Unofficial Preview RD 13 - Bye week and 2023 season assessment thus far.

[dazbroncos]

It s a bye week and we have to have a place to crap on about stuff so it might as well be here.

Keep the Port game discussion on ice for now... they'll be a thread for that mid week or so.

But so far 6-6 after just a moutain of injuries and poor form.

Not where we'd like to be but at the turn we're likely to get players back and we'll need them all for the run home.

Anything is possible but with the hardest run home schedule per AFL website, granted several at home, its gonna be interesting to see how it goes.

The Gold logo on the chest means we are still the hunted each week and they will come for us.

Making the 8 has to be the bottm line goal now - how far into the 8 we can get is the question. Not many would want to face us with a fit 23 to choose from.

GO Catters

 

[catempire]

An interesting question - one that is somewhat unanswerable - is how much of our woes have been down to injury and how much have we been “worked out” or at least “worked on”?

It’s surely a little of column A and a little of column B.

It feels like we have been a lot easier to score against. The team defence has never really had continuity. Opposition seem to find holes in it very easily.

Will that improve with a stronger midfield allowing less ball in? Or is it more about the method and the quality going into our D50?

 

[fpm84]

It feels like we have been a lot easier to score against. The team defence has never really had continuity. Opposition seem to find holes in it very easily.

Will that improve with a stronger midfield allowing less ball in? Or is it more about the method and the quality going into our D50?

Very interesting questions and ones that we won’t know the answer to for a while.

I thought it was very telling that Saturday night was the first time all season our premiership back six had played together.

The lack of continuity has been shocking for them. J Henry missing months, Kolo and SDK missing multiple weeks, Stewart essentially missing the first two games, and I’m certain that Tuohy has played through a back injury due to our extensive injury list.

I feel like they started to get their mojo back in the second half v Bulldogs. Stewart was close to BOG, Kolo played his best half of the season and SDK beat Naughton in some big one on ones (I read this morning it was Naughton’s worst game of the year stats wise - 7 touches, one goal).

Still a long way to go but keeping our good players on the park is the first step and the Dogs game was a positive step in that regard.

 

[you pick one]

Went into this season reasonably confident we'd be there come the last week of September but concerned for the following few years I now feel less hopeful come September but more hopeful of the future the cliff I thought that was coming is now looking more like a little gutter as the club again looks to defy the AFL system and is well into regenerating on the run.

 

[bulletproof]

Highlights for me.

Esava, Knevitt, Mullin - 3 unexpected bonuses.

The low lights, Neale and Clark injuries and the loss to Carlton (that felt poor on the night and feels worse now given we were close to full strength then).

7-5 would have had us right in it.

 

[allrighty]

I've got us firmly in the 8 on yesterday's ladder predictor, with a couple of surprise losses as well.

IF we get in and IF we are fit we will give it a shake.

Woods and Dees ahead of us so far, if not Port as well.

 

[D BRIDGE]

We have had one of the easiest draws you could ever hope for but injuries have just ravaged us.

We are very reliant on an in-form Dangerfield.

Things will get harder from an opposition perspective but I guess "the big hope" is we get most of our guys back and catch fire.


Beaten just about nobody

• WCE - a gimme for any 22/23 players
• Hawks - a gimme at the time
• Syd - they are terrible this year and we got them at GMHBA with their entire backline out
• Dons - they are average at best and we got them off a 5-day break
• Adel - another ave team we got at GMHBA and well below ave when outside SA
• Dogs - got them coming back from Darwin and needed them to kick like me to win

Lost to a bunch of teams that are going nowhere this year.

• Carl - not in the 8
• Suns - not in the 8
• Tigers - not in the 8
• Freo - not in the 8
• GWS - not in the 8
• Pies - honestly us being 20 points up on them in R1 was prob the best footy we have played all year.

 

[standupand]

I'm not generally an overly optimistic person in general but I don't get the gloom about being 6-6 when the team is barely out of 2nd gear.

This is a team that has a quiet confidence about it that it has the competition covered and like a middle distance runner, just doing enough to stay with the pack as we turn the corner.

The "injuries" to the A graders, I think, has just been careful management. We need to get games into the younger guys and have the best players primed for September. And one of the other things is it's given Sav a chance to show everyone what he's got as a defender. The club owed that to him after blocking his move last year.

The challengers this year are far from intimidating. Collingwood are playing a strong system but which I think still relies on bringing the pressure. Is it sustainable? I see them being like we were a few years ago when it comes to the pointy end. We'll see. Brisbane's back 6 is shaky and forwardline still relies too much on Cameron. Melbourne don't look to have the answers anymore against the good sides, but could pull it together late? Port.. well, before the season I predicted they could be the surprise packet and it's looking that way. They're a danger because you get a sense that they are actually building momentum and have players that are just realising their potential. Where they may fall short is their depth. Their bottom 6 still looks a bit thin to me to get it done in a cutthroat final.

Anyway, bring it on I say. This premiership team, like Scott said, is grounded. It knows what it can do; know what it needs to do. I'm excited about what the second half of the season holds in store.

 

[Footy Smarts]

The most disappointing thing has been losing 3 close games when we were undermanned and struggling to teams I think we're clearly better than.

Gold Coast and Freo away are tough trips and Collingwood is clearly a good team. But Richmond, Carlton and GWS at home are 3 losses that could really sting in the back half of the year.

 

[goyoucatters]

The most disappointing thing has been losing 3 close games when we were undermanned and struggling to teams I think we're clearly better than.

Gold Coast and Freo away are tough trips and Collingwood is clearly a good team. But Richmond, Carlton and GWS at home are 3 losses that could really sting in the back half of the year.

Agree with you here. And the GWS loss, in particular, was absolutely galling. Turn up with a mindset to hunt, and we win that game, for sure. As it is, we only lost (though we deserved to go down) because we couldn't capitalise on the scoreboard once we finally decided to put in.

A very ordinary and rather insipid performance overall, that could be quite costly as we get closer to the pointy end.

 

[StonedCat]

This is the round we usually lose ? /s

 

[goyoucatters]

I thought it was very telling that Saturday night was the first time all season our premiership back six had played together.

It could absolutely be wishful thinking on my behalf. But I'm certainly hopeful (and actually somewhat confident) that this could make a big difference to our fortunes defensively from here.

Getting some parity in midfield will be very important as well. But just moving back towards some cohesion in the defensive group will ideally make a significant difference to how we both prevent (easy) scores and also transition the ball from our D50.

If the premiership defensive group gets back to true 'fit and firing' status, I think we're a seriously different proposition.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Agree with you here. And the GWS loss, in particular, was absolutely galling. Turn up with a mindset to hunt, and we win that game, for sure. As it is, we only lost (though we deserved to go down) because we couldn't capitalise on the scoreboard once we finally decided to put in.

A very ordinary and rather insipid performance overall, that could be quite costly as we get closer to the pointy end.

Spot on and I think the Coach totally agreed with you as well - hence the comments during the week of playing like the reigning Premier.
We have a tough draw coming up but if we're good enough it may be the making of this season - still the losses to GC, Blues, GWS and even the Dockers ( beatable that day IMO) hasn't made it easy for us.
Can't afford any slip ups now.......................

 

[goyoucatters]

Spot on and I think the Coach totally agreed with you as well - hence the comments during the week of playing like the reigning Premier.

Absolutely agree. It was so out of character from the coach, which made it seem like the next best thing to him having lost his marbles at how we dropped that game, purely through a timid and reactive approach for almost three entire quarters of the match.

So I took it to be a positive sign that the players reacted with a far more committed performance against the Dogs. Sure, we still weren't shooting the lights out. But, when it was there to be won, I saw a whole bunch of players (young and old) standing up and contesting like their footy futures depended on it. That and better (in terms of consistent effort) will be required if we're going to climb the ladder and give ourselves a shot at glory in 2023.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

It's about getting the band back together in time - by that I mean the midfield of course.
I'm biased but we are the best or close to it at scoring with devastation when we get the ball into F50 on our terms.
We have dangerous forwards and great delivery when we're on.
When our mids are up and running the system is complete - the backs get to defend pressured delivery and our forwards get to feast on quality ball.

I think last years system with a few new faces will do some real damage , get the feeling we know that to as we're loading up on new mids - Bruhn , Bowes, Knevitt, Clark , Willis , Whyte, Hardie , Clohesy and possibly Mullin. If a couple of those become A Graders we become less reliant on Danger , Cuthrie , Atkins and Blitz - much like Port have done with their new group.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

We still have a good side, and the good thing is we have seen some promising performances from our up-and-comers: O. Henry, Bowes, Bruhn, Knevitt, Dempsey, Sav, & Mullin. But they have also been inconsistent and have made the clangers you see inexperienced players sometimes make. That's something you see in rebuilding clubs and not usually Geelong, but it just shows the extent of our injuries.

Take the best midfielders out of any side, and that team will struggle. It shows in how our defense has been leaky because the quality of the midfield support is just not there. Take Atkins. He is best for us when he's the third or fourth-best mid because he hasn't got the opposition's best players on him. That gives him the chance to play to his strengths. When he's our first mid, then it's much harder for him to shine trying to get around the opposition's best players. The same could be said for Parfitt too.

I liked the experiment with SDK & Blicavs sharing the ruck until Sam got injured. I could see SDK becoming the next Blicavs. But Scotty & Co. have been throwing the magnets around this season. I'm unsure if they see this as a chance to see what players can do in different positions or if they have been desperate to find a winning formula with so many injured players on the sidelines. I think desperation has played a greater role.

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

has been playing beautifully, and why he isn't in AA talk is beyond me. Tom Stewart has also had an amazing 12 games. Isaac Smith

7

Isaac Smith

Age

35

Ht

188cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.3

5star

K

13.0

5star

HB

8.4

5star

M

5.5

5star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.7

4star

D

19.4

4star

K

11.1

4star

HB

8.3

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.5

3star

CL

1.3

4star

D

19.2

5star

K

10.6

4star

HB

8.6

5star

M

7.6

5star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.6

3star

is in his last year, for sure.

After the bye, we get Paddy, Duncan, and Holmes back, and once they have played into some form, I don't see Geelong going down without a fight. Our best team playing well can beat anyone, IMO.

 

[bombersboy]

Highlights for me.

Esava, Knevitt, Mullin - 3 unexpected bonuses.

The low lights, Neale and Clark injuries and the loss to Carlton (that felt poor on the night and feels worse now given we were close to full strength then).

7-5 would have had us right in it.

We were seriously underdone in round 2 and backline missing Stewart, Kolo and Jack Henry. Then SDK copped a couple of seriously heavy knocks. How can you say we were close to full strength?

 

[Seeds]

We still have a good side, and the good thing is we have seen some promising performances from our up-and-comers: O. Henry, Bowes, Bruhn, Knevitt, Dempsey, Sav, & Mullin. But they have also been inconsistent and have made the clangers you see inexperienced players sometimes make. That's something you see in rebuilding clubs and not usually Geelong, but it just shows the extent of our injuries.

Take the best midfielders out of any side, and that team will struggle. It shows in how our defense has been leaky because the quality of the midfield support is just not there. Take Atkins. He is best for us when he's the third or fourth-best mid because he hasn't got the opposition's best players on him. That gives him the chance to play to his strengths. When he's our first mid, then it's much harder for him to shine trying to get around the opposition's best players. The same could be said for Parfitt too.

I liked the experiment with SDK & Blicavs sharing the ruck until Sam got injured. I could see SDK becoming the next Blicavs. But Scotty & Co. have been throwing the magnets around this season. I'm unsure if they see this as a chance to see what players can do in different positions or if they have been desperate to find a winning formula with so many injured players on the sidelines. I think desperation has played a greater role.

Gryan Miers has been playing beautifully, and why he isn't in AA talk is beyond me. Tom Stewart has also had an amazing 12 games. Isaac Smith is in his last year, for sure.

After the bye, we get Paddy, Duncan, and Holmes back, and once they have played into some form, I don't see Geelong going down without a fight. Our best team playing well can beat anyone, IMO.

Gryan miers has been great. But all australian???

 

[_Game_]

Still think we are the best team when fully fit/available. The question is are we ever going to be fully fit this year?

 

[RegHickeyStand]

Last season Danger was out for 5-6 weeks. Whatever he did during that time, he came back into the side in white hot form and stayed that way. This season we don't have one top player out for a big spell, but several. And they are all coming back. Plus we have blooded some very good young players while they were out. I like how this team is looking, going forward.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

It's about getting the band back together in time - by that I mean the midfield of course.
I'm biased but we are the best or close to it at scoring with devastation when we get the ball into F50 on our terms.
We have dangerous forwards and great delivery when we're on.
When our mids are up and running the system is complete - the backs get to defend pressured delivery and our forwards get to feast on quality ball.

I think last years system with a few new faces will do some real damage , get the feeling we know that to as we're loading up on new mids - Bruhn , Bowes, Knevitt, Clark , Willis , Whyte, Hardie , Clohesy and possibly Mullin. If a couple of those become A Graders we become less reliant on Danger , Cuthrie , Atkins and Blitz - much like Port have done with their new group.

Totally agree - and when Dangerfield last played a full game - it was Geelong 38 v Essendon no score

I think it is a very even comp - and i think because of that fact - some posters are underestimating some teams - like Rich is still a dangerous opponent - ive watched a bit of GWS - they can play good football on their day - Ess beat Melb in SA ( neutral ground ) by 6 goals - yet Melb are the 2nd or 3rd best team . Freo beat us by 5 goals - we beat WB by 4 goals yet WB flogged Freo in Perth by about 8 goals - work that out

Geel get their best players back and are humming coming into the finals - they are going to be hard to beat

Im totally relaxed about it - because Geel are reigning premiers - not sounding greedy - however this is the 17th year Geel have been up ie 2007-2023 - i reckon 5 flags in 17 years is spot on the correct Totalizator odds - i reckon 4 flags ( as goods as it is ) is just still 1 flag short - thats why id love the Cats to win it this year - 5 Flags in 17 years - Perfect

 

[CHAWKTS]

This is the round we usually lose ? /s

Not when we win the premiership! Well last years anyway!!

 

[STPer18]

If DANGERFIELD can stay fit and in form we're not out of it yet.

 

[Hamingja]

We were seriously underdone in round 2 and backline missing Stewart, Kolo and Jack Henry. Then SDK copped a couple of seriously heavy knocks. How can you say we were close to full strength?

Early in the season as well. Carlton practically a month ahead in preparation at that point in the season given they missed the 8 and we won the flag. GWS are no good. They have lost home games to St Kilda and Richmond around the win at KP. That's the one that hurts IMO.

 

[Hamingja]

Gryan miers has been great. But all australian???

He has been good but as a small forward you need to kick 40+ to get near the AA side when the forward flanks are going to be midfielders. Charlie Cameron kicked 54 last year and missed out.