[Gazza Greatness]

93 went like this. And yes its just my fragmented memory.
After the loss in 92' Blight made the team defensive. And it wasn't working.

1/2 way through the year he went to the players and said 'how do you want to play and where do you want to play'

The players then designed everything. And we were smashing teams.
We beat west coast in the last game at Subiaco. And let's face it. That wasn't easy as they smacked us in the GF the year before.

And (I think), we needed Collingwood to beat Adelaide in Adelaide. And they were up by maybe 4 goals at half time.
Lost.
Another valid reason to hate the pies.

For the younger people. Think of your best stretch of cats games. Well, we were better than anything you can think of at the end of 93'.
If we got on a roll, the other team was stuffed.

Certainly agree with '93 comments and by home and away season after beating The Eagles convincingly in the last game of year over in Subiaco, with Gazza and Stoneham on fire, it was clear the Cats were the best side in it but as you alluded that defensive mindset earlier in season cost us dearly. The 4 flags we lost in play-offs we weren't the better side in any of them, just needed for the other side to have a downer like us in 2008 but the 1993 we were the best side but didn't make it..... go figure?

 

[Biggy_Boy]

If Podsiadly doesn't bust his shoulder in the 2011 GF, does Hawkins explode like he did in the 2nd half and catapult himself towards a hall of fame career?

I think Hawkins still has the career, but I don't know if we win that GF. It wasn't just Hawkins' performance, but Pods going off changed the forward line in a way that really unsettled the Collingwood defence. It's somewhat similar to how in the QF this year, Daniher being forced to go into the ruck and out of the forward line helped upset us and left us vulnerable to their other forwards.

There are a lot of sliding doors with Hawkins, like what if he doesn't have the big head plant in the turf in 2012? Or what if he doesn't have the back injury in 2013?

 

[allrighty]

What if Stanley had kicked that goal in the PF this year?

 

[Biggy_Boy]

What if Stanley had kicked that goal in the PF this year?

We lose by a smaller margin. It's nice to dream, but he kicks that and we go back to the middle with 20s on the clock. Yes, a quick clearance kick and mark could have given us the opportunity to win it, but with the way the game was going at that point, the likelihood of that happening was extremely slim. It was more likely Brisbane would make that play, and even more likely they'd just stall us in the centre.

 

[Lana]

Nathan Ablett plays 150+ games for us

Egan too, what happens to Taylor, we probably draft Scott Selwood

 

[Strange Cat]

Dan Menzel never does an ACL and plays over 200 games.

Go Catters

He would had shored up that forwardline when they moved SJ in the middle…even more enticing if Nablett had stayed with the bonus of perhaps keeping his brother at the club too

Such a shame the kid had everything

 

[Iago]

93 went like this. And yes its just my fragmented memory.
After the loss in 92' Blight made the team defensive. And it wasn't working.

1/2 way through the year he went to the players and said 'how do you want to play and where do you want to play'

The players then designed everything. And we were smashing teams.
We beat west coast in the last game at Subiaco. And let's face it. That wasn't easy as they smacked us in the GF the year before.

And (I think), we needed Collingwood to beat Adelaide in Adelaide. And they were up by maybe 4 goals at half time.
Lost.
Another valid reason to hate the pies.

For the younger people. Think of your best stretch of cats games. Well, we were better than anything you can think of at the end of 93'.
If we got on a roll, the other team was stuffed.

And the Crows.

 

[tvc_hot]

[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji6]" data-quote="dazbroncos" data-source="post: 0" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

Dan Menzel never does an ACL and plays over [emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]] games.

Go Catters

I second this ‘what if’. I believe Menzel could’ve been Wells best recruit, considering he saw something to pick him before Duncan.

Menzel was my favourite player during the 2010s and it’s a pity he didn’t have the career that he deserved. He would’ve been a fantastic player for us.

 

[winty]

This is probably a popular sliding door moment around these parts - what if we drafted Brodie Grundy instead of Jackson Thurlow?

 

[CatToTheFuture]

This is probably a popular sliding door moment around these parts - what if we drafted Brodie Grundy instead of Jackson Thurlow?

Oh God don't bring that one up again