cats_09
Otters United
- Jun 21, 2011
- 66,679
- 139,666
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Moderator
- #1
This weeks awesome preview is bought to you by PzBlinky - it's a great read, so please enjoy:
As the competition trudges through the dense jungle of the last few rounds, with the favourites, challengers, and pretenders seemingly established, a whisper echoes through the leaves..
Teams are looking over their shoulder.
Fans are muttering to themselves.
Something is stirring...
Something in the form of...
Or maybe not. It could all go belly-up this coming Saturday.
This week our trusty band of blue-and-white crusaders face the literal personification of "Lions at home and lambs away"... at their home, of course.
But to see this as just a simple "must win" clash for both sides would be to ignore the rich history between two perennial contenders of the past 4 or 5 years.
So let's dive in...
The story so far
Unlike the "to the final bell" qualifying final, 2022's preliminary final was part stomping, part triumphal march into the grand final for the Cats, with the Lions playing the role of the red carpet.
But it isn't always one-way traffic. In 2021, we were given a solid reality check at the Gabba after a run of 5 wins and they edged us by a solitary point at the same venue a couple of years earlier. Sandwiched between those disappointing defeats was a fantastic underdog win in the 2020 preliminary final. At the Cattery, it's been a case of "close enough is NOT good enough" for the Lions more times than they'd care to admit.
That said, it's not just where you play a team, it's when you play them...
A tale of two teams
After a shaky start, the Lions have picked up where they left off last year - nigh invincible at home, and shaky (with an occasional "solid") everywhere else. They have managed to bank enough wins to be holding onto third spot and perhaps a tiny chance to steal second should Port's stumble against Carlton be more serious than first thought.
On the other hand, Geelong partied like it was 1999 after taking all before them last year... and for the first few rounds, it showed. Injuries, new players to the team, and others down on form concocted a foul-tasting form line that has been up and down at dizzying speeds.
The last few weeks have been encouraging for the Cats, with resounding wins over the Bombers, Kangas, and Melbourne - and even managing to return from Sydney with 2 vital points despite being outplayed for much of the game.
MCG voodoo aside, the Lions have had their own good run of form, winning 4 of their last 5 until Friday's epic against the Dees.
Gabba-toir or Gabba-gabba-doo?
While a win or loss won't mean the end of the season for either team, it's high stakes on both sides.
A win on the road would keep the Cats one step ahead of the pack, several of whom have soft draws ahead (unlike us). For the Lions, a win would keep them in touch with Port while a loss would probably be the end of their Top 2 aspirations - meaning a QF berth in either Melbourne or Adelaide.
Possible Mano-a-manos
While there are mouth-watering match-ups all over the ground, I've plucked out 3 that could go a long way to deciding the contest...
Andrews vs Hawkins - With Cameron down on form, this could be THE key battle in our forward line (though hopefully our mosquito squad fire up again). Hawk's in great touch - who would've thought he'd be 3rd or 4th in the race for the Coleman 3 weeks into the season? But Andrews is no slouch either, so it will be a fascinating battle as always.
Neale vs O'Connor(?) - Considering Merrick's blanketing of Merrett last week, you'd have to think this was a possibility - especially if you think back to the job on Neale a few years back.
Daniher vs SDK - Daniher is the Lions' leading goal-kicker (I know, I'm as shocked as you) and only SDK really has the height to match him (unless Ratugolea comes back). Arguably one of their better players against the Lions and kicked 2.3, so he'll be a handful for the young Cats star.
There are other questions to be answered, like whether Bews comes back to play on Cameron (personally, the side that played Saturday night looks pretty balanced).
Magic eight-ball says...
Geelong's form has been patchy all year, but it does feel like they're finally getting into a groove and will be up for this one. That said, against a team like the Lions, quiet games from the likes of Cameron and Danger are going to make winning much harder, so hoping for a big game from both.
So the question remains: will the Lions cover muscle up, cover themselves in mud, and lure us into their trap-filled lair... or will we add another trophy to our collection?
Head says: Lions by 18-24 (too good at home)
Heart says: Cats by 6-12 (after a titanic struggle)
cheeky edit/mod note - please don't like this post, like the one directly below to acknowledge the poster who did the work
As the competition trudges through the dense jungle of the last few rounds, with the favourites, challengers, and pretenders seemingly established, a whisper echoes through the leaves..
Teams are looking over their shoulder.
Fans are muttering to themselves.
Something is stirring...
Something in the form of...
Or maybe not. It could all go belly-up this coming Saturday.
This week our trusty band of blue-and-white crusaders face the literal personification of "Lions at home and lambs away"... at their home, of course.
But to see this as just a simple "must win" clash for both sides would be to ignore the rich history between two perennial contenders of the past 4 or 5 years.
So let's dive in...
The story so far
Unlike the "to the final bell" qualifying final, 2022's preliminary final was part stomping, part triumphal march into the grand final for the Cats, with the Lions playing the role of the red carpet.
But it isn't always one-way traffic. In 2021, we were given a solid reality check at the Gabba after a run of 5 wins and they edged us by a solitary point at the same venue a couple of years earlier. Sandwiched between those disappointing defeats was a fantastic underdog win in the 2020 preliminary final. At the Cattery, it's been a case of "close enough is NOT good enough" for the Lions more times than they'd care to admit.
That said, it's not just where you play a team, it's when you play them...
A tale of two teams
After a shaky start, the Lions have picked up where they left off last year - nigh invincible at home, and shaky (with an occasional "solid") everywhere else. They have managed to bank enough wins to be holding onto third spot and perhaps a tiny chance to steal second should Port's stumble against Carlton be more serious than first thought.
On the other hand, Geelong partied like it was 1999 after taking all before them last year... and for the first few rounds, it showed. Injuries, new players to the team, and others down on form concocted a foul-tasting form line that has been up and down at dizzying speeds.
The last few weeks have been encouraging for the Cats, with resounding wins over the Bombers, Kangas, and Melbourne - and even managing to return from Sydney with 2 vital points despite being outplayed for much of the game.
MCG voodoo aside, the Lions have had their own good run of form, winning 4 of their last 5 until Friday's epic against the Dees.
Gabba-toir or Gabba-gabba-doo?
While a win or loss won't mean the end of the season for either team, it's high stakes on both sides.
A win on the road would keep the Cats one step ahead of the pack, several of whom have soft draws ahead (unlike us). For the Lions, a win would keep them in touch with Port while a loss would probably be the end of their Top 2 aspirations - meaning a QF berth in either Melbourne or Adelaide.
Possible Mano-a-manos
While there are mouth-watering match-ups all over the ground, I've plucked out 3 that could go a long way to deciding the contest...
Andrews vs Hawkins - With Cameron down on form, this could be THE key battle in our forward line (though hopefully our mosquito squad fire up again). Hawk's in great touch - who would've thought he'd be 3rd or 4th in the race for the Coleman 3 weeks into the season? But Andrews is no slouch either, so it will be a fascinating battle as always.
Neale vs O'Connor(?) - Considering Merrick's blanketing of Merrett last week, you'd have to think this was a possibility - especially if you think back to the job on Neale a few years back.
Daniher vs SDK - Daniher is the Lions' leading goal-kicker (I know, I'm as shocked as you) and only SDK really has the height to match him (unless Ratugolea comes back). Arguably one of their better players against the Lions and kicked 2.3, so he'll be a handful for the young Cats star.
There are other questions to be answered, like whether Bews comes back to play on Cameron (personally, the side that played Saturday night looks pretty balanced).
Magic eight-ball says...
Geelong's form has been patchy all year, but it does feel like they're finally getting into a groove and will be up for this one. That said, against a team like the Lions, quiet games from the likes of Cameron and Danger are going to make winning much harder, so hoping for a big game from both.
So the question remains: will the Lions cover muscle up, cover themselves in mud, and lure us into their trap-filled lair... or will we add another trophy to our collection?
Head says: Lions by 18-24 (too good at home)
Heart says: Cats by 6-12 (after a titanic struggle)
cheeky edit/mod note - please don't like this post, like the one directly below to acknowledge the poster who did the work
