Oppo Camp Non Geelong football (AFL) discussion 2024, Part 2

[Cataholic]

He was dropped late in the year for 3 weeks. But yeah he becomes more important with no Houston or Farrell.

No Houston no Farrell and now no Burton stretches them.

 

[Gunf]

I expect Port to be beaten down again and lose by 50+ if they don't i will be surprised

 

[Munich]

I thought they were clinical in the way they dismantled the Dogs.....

But then the loss of Frost and Mackenzie creates some forced changes which will unsettle them just that little bit.

On the flip side, you'd expect Port to be fired up after their debacle last week, and the comment by Ginnivan this week.

But it's Port??

I expect the Hawks will go hard at Butters too, and if his ribs don't hold up, and JHF, Rozee etc yet again fail to fire a shot they're going to be in trouble. Give Hawthorn a sniff if blood and they'll pounce.

Nevertheless, hope springs eternal so I'm on the Port train nonetheless.

That first half was deplorable by both sides. Hawks looked better in the 2nd half but I wouldn't say they dismantled anybody.

Dogs just did not turn up at all.

Agree they will def target Butters early. That's if he even plays but I guess they will roll the dice?

 

[Cat Pummins]

I read this morning on Fox Sports that Port are considering swapping McEntee for Marshall, and keeping Dixon in the team! Surely not?

 

[Footy Smarts]

I read this morning on Fox Sports that Port are considering swapping McEntee for Marshall, and keeping Dixon in the team! Surely not?

4 key forwards with only Georgiadis in decent form would be quite the move. Maybe they move Esava down back.

 

[Cat Pummins]

4 key forwards with only Georgiadis in decent form would be quite the move. Maybe they move Esava down back.

You'd certainly want those big boys clunking AND converting. Look what happened last week to the Dogs once the ball hit the deck. I would've thought McEntee would be handy with the Hawks' small forwards.

 

[Cataholic]

That first half was deplorable by both sides. Hawks looked better in the 2nd half but I wouldn't say they dismantled anybody.

Dogs just did not turn up at all.

Agree they will def target Butters early. That's if he even plays but I guess they will roll the dice?

You make some good points.

On reflection I remember watching the first half and thinking I'd be confident against either side.

By 'dismantled' I probably got carried away with how easily Hawthorn won, without weighting it against the fact the Dogs just didn't turn up.


Port will be better prepared this week, but Burton out hurts.

They've already said Butters will play, and will have him jabbed up, but I also have no doubt the Hawks will target them at every opportunity.

 

[OzeSparky]

That first half was deplorable by both sides. Hawks looked better in the 2nd half but I wouldn't say they dismantled anybody.

Dogs just did not turn up at all.

Agree they will def target Butters early. That's if he even plays but I guess they will roll the dice?

Was a crap game to watch for a final.

 

[Hinkley29]

You'd certainly want those big boys clunking AND converting. Look what happened last week to the Dogs once the ball hit the deck. I would've thought McEntee would be handy with the Hawks' small forwards.

Mcentee is a bit of a spud.

I reckon Scott and the match committee baited port into playing him because he did the job against Stewart earlier in the year.

In other words - we knew Stewart was not going to play, but chose him in the team because that would force port to pick mcentee. Then have Stewart as a late out, mcentee stays in the team to spud it up without a suitable role in the game.

I will be shocked if port roll Dixon out there this week. That bloke is done with a capital D.

 

[My Tilly]

People are expecting Hawthorn to have a let down. I thought the Dogs experience would prove to much last week but when you watched that game, it's not about the players but the system in which Hawthorn have embraced. This makes them one of the most dangerous teams to face.
They are like us. We can drop a star player and bring in someone from the VFL and you know they will play the role needed.

Port Adelaide's reliance on indivdual players is probably the most extreme of any side in the current finals. Them and Sydney rely on those 3-4 players like no other.

 

[Hinkley29]

I've held the same opinion that the Hawks will wilt under pressure but unfortunately I'm still waiting for it to happen

This is the week.

Port this season have tended to respond well after they have a setback.

I think it will happen, unless we completely broke them which i admit is a decent possibility.

 

[Footy Smarts]

People are expecting Hawthorn to have a let down. I thought the Dogs experience would prove to much last week but when you watched that game, it's not about the players but the system in which Hawthorn have embraced. This makes them one of the most dangerous teams to face.
They are like us. We can drop a star player and bring in someone from the VFL and you know they will play the role needed.

Port Adelaide's reliance on indivdual players is probably the most extreme of any side in the current finals. Them and Sydney rely on those 3-4 players like no other.

When you're a system based team and you're playing a team reliant on individual talent it helps when their best player and arguably the best player in the comp (Bont) has perhaps his worst ever game.

 

[My Tilly]

When you're a system based team and you're playing a team reliant on individual talent it helps when their best player and arguably the best player in the comp (Bont) has perhaps his worst ever game.

Even if he played a brilliant match, Hawthorn completely owned them in all assets of the game.
They have a system which handles finals intensity.

Not sure they get by Sydney but they should be too fit and good for Port Adelaide who are just absolute trash at this stage of the year.

 

[Tony Barber]

Phil Ward just said on SEN that Port's midfield versus Geelong's midfield was like a Ferrari versus a Datsun, and the Datsun won. I was gobsmacked. Geelong's midfield is hardly a Datsun. Even that guy, Horne for Champion Data, has said this belief that Geelong's midfield is not up to the standard of the other finalists is crap. Paddy and now Max are A graders, and Geelong is the best side in the league according to the stats at playing chaos football. The way the media continues to underestimate Geelong is hilarious.

On the weekend I did something unusual and read opposition board game day threads for our game.
Someone said it well.

Gee this Geelong team is so good. And I still cant tell you what their midfield is.

 

[My Tilly]

On the weekend I did something unusual and read opposition board game day threads for our game.
Someone said it well.

Gee this Geelong team is so good. And I still cant tell you what their midfield is.

I liked this exchange and the follow up by nuffie

 

[Gunf]

I liked this exchange and the follow up by nuffie

View attachment 2108485

Hinkley deserves a huge part of the blame for Ports finals failures but so do the players... I mean who turned up against us last week?

Bergman and JHF? anyone else? not really

 

[My Tilly]

Hinkley deserves a huge part of the blame for Ports finals failures but so do the players... I mean who turned up against us last week?

Bergman and JHF? anyone else? not really

In the final two games of the 2022 season, Geelong played to a level no other team could match. We witnessed that same level of performance for two and a bit quarters against West Coast and then so again last week.

When Geelong are playing their best footy, it's the best in the competition.

 

[Footy Smarts]

I liked this exchange and the follow up by nuffie

View attachment 2108485

It's weird how much our form going into finals is being questioned.

We went 7-2 leading into finals. The 2 losses were in conditions we won't see in finals that clearly favoured our opponents. We were clearly the better team in all 7 wins.

Seems like decent form?

 

[supahoops]

If I were Kenny I'd have Ginnivan's latest post plastered all over their change room walls.

If that doesn't motivate them nothing will.

If getting their arse handed to them on a plate by us doesn’t motivate them enough to bounce back they really are in trouble.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Garry Lyon and his premiership window. Won the flag 19 of the last 19 years. Top 6 in both defense and attack. If you’re not in that window you don’t win the cup.
Currently pre finals only Dogs, Brisbane and hawthorn are in the window. All 5-8 teams….
I have swans in a GF , yet I think Brisbane are the best team, but from 5th will be a tough journey to even make the GF.
Interesting season. Up for grabs!

I think the Window is a solid metric and indicator of likely success but this season may be an outlier.
2024 has had many ups and downs for every team - Scott has always said to win the Flag you need to be playing your best footy at the right time.
The Window is a measure across the whole season - it may be better to track it in say 6 week blocks rather than average it over 24 weeks.
We had a long period where our midfield was shite and we leaked big scores - that is not today's Geelong as Hoyne rightly points out.
I suspect we would be in the Window if we measured it over the last 6 weeks of H&A plus the QF win......

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Geelong over Collingwood in 2011

Difficult for the rest of the league, piece of cake for the Catters

Phenomenal year for the Cats - all conquering Pies only had 3 defeats for the season - ALL of them by US !!

 

[Gunf]

I think the Window is a solid metric and indicator of likely success but this season may be an outlier.
2024 has had many ups and downs for every team - Scott has always said to win the Flag you need to be playing your best footy at the right time.
The Window is a measure across the whole season - it may be better to track it in say 6 week blocks rather than average it over 24 weeks.
We had a long period where our midfield was shite and we leaked big scores - that is not today's Geelong as Hoyne rightly points out.
I suspect we would be in the Window if we measured it over the last 6 weeks of H&A plus the QF win......

Scott has also always said it isn't who you play it is when you play them.

In the middle of the year some teams got us at our absolute worst just like Hawks were absolute shit at the start going 0-5.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

I read what Malcolm Blight said re Port after that big final loss - what they have to do

He said if you have a bad loss - particularly a final , then you have to make changes to get a bit of enthusiam back into the group

Thus Dixon has to be 1st out , he can barely move , if Hinkley picks him then it is soul destroying . I have watched a fair bit of Port the last 6 weeks , and Sav has been deadset useless , so he is the 2nd one you throw over the fence . Thus youve got rid of 2 total liabilities . When they beat Syd by over 100 , which i watched , i am allmost certain Lord played, and he moved nicely and played ok , so he comes in and so does Marshall

Id put Bergman ( who is a very good player ) on the ball with JHF , where as Rozee and Butters were like boys against men last week

Can they improve in the ruck , Rhys just kept pushing that bloke out of the way last week , Soldo wouldnt have been as bad as that bloke

I hope they absolutely thump Haw , however their confidence would be a bit shattered thus they need a good start

 

[goyoucatters]

It's weird how much our form going into finals is being questioned.

We went 7-2 leading into finals. The 2 losses were in conditions we won't see in finals that clearly favoured our opponents. We were clearly the better team in all 7 wins.

Seems like decent form?

I don't really disagree. But it's also fair to talk about just which teams we beat in that stretch.

One team that went on to make finals (Hawks).
Three of the bottom four (Crows, Eagles and Roos).
One team that lost their last four games (Dockers).
One team that won one out of their last seven games (Bombers).

It's hardly startling form when you objectively consider the opposition we faced. And it was certainly no great warning sign of what was to come from us in the QF. So I'm as delighted as anyone with what the boys produced against the Power. But you could hardly say it was massively in keeping with what we'd been offering in the two months previous to that. For the most part, it was an entirely different level from how we had been playing.

It is therefore going to be genuinely fascinating to see whether we can sustain that for two more games. If we can, we are a real chance to jag one of the most unlikely flags I have ever witnessed in my life. Because I didn't see much at all in the seven wins preceding the finals to suggest we were primed for a real assault on the premiership when we reached the pointy end.

 

[Footy Smarts]

We were only the 10th best team for points against over the home and away season averaging 83.8 points against.

But in the last 10 games we've averaged 73.4 points against.

That's less points per game than the best team over the season (the dogs averaging 75.5 points conceded). So we're clearly doing something right defensively.