Top 4 hopefully. Top 6, at least, depending on how other improving teams go. And positioning ourselves for a Flag tilt with at least a Prelim again come Finals. Will need teams to push us out, I don't think the Cats will slide on their own accord.
Prediction How Will The Cats Fare in 2025?
- Thread starter The rabbi
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- Jun 19, 2006
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I think we can improve.
Really only Holmes and Z Guthrie had great seasons that will be hard to improve upon. On the flipside we bring in Smith and plenty of the young guys could improve a lot.
The risk is progression isn't linear for youngsters and if we have a bunch of them have tough years (like SDK's last couple) we could struggle.
Really only Holmes and Z Guthrie had great seasons that will be hard to improve upon. On the flipside we bring in Smith and plenty of the young guys could improve a lot.
The risk is progression isn't linear for youngsters and if we have a bunch of them have tough years (like SDK's last couple) we could struggle.
Pure_Ownage
TheBrownDog
4th to 8th.
The league is weak and we have too much talent in our top 10 players not to play finals if we get it right.
But I'm not convinced we have the flag in us that ship sailed last year.
I'm unconvinced Smith alone will fix the midfield and our ruck issues leave me very worried.
There's a lot also riding on neale as we lack options for a Hawkins replacement if he doesn't come on.
Fortunately our 4 smalls plus Cameron Henry and Dempsey are probably the best crew of mobile forwards in the league so if scott can somehow cover the other weaknesses we are a chance.
The league is weak and we have too much talent in our top 10 players not to play finals if we get it right.
But I'm not convinced we have the flag in us that ship sailed last year.
I'm unconvinced Smith alone will fix the midfield and our ruck issues leave me very worried.
There's a lot also riding on neale as we lack options for a Hawkins replacement if he doesn't come on.
Fortunately our 4 smalls plus Cameron Henry and Dempsey are probably the best crew of mobile forwards in the league so if scott can somehow cover the other weaknesses we are a chance.
I bet the new Irish kid will be a superstar. Premiership.
In all honesty, Irish kid will be a good player, but have us around 5-10th, depending on injuries. We could be dangerous in finals if squad is fit. Many home games will help.
In all honesty, Irish kid will be a good player, but have us around 5-10th, depending on injuries. We could be dangerous in finals if squad is fit. Many home games will help.
If the core of our side is fit and playing close to their best … we could go all the way. However it would not take much for us to be under stress and reliant on young players in key roles. Especially our talls.
- Oct 14, 2012
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The usual…. TOP 4.
Short but 'sweet'
Kobe Gryant
'07, '09, '11, '22
Going by Mr Meow's guideline of just accounting for an 'average' amount of injuries, I have us 5-8th, although a slight dip or jump from that wouldn't surprise me.
It's a bit of a cop-out answer I know, but I think that's the reality we live in as we continue to transition our list.
I believe we're 12-24 months away from a real spike with a new core reaching their respective peaks as a unit, but in the mean time, there are some variables at play.
Can PFD, Stewart, & Cameron continue to provide elite football on a semi-regular basis?
The club has done a remarkable job transitioning away from the reliance on Selwood, Hawkins, Duncan, Smith, Guthrie, Tuohy, Rohan, & Bews within 24 months, and that can't be understated. With that being said, we still do rely heavily on the aforementioned three.
What does Bailey Smith bring?
My expectations are tempered, not because I don't rate him, more so that I don't believe it's fair to expect the world while he is still fresh off an ACL, while still being a relatively young player.
If he can recapture his 2021/22 form though, he'll be an enormous acquisition.
Can at least one of Bruhn, Clark, & Knevitt make the leap? Or can we squeeze one last season of great football out of Cam Guthrie?
Lets live in the dream world where Smith is as good as advertised for a second.
That would give us our one/two punch in the midfield of Holmes & Smith, which would be up there as one of the league's best.
From there on though, I still believe we need a third option to really compete with the best midfields in the competition.
As an example:
Neale - Dunkley - Ashcroft
Heeney - Warner - Gulden
Butters - Rozee - Horne-Francis
Serong - Brayshaw - Young
Rowell - Miller - Anderson
Smith - Holmes - ???????
All things being equal, our first two options hold up...but we need some certainty on the third.
It's unfair IMO to expect it to be Dangerfield at his age, likewise Guthrie although he could still surprise.
It leaves Clark, Bruhn, Knevitt, & potentially Dempsey if he transitions inside as the candidates for mine, and we just have to hope that at least one of them can make the leap to being a viable third option in the midfield.
What can we get out of Sam De Koning?
Both for himself and the club, De Koning needs a big year.
There should be more support in the midfield allowing him to zone off with more regularity, and the same applies to Jack Henry as well.
Can SDK rediscover the form that promised the trajectory of a 15 year superstar? Or will he continue to make that brilliant year appear to be the outlier in his career?
Especially in a contract year, I suspect we'll have our answer in 9 months time.
**************************
There are other variables of course.
What do Neale & Conway bring? Can Jack Martin surprise? Does Connor O'Sullivan make the leap two years earlier than expected? Can Mitch Edwards perform early? Things of that nature.
They're all definitely valid questions, and they could all have an effect in season 2025...but I expect they're going to be secondary to the bigger factors at hand.
It's a bit of a cop-out answer I know, but I think that's the reality we live in as we continue to transition our list.
I believe we're 12-24 months away from a real spike with a new core reaching their respective peaks as a unit, but in the mean time, there are some variables at play.
Can PFD, Stewart, & Cameron continue to provide elite football on a semi-regular basis?
The club has done a remarkable job transitioning away from the reliance on Selwood, Hawkins, Duncan, Smith, Guthrie, Tuohy, Rohan, & Bews within 24 months, and that can't be understated. With that being said, we still do rely heavily on the aforementioned three.
What does Bailey Smith bring?
My expectations are tempered, not because I don't rate him, more so that I don't believe it's fair to expect the world while he is still fresh off an ACL, while still being a relatively young player.
If he can recapture his 2021/22 form though, he'll be an enormous acquisition.
Can at least one of Bruhn, Clark, & Knevitt make the leap? Or can we squeeze one last season of great football out of Cam Guthrie?
Lets live in the dream world where Smith is as good as advertised for a second.
That would give us our one/two punch in the midfield of Holmes & Smith, which would be up there as one of the league's best.
From there on though, I still believe we need a third option to really compete with the best midfields in the competition.
As an example:
Neale - Dunkley - Ashcroft
Heeney - Warner - Gulden
Butters - Rozee - Horne-Francis
Serong - Brayshaw - Young
Rowell - Miller - Anderson
Smith - Holmes - ???????
All things being equal, our first two options hold up...but we need some certainty on the third.
It's unfair IMO to expect it to be Dangerfield at his age, likewise Guthrie although he could still surprise.
It leaves Clark, Bruhn, Knevitt, & potentially Dempsey if he transitions inside as the candidates for mine, and we just have to hope that at least one of them can make the leap to being a viable third option in the midfield.
What can we get out of Sam De Koning?
Both for himself and the club, De Koning needs a big year.
There should be more support in the midfield allowing him to zone off with more regularity, and the same applies to Jack Henry as well.
Can SDK rediscover the form that promised the trajectory of a 15 year superstar? Or will he continue to make that brilliant year appear to be the outlier in his career?
Especially in a contract year, I suspect we'll have our answer in 9 months time.
**************************
There are other variables of course.
What do Neale & Conway bring? Can Jack Martin surprise? Does Connor O'Sullivan make the leap two years earlier than expected? Can Mitch Edwards perform early? Things of that nature.
They're all definitely valid questions, and they could all have an effect in season 2025...but I expect they're going to be secondary to the bigger factors at hand.
Neale is going to be a drag on our forward line, too inconsistent and doesn't have the "it" factor. We are pretty good across most other positions except ruck.
It feels like each year we have a one in ten roll, to be fair.
Often, that said, dynasties come from nowhere. The league looked pretty weak until we started busting it open in 2007. Nobody saw Richmond coming.
Kobe Gryant
'07, '09, '11, '22
Even if Neale just didn't improve at all - which is unlikely - he'd still give us 35 goals across a full season, marks around the ground, and a secondary ruck option.
For a key forward who's literally played 20 games, that's a decent output I would have thought. Certainly worthy of a spot in the side.
In an ideal world, he does improve and elevates past that performance standard...but acting like he's just some passenger in the side is disingenuous.
Are you old enough to remember what Mooney looked like in 2000, Hawkins in 2010?
Young tall forwards always look like newborn foals in their first few years at the level unless they are freaks a la Riewoldt or Cameron.
Superb post.
Your position is actually one I took the past 3 years: "Should be 5th-8th, a slight spike above or below wouldn't be shocking". I guess that's unsurprising for a side that has consistently been good - but has had obvious flaws and sizeable veteran turnover each season.
So I guess me saying top 4 for 2025 is an indication of above average bullishness. I can certainly see merit in the more cynical perspectives and the areas that could see us struggle. But overall the upside looks more substantial unless our 3 remaining high calibre veterans really do fall off a cliff OR the rest of our list have a disappointingly stagnating year.
The unknown for me though really comes with other clubs because almost all of them have room for improvement and areas that could see them be elite teams. This is where predicting your own teams fortunes seems silly, as there are 17 other variables doing their own thing through an arduous 6 month period.
dazbroncos
Max Rooke Appreciation Society
- Oct 9, 2010
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Most of this..
Stay the same and go backwards.
Thus.. we need 2-3 kids to really push forward at least.. Dempsey, Holmes, Neale.. At a minimum and that to keep level with last year.
To go further.. Humphries, COS, Smith, Martin, Conway.. all need to get from bottom 6 to top 10-14 players. That will push us over the top.
Note - smith is there bc he hasn’t played with the group. He will push up and I think he’ll be a top 10 just starting slow ..
Go Catters
Guthrie i am confident is going to be a shadow of himself. You dont miss two seasons at that age and come back without losing some athletic attributes.
They will have to work out a role for him
- Nov 12, 2015
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I have no reason to suggest we won't improve and again push for a top 4 spot and possibly, luck allowing, push for the flag.
Aside injuries or insane drops in form from some key players (thinking Holmes, Stewart, Jezza all having career bad seasons), I just don't see how we aren't one of the 5/6 teams vying for top 4.
Cats goggles on, I think we are 1 of 4 teams most likely to win the Flag. Us, Lions, Pies, Orange Team.
Aside injuries or insane drops in form from some key players (thinking Holmes, Stewart, Jezza all having career bad seasons), I just don't see how we aren't one of the 5/6 teams vying for top 4.
Cats goggles on, I think we are 1 of 4 teams most likely to win the Flag. Us, Lions, Pies, Orange Team.
The Duncan half back role maybe. But people assume that position is easier than what it is. Finding plenty of the ball amd executing skills consistently as a veteran after two years basically on the sidelines is a hell of a challenge. But I see that being a better role for Cam than midfield, where I think he is done.
- Dec 11, 2009
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Yeah, I'm on record as saying that anything we get from Guthrie will be a bonus.
If we get lucky for a couple of seasons and Cam can come back injury free then he could fill a number of roles coz the guy is a multi-talented footballer with so much class. Sidebottom from Pies looked gone and came back strong with a new role. Blokes like Sidebottom and Cam are 'proud footballers' and that won't go down without a fight.
I agree with the class and the fight. Do you remember the first Carlton game at the G, where Cam returned? He picked up mid 20s disposals and used it pretty well from half back. Compare that to his midfield games where frankly, his reaction times and agility simply weren't up to par. Yes he could turn it around at stoppages but the odds are against him. Whereas a veteran half back role where he pinch hits on a wing? That very much could still suit his smarts and skills.
There's much merit in what you say MrMeow: and for memory he first started off as a young lad in the back pocket or half back flank and he was one of our best players in a final. I stand to be corrected but it was something like that, but the guy is such a good footballer with heaps of talent, he may surprise a few but not me..... coz as I say, he's one very proud footballer and that counts for a lot.
Lot of question marks, I don't really have a picture of what we're going to be trying to do come round 1. What our Ruck and KPD set up will look like. If Duncan and Guthrie will be a factor or not. How much Atkins, O'Connor, Knevitt and Clark will feature. I hope we don't read too much into our last half of that prelim final. I don't think what Brisbane showed is the way forward, it was a quirk of the moment.
My main concern is that we don't have enough kick and run outside players to fill out the 22 which will result in us either playing a few too many cooked vets or us being overally tall. Too many of our difference makers are on the wrong side of 32. We can't leave it all down to Holmes, we need a compliementry star.
On the postive side our squad depth extremely strong. We have more guys trying to fit into those last spots in the 22 then pretty much anyone. Should be good for our form. We have a bunch of good players who if they're runing around in the VFL will be a good indication that we're in a strong position.
My main concern is that we don't have enough kick and run outside players to fill out the 22 which will result in us either playing a few too many cooked vets or us being overally tall. Too many of our difference makers are on the wrong side of 32. We can't leave it all down to Holmes, we need a compliementry star.
On the postive side our squad depth extremely strong. We have more guys trying to fit into those last spots in the 22 then pretty much anyone. Should be good for our form. We have a bunch of good players who if they're runing around in the VFL will be a good indication that we're in a strong position.
That port adelaide final really glossed over alot of our deficiencies and issues. People tend to forget how mediocre a team we looked for large parts of the season, including some whopper beltings of 10+ goals.
We timed our run very well to give ourselves a shot. But jeez we looked very ordinary at times...
We still beat Freo, Port, Hawthorn, Essendon (when they were top 4), Collingwood (when their season was basically on the line), Carlton and the Bulldogs (neutral) away from home.
Basically the team had a great start, strong finish (with the odd hiccup) and a challenging period in the middle. Then a forgettable prelim second half. We weren't a dominant team but were largely competitive, with 16 wins in the end.
