Preview Rd 1 Geelong V StKilda Sat 16th Mar 2024 730pm @ GMHBA

[catempire]

A game against a comparable side... we win if we are a legit chance this year . Lose and it already starts to get a little harder.

I’ll be disappointed if we are comparable to St Kilda. Along with Carlton the biggest risk to slide in 2024 IMO.

 

[cats_09]

Seems a good spot,

 

[winty]

Guess this is as good a place as any to put this.

 

[Turbocat]

I’ll be disappointed if we are comparable to St Kilda. Along with Carlton the biggest risk to slide in 2024 IMO.

You are usually insightful ... what is your reasoning about StK and Carlton. Any particular reason?

I feel we have to beat sides like Stk at home. Last year losing to Giants , Dockers and Dogs at home had a lot do with where we finished.

 

[Turbocat]

Seems a good spot,

what about Friday... was something happening for the VFL?

 

[CatToTheFuture]

what about Friday... was something happening for the VFL?

Deakin 6:30 vs Werribee but some saying it's vfl listed only

 

[catempire]

You are usually insightful ... what is your reasoning about StK and Carlton. Any particular reason?

I feel we have to beat sides like Stk at home. Last year losing to Giants , Dockers and Dogs at home had a lot do with where we finished.

Oh 100% agree we have to be winning this game if we are serious. But that’s because you have to be beating all teams beneath you if you are serious.

Carlton squeaked into finals and arsed two finals wins. They are a decent enough side with excellent top line talent but have huge holes in their lineup still. People talking them about being a premiership threat is fanciful IMO.

St Kilda have proven nothing. Just made the finals last year and were terrible in a home final against GWS. Again, huge holes in their line up. Absolutely no Fear Factor (HT: CatToTheFuture).

 

[Phipppppa]

Seems a good spot,

about time!

 

[cats_09]

about time!

Open training or able to access the stand?

They had open training sessions during the school holidays, and this one is on the Labour Day public holiday - they don't tend to hold open training sessions at KP during a standard week, and work best when kids aren't at school

 

[Phipppppa]

Open training or able to access the stand?

They had open training sessions during the school holidays, and this one is on the Labour Day public holiday - they don't tend to hold open training sessions at KP during a standard week, and work best when kids aren't at school

open training, when was the sessions during the school holidays??

 

[cats_09]

open training, when was the sessions during the school holidays??

January

 

[Phipppppa]

January

not at gmhba right? mustve missed that

 

[cats_09]

not at gmhba right? mustve missed that

Over summer Deakin always seems the best option to watch an actual training session

I've generally stopped paying attention to the open training sessions as they're often late notice & I'm working

 

[numbwombat]

AFL have done a lot of dumb things over the years but starting the season with byes for over half the league has gotta be up there

 

[kickazz]

Hopefully we get more than five free kicks for the game this time

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Oh 100% agree we have to be winning this game if we are serious. But that’s because you have to be beating all teams beneath you if you are serious.

Carlton squeaked into finals and arsed two finals wins. They are a decent enough side with excellent top line talent but have huge holes in their lineup still. People talking them about being a premiership threat is fanciful IMO.

St Kilda have proven nothing. Just made the finals last year and were terrible in a home final against GWS. Again, huge holes in their line up. Absolutely no Fear Factor (HT: CatToTheFuture).

Agree, and both sides where the antithesis of each other last year IMO.

Saints rode a hot start where they did actually look legit, but nobody really bought in because premierships aren't won in April.

5-0 start, and ran the Pies right to the end while still missing some key pieces of their side.

They where bang average for the remainder of the season though, and when you watched them, they weren't exactly striking fear into anybody.

Carlton where the opposite. Horror start, and then got on this incredible run seemingly out of nowhere.

Neither side has proven they can maintain a premiership standard (or even a finals standard really) for the bulk of a season, and that's where the concerns are for mine.

Neither of them (particularly Carlton) are young enough to think they're just going to continue on an upwards trajectory either.

Guys like Philipou, Owens, Windhager etc look to have big futures...but they're still heavily reliant on Steele, Sinclair, & Marshall, who are quickly approaching 30.

They're a bit like us in the respect that their youth is probably 2-3 years away from being able to carry them, and the older players are getting towards the end.

 

[nohairandfair]

Pretty hard to gauge what the initial lineup will be. It seems they were holding back a bit in the last practice match to give the Saints as little to analyze as possible (particularly stoppages).

Not my preferred lineup, just a crack at the meat tray:

B: Jake Kolodjashnij

8

Jake Kolodjashnij

Age

29

Ht

193cm

Wt

100kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.4

3star

K

6.9

3star

HB

5.6

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

148.5

2star

D

10.6

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

3.6

2star

M

4.6

4star

T

1.2

2star

MG

115.6

2star

D

11.8

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

6.4

4star

M

2.6

3star

T

3.2

5star

MG

69.4

1star

, Sam De Koning, Zach Guthrie

39

Zach Guthrie

Age

26

Ht

188cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.0

3star

K

5.8

2star

HB

5.2

4star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.8

4star

MG

90.0

1star

D

7.0

1star

K

4.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.0

2star

MG

90.0

2star

D

10.4

3star

K

3.8

2star

HB

6.6

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.6

4star

HB: Tom Stewart, Jack Henry

38

Jack Henry

Age

26

Ht

192cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.3

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

2.9

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

MG

142.6

2star

D

8.6

2star

K

6.7

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.1

3star

MG

142.6

3star

D

9.6

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

2.6

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

2.0

4star

, Max Holmes
C: Mark Blicavs

46

Mark Blicavs

Age

33

Ht

198cm

Wt

101kg

Pos.

M/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.5

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

4.1

4star

T

4.2

5star

CL

1.7

4star

D

11.1

3star

K

7.1

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

3.9

4star

T

1.9

3star

CL

0.1

2star

D

8.6

3star

K

2.0

1star

HB

6.6

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

1.6

4star

CL

2.0

4star

, Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan
HF: Gryan Miers

32

Gryan Miers

Age

25

Ht

179cm

Wt

81kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.4

4star

K

9.1

4star

HB

6.3

4star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

15.3

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

6.3

4star

M

4.6

4star

T

1.6

3star

G

0.9

4star

D

14.4

4star

K

8.4

4star

HB

6.0

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.2

4star

, Jeremy Cameron

5

Jeremy Cameron

Age

31

Ht

196cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.5

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

5.4

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.6

5star

D

10.0

3star

K

7.1

3star

HB

2.9

2star

M

4.6

4star

T

2.0

3star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.2

3star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.4

4star

G

2.0

5star

, Tyson Stengle

18

Tyson Stengle

Age

26

Ht

175cm

Wt

71kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.3

2star

K

5.8

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

10.3

3star

K

5.3

2star

HB

5.0

3star

M

1.3

1star

T

2.0

3star

G

0.5

4star

D

8.8

3star

K

5.6

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.6

4star

G

1.6

5star

F: Brad Close, Tom Hawkins

26

Tom Hawkins

Age

36

Ht

197cm

Wt

105kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.2

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.4

3star

M

5.5

5star

T

1.9

4star

G

2.1

5star

D

12.7

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

4.1

3star

M

5.1

5star

T

2.1

3star

G

1.6

5star

D

7.8

2star

K

5.6

3star

HB

2.2

2star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.0

3star

G

2.2

5star

, Ollie Henry

Foll: Rhys Stanley

1

Rhys Stanley

Age

34

Ht

200cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.6

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

6.4

4star

CL

3.4

5star

HO

27.6

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

7.5

3star

HB

4.5

3star

CL

5.0

5star

HO

21.5

5star

D

11.8

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

6.4

4star

CL

3.0

5star

HO

33.0

5star

, Tom Atkins

30

Tom Atkins

Age

29

Ht

180cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.5

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

6.5

4star

M

1.4

2star

T

4.3

5star

MG

123.5

2star

D

6.5

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.5

2star

M

0.8

1star

T

1.5

2star

MG

100.0

2star

D

11.6

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

6.6

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

4.8

5star

MG

130.0

3star

, Tanner Bruhn

I/C: Jack Bowes

12

Jack Bowes

Age

26

Ht

189cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.3

4star

K

9.7

4star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.5

4star

MG

318.1

4star

D

18.0

4star

K

11.8

5star

HB

6.3

4star

M

5.4

5star

T

1.1

2star

MG

318.1

4star

D

11.6

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

5.2

4star

M

2.8

3star

T

2.4

4star

, Jhye Clark, Zac Tuohy, Mark O'Connor

42

Mark O'connor

Age

27

Ht

189cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

8.1

3star

HB

5.1

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

2.3

4star

MG

174.8

3star

D

12.4

3star

K

8.9

4star

HB

3.5

2star

M

4.5

4star

T

1.6

3star

MG

199.8

3star

D

10.4

3star

K

4.8

2star

HB

5.6

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

67.4

1star

, Ollie Dempsey (sub)

EMG: Shaun Mannagh, Jed Bews

24

Jed Bews

Age

31

Ht

186cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.9

3star

K

6.1

2star

HB

4.8

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.6

4star

MG

178.2

3star

D

9.5

2star

K

7.5

3star

HB

2.0

1star

M

2.3

2star

T

1.7

3star

MG

205.8

3star

D

8.8

3star

K

3.8

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

3.2

5star

, Shannon Neale

 

[4quarter_cat]

... but what?

 

[Mr Meow]

... but what?

...but if we win, the premiership is ours.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

...but if we win, the premiership is ours.

Will the real Geelong please stand up ??

Will we have the 16 game in a row 2022 juggernaut?
Will we have the self satisfied , poorly prepared and banged up fat Cats of 2023?
Will the 2024 version be somewhere in the middle?

 

[4quarter_cat]

...but if we win, the premiership is ours.

Would love to see another Cats V Saints GF. So long as we pound any team coached by Ross into the mud.

 

[jwint43]

Agree, and both sides where the antithesis of each other last year IMO.

Saints rode a hot start where they did actually look legit, but nobody really bought in because premierships aren't won in April.

5-0 start, and ran the Pies right to the end while still missing some key pieces of their side.

They where bang average for the remainder of the season though, and when you watched them, they weren't exactly striking fear into anybody.

Carlton where the opposite. Horror start, and then got on this incredible run seemingly out of nowhere.

Neither side has proven they can maintain a premiership standard (or even a finals standard really) for the bulk of a season, and that's where the concerns are for mine.

Neither of them (particularly Carlton) are young enough to think they're just going to continue on an upwards trajectory either.

Guys like Philipou, Owens, Windhager etc look to have big futures...but they're still heavily reliant on Steele, Sinclair, & Marshall, who are quickly approaching 30.

They're a bit like us in the respect that their youth is probably 2-3 years away from being able to carry them, and the older players are getting towards the end.

I get your point, and agree that a solid chunk of our older players are creeping up towards 30 which is concerning.

But our oldest best 22 player is 30. You guys have 11 players over 30 who are all in your best 22. Not quite the same.

Edit: No disrespect meant, and I get we are talking about one team that has won a flag 2 seasons ago vs another team that's had 1 finals win in 13 years

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I get your point, and agree that a solid chunk of our older players are creeping up towards 30 which is concerning.

But our oldest best 22 player is 30. You guys have 11 players over 30 who are all in your best 22. Not quite the same.

Edit: No disrespect meant, and I get we are talking about one team that has won a flag 2 seasons ago vs another team that's had 1 finals win in 13 years

We have that many in the list by I thin you give there's maybe 8 best 22 and only about 4 of those are can't live without types

 

[candiehappy]

Would love to see another Cats V Saints GF. So long as we pound any team coached by Ross into the mud.

I still can't believe that they took him back after the way he walked out on him.

 

[Braklet]

All good, I am only teasing.

I need to spend more time here on something other than Sweet FA...