The best 22

[pinion]

Unfortunately it's too hard to just leave players out without looking at team balance. Can we play with three tall forwards? What will be the best ruck combination? and most importantly, who's fit and who's underdone?

B: Hunt, Lonergan, Scarlett
HB: Enright, Taylor, Wojcinski
C: Kelly, Ling, Bartel
HF: Varcoe, Mooney, Chapman
F: Johnson, Podsiadly, Stokes
Foll: Ottens, Ablett, Selwood

This is my best 18, which leaves Milburn, Mackie, Blake, Hawkins, Corey, Byrnes and Rooke. There's only room for one of Blake and Hawkins, i don't think Rooke will get up, and that probably leaves Byrnes as the other player who'd miss. Having said that, given our run with injuries and that every player is a year older than this time last year, I doubt we'd have a full list to pick from

 

[rizzo]

Pods needs to start kicking goals that 'G to secure his spot come finals time IMHO.

 

[Duskfire]

Pods needs to start kicking goals that 'G to secure his spot come finals time IMHO.

Yeah, I can see the cats dropping our second highest goal scorer as well as leading contested marker.

 

[rizzo]

Yeah, I can see the cats dropping our second highest goal scorer as well as leading contested marker.

I'm not saying he will be dropped, but he has to show some kind of form at the MCG to be 100% locked into the team.

 

[ninjacat]

Pods needs to start kicking goals that 'G to secure his spot come finals time IMHO.

Apart form Carlton where he could have kicked 4-5, the Hawks and Saints games were punctuated by that lock-down style of play making it hard for our mids to kick it nicely to a F50 lead, also Pods was double tagged a bit against the Hawks, and Gilham did okay against him. In these games a tall forward is going to be lucky to kick even 3 goals.

Well, will be interesting to see how we get all these talls in....maybe Moondog should get the cut?

 

[TMS]

He has to show some kind of form at the MCG to be 100% locked into the team.

Not just singling you out rizzo, your post was just the most recent... This myth about Podsiadly's poor MCG form confuses me. If we compare it to his KP form, fair enough - but if we look at his form in context things look a bit different.

MCG v Blues:
Podsiadly had 14 disposals that day, and there were 11 players who had less - including his fellow talls Hawkins and Mooney, who combined for 1 goal from one scoring shot (from Moons). Pods kicked 4 behinds and took six marks, two contested and four uncontested. On a dirty day for most of the team, Pods was our best-performed tall forward and would have been remembered more fondly if even two of his behinds had been goals.

MCG v Pies:
Podsiadly again had 14 disposals, this time only one more than Hawkins who had the lowest number on 13. Pods kicked 1.2, took nine marks (3C/6U) and laid four tackles - that's one more than Ablett and one less than Kelly. After two games, Pods' MCG form is pretty consistent - and far from poor.

MCG v Saints:
Podsiadly finished up with seven disposals, no scoring shots, three marks (0C/3U) and three tackles. Important factors were the weather, the absence of Hawkins, Gwilt playing the best game of his career and the quality of the opposition. Fair to say though, Pods had a shocker - even by his MCG standards.

MCG v Hawks:
Podsiadly had 10 disposals, kicked 2.2, took five marks (1C/4U) and laid two tackles - being double-teamed as the Cats bombed the footy forward, without Mooney, Hawkins and Johnson, and reportedly suffering a sever ear and throat infection (and question marks over his Subiaco groin injury).

While I'd love to see Pods kick bags of goals every time he plays, we know it's not going to happen - but so far, he's really only had one bad MCG match which was against the Saints.

If we overlook the Saints match, as far as I'm concerned the main improvement for Pods is to make sure he kicks through the big sticks.

 

[BONG RIPS MKII]

Hunt - Lonergan - Scarlett

hunt is our best option to lock down on a small forward, he's done well on milne in a final type situation this year, and i don't think his game vs carlton was indicative of anything, as there is simply not going to be that much space to work with in september for betts and co. lonergan has played well this year as a lock down defender, and when scarlett is back to full fitness, he'll be deadly playing as a loose man, which selecting lonergan will allow him to do

Milburn - Taylor - Enright

milburn had a great finals series last year, and has been excellent this year as well. talk of dropping him is idiotic. taylor is the aa chb at this point in time and enright is the games best halfback flanker and provides more drive than any of our other defenders

Bartel - Ling - Corey

speaks for itself

Chapman - Mooney - Johnson

again, not much to say here.

Varcoe - Podsiadly - Stokes

i don't think three talls can work, none of our kpf are really athletic forwards, they're all power forwards who rely on their marking ability to kick goals. varcoe makes rooke expendable now, showing that he can shut down a rebounding defender vs collingwood when he compehensively beat shaw

Ottens - Selwood - Ablett

sweet

Byrnes - Wojcinski - Blake/Hawkins - Kelly

byrnes needs to be in the team, his pace his vital and he is a reliable goal scoring option both as a crumber and a leading forward. wojcinski is revitalised this year and his run and carry of half back and on the wing is important. hawkins should only be in the team if his body is up to playing as the no2 ruck, and if it isn't, then blake plays. kelly is having a great year and is extremely versatile, and is able to play to play the rooke role if required

rooke is unlucky, as is mackie, but i just can't find space for them

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I'm not saying he will be dropped, but he has to show some kind of form at the MCG to be 100% locked into the team.

Maybe, but I think that's because people judge 'form' on narrow definitions. Yes he's kicked far less goals at the G than anywhere else, but his form has actually been good. In the Carlton game he was our best forward but kicked 4 points (if anything it was Hawk who was poor that day), in the Collingwood game he was very good and created at least two or three goals, and the Saints game he was poor in, but so was Mooney as well. If we're going to judge our forwards purely on goals kicked at the G this year, then we're going to have to sack most of the forward line.

So I don't agree with the premise IMO.

That said, I can see Pods being dropped IMO...call me a pessimist but I just feel the coaches would rather make the easier call than the harder one. Time will tell.

 

[vinum coupe]

PO.

The cats have always rewarded good form. And someone who deserves a fair crack.
I don't think he will go anywhere if he is healthy and in form come round 22.

They'll do the same with Hawk BTW.

They will just make room somehow.

It's how they roll.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

PO.

The cats have always rewarded good form. And someone who deserves a fair crack.
I don't think he will go anywhere if he is healthy and in form come round 22.

They'll do the same with Hawk BTW.

They will just make room somehow.

It's how they roll.

In theory I agree with you, but I just struggle to see Bomber dropping his boy Mackie, or Milburn, or Stokes again, so the list is getting a little narrow and hence I do still believe the POD is a chance to go.

But I sincerely hope that you are right and I am wrong, for once I would be more than happy to be wrong.

 

[The Casey Cat]

milburn had a great finals series last year, and has been excellent this year as well. talk of dropping him is idiotic.

Oh really? Have you been watching him lately? Making plenty of errors. Also if he is going to be loose man in defense to help against dangerous forwards like Franklin it would be nice if he at least bothered to jump and spoil the ball rather than stand and make a piss weak attempt to mark. TWICE Franklin marked over him last week and it was pathetic. Add that to the fact he is still chatting to the umps too much and he is 33. I don't think the talk of dropping him is that idiotic. I love him too but I would want to see improvement in these areas before the finals.

 

[Gogeelong]

Bynes, Stokes, Varcoe and Wujinski will all play.
They balance our ageing midfield with pace (this won the grand final for us last year). This would give us heaps of midfield rotation options and plenty of crumbing forwards

Hawkins, Mooney and the JPod can help out in the ruck in bursts and up forward. Ottens will regain touch and improve our game greatly.

This means that Blake may miss out unless he can do more around the ground? We do not need the extra tall?

I would not look at the opposition to pick the team but rather go in on our strengths

Tuff call

 

[MachoRandySavage]

Instead of looking at who WILL get dropped, lets apporach this from the angle of "who wont get dropped for sure and why"

I've never been a Blake or Byrnes fan. Fair to say I've hated them, but... I have learned something about winning Premierships the last few years. You have to make room for "specialist" players. As in Blake is fantastic at the stopages.is palmwork is second to none. On almost a "side note", his round the ground stuff is improving. What I'm saying, is I can't see hawkins - a new ruckman who is only just learning the craft at bounces and throw ins - displacing a genuine tap ruckman.

Byrnes is one of only 3 guys in that side to have "genuine" pace. Yes other players are quick, but "lose a chasing tackler, have a bounce and break the lines" pace, you're talking WoJo, Byrnes and MAYBE Varcoe. So none of those 3 will be dropped.

Mackie has been poop this year, but he provides the coasching staff with a luxury that no other defender does. He can play on a tall, a small quick, a mobile mid. He is the most flexible guy in that back 6. For that, he won't be dropped.

Lonners. Has taken the gorilla every week. Did a good job on roughy last week, and can garauntee he'll get Dawes, Roughy, Hall, Kosi. They love it this way cos it free's up Scarlo. He isn't going anywhere. has played every game this year.

Pods. Has been our first target and best genuine forward since his inclusion. To drop him would see the whole game plan change, as Mooney doesn't play the same way, neither does Hawkins. Is not going to be dropped.

So...in summation. Those in my opinion that are safe...

Blake
Byrnes
Varcoe
Pods
Lonners
Mackie

add to that the "certainties", and you're left with

Rooke - may not come back in
Hawkins - may not come back injury wise anyway
Stokes - will only need to drop off in form at the wrong time nd the decision will be really easy. Keep playing like he id on Saturday and it gets complicated.

How hard huh? I reckon though that those 3 will miss out...

 

[vc_viking]

Blake has made a significant improvement this year, however I feel Tomma does a little better in the ruck and can reduce the tall timber up forward providing a good balance. Wojo (even though being old ) he still has a lot of pace!

 

[candiehappy]

and very hard to see Stokes being dropped at this stage.

A pretty good problem to have!

 

[Gladbaqs]

This debate says to me that (with Rooke fit) Geelong has 25 players that can slot seamlessly into a Premiership standard team.

In the event that Geelong makes the Grand Final, the ones who missed in previous years are most at peril.

Blake, Byrnes, Wojcinski, Stokes, Lonergan

I have a feeling Thompson ultimately would like to see Byrnes and Lonergan play. I'd prefer to see Stokes and Wojcinski. Poor old Blakey is a home-and-away machine but lacks the class to impress come finals selection. He should be preferred over a less-than-fit Hawkins though.

 

[JMc#5]

Instead of looking at who WILL get dropped, lets apporach this from the angle of "who wont get dropped for sure and why"

I've never been a Blake or Byrnes fan. Fair to say I've hated them, but... I have learned something about winning Premierships the last few years. You have to make room for "specialist" players. As in Blake is fantastic at the stopages.is palmwork is second to none. On almost a "side note", his round the ground stuff is improving. What I'm saying, is I can't see hawkins - a new ruckman who is only just learning the craft at bounces and throw ins - displacing a genuine tap ruckman.

Byrnes is one of only 3 guys in that side to have "genuine" pace. Yes other players are quick, but "lose a chasing tackler, have a bounce and break the lines" pace, you're talking WoJo, Byrnes and MAYBE Varcoe. So none of those 3 will be dropped.

Mackie has been poop this year, but he provides the coasching staff with a luxury that no other defender does. He can play on a tall, a small quick, a mobile mid. He is the most flexible guy in that back 6. For that, he won't be dropped.

Lonners. Has taken the gorilla every week. Did a good job on roughy last week, and can garauntee he'll get Dawes, Roughy, Hall, Kosi. They love it this way cos it free's up Scarlo. He isn't going anywhere. has played every game this year.

Pods. Has been our first target and best genuine forward since his inclusion. To drop him would see the whole game plan change, as Mooney doesn't play the same way, neither does Hawkins. Is not going to be dropped.

So...in summation. Those in my opinion that are safe...

Blake
Byrnes
Varcoe
Pods
Lonners
Mackie

add to that the "certainties", and you're left with

Rooke - may not come back in
Hawkins - may not come back injury wise anyway
Stokes - will only need to drop off in form at the wrong time nd the decision will be really easy. Keep playing like he id on Saturday and it gets complicated.

How hard huh? I reckon though that those 3 will miss out...

Agree 100%

I actually just creamed in my knickers!

Agree that Hawk may be the one who misses out, but if he shows excellent form in the next few weeks it will be tough to leave him out.

I think Rooke is no chance, even though i would happily have his babies...

Leaves 1 of Byrnes, Stokes, Varcoe, Mackie, Milburn, Wojo... For me, the 3 defenders stay and 1 of the small forwards goes...

BUT.. in saying all that, i'd be very surprised if we are fully fit come finals.



FYI - Apparently there's a rumour PODS is out v Adelaide, any truth?

 

[vc_viking]

Who was the moron that voted Pods? *SLAP!*

 

[rooie]

This debate says to me that (with Rooke fit) Geelong has 25 players that can slot seamlessly into a Premiership standard team.

In the event that Geelong makes the Grand Final, the ones who missed in previous years are most at peril.

Blake, Byrnes, Wojcinski, Stokes, Lonergan

I have a feeling Thompson ultimately would like to see Byrnes and Lonergan play. I'd prefer to see Stokes and Wojcinski. Poor old Blakey is a home-and-away machine but lacks the class to impress come finals selection. He should be preferred over a less-than-fit Hawkins though.

imho we lost in 08 because we went in without wojak and byrnes. taking that line breaking pace out of the half back and half forward line cost us dearly.

Blake only missed because King was there, Hawkins is not a ruckman, he is a forward who has been thrown into the ruck a handful of times, hardly the guy you are going to take into a GF as your second ruck option.

Stokes is great, but doesnt have the pace of varcoe and byrnes, which i think will ultimately cost him a spot.

Lonergan will depend on the oposition. I think Scarlo needs to start playing on the number 1 forward again. He does provide great rebound, but if he is in the team as the 3rd tall down back then surely he is suddenly competing with Milburn and Mackie for a spot instead of Taylor and Lonergan. If they keep playing Scarlo on the lesser forwards, then maybe it will be Milburn or Mackie to miss instead of Lonners.

So i reckon if Scarlo plays FB instead of the pocket as he seems to be at the moment, it will be Stokes, Lonners and maybe Hawkins to miss. If Scarlo plays the pocket, then they may drop Wojak, but i think that would be a mistake.

 

[The Rusty Clam]

Oh really? Have you been watching him lately? Making plenty of errors. Also if he is going to be loose man in defense to help against dangerous forwards like Franklin it would be nice if he at least bothered to jump and spoil the ball rather than stand and make a piss weak attempt to mark. TWICE Franklin marked over him last week and it was pathetic. Add that to the fact he is still chatting to the umps too much and he is 33. I don't think the talk of dropping him is that idiotic. I love him too but I would want to see improvement in these areas before the finals.

Dasher may have dropped off a bit this year, but he's still in our best 22. Scarlo and Taylor love having him back there, and he's still got the ability to be a versatile defender. He's not the only player who's struggled against Franklin in a contested situation. It's hard to match his speed and reach.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Who was the moron that voted Pods? *SLAP!*

Not me!

*you really thought it was me didn't you*

 

[The Casey Cat]

Dasher may have dropped off a bit this year, but he's still in our best 22. Scarlo and Taylor love having him back there, and he's still got the ability to be a versatile defender. He's not the only player who's struggled against Franklin in a contested situation. It's hard to match his speed and reach.

If he was out marked one on one or on the lead then fair enough. Franklin's speed and reach should not come in to it when you are standing in front of him or the man coming in loose from the side. We all know this defense love to try mark but sometimes you need to just fist the bloody thing. Am not saying I think Milburn should be dropped. He is still perhaps the best reader of the play in the comp which really helps against a side with someone like Franklin or Riewoldt but he needs to mix that skill with discipline (and a bit more effort to jump) to spoil and keep his mouth shut at the moment.

 

[Wish Wellingtons]

My biggest fear come finals, is going in too heavy.

To me, Lonners, Taylor, Blake, Ottens, Hawkins, Mooney is simply too much height to take into one team, all those players are above 195cm. Add Pods and Scarlett who are also talls, and we are seriously reaching tipping point. In my eyes, two of these players must go.

I thought the best we have looked all year was with Hawkins playing the mobile ruckman.

I still feel that Scarlett has more than enough in him to take Lonergan's role, though he has really done nothing to deserve the axe. It is simply a matter of team structure, we cannot afford to be slow.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Oh really? Have you been watching him lately? Making plenty of errors. Also if he is going to be loose man in defense to help against dangerous forwards like Franklin it would be nice if he at least bothered to jump and spoil the ball rather than stand and make a piss weak attempt to mark. TWICE Franklin marked over him last week and it was pathetic. Add that to the fact he is still chatting to the umps too much and he is 33. I don't think the talk of dropping him is that idiotic. I love him too but I would want to see improvement in these areas before the finals.

I agree this was poor but Mackie did exactly the same thing just before half time, so if we're going to be fair we can't drop one and not the other, on the basis of it.

For me, the bigger issue with Dasher (like Moons and his propensity to belt blokes) is the umps stuff, I fear it costing us in a final, and I'd want to see some change there before September.

 

[The Casey Cat]

I agree this was poor but Mackie did exactly the same thing just before half time, so if we're going to be fair we can't drop one and not the other, on the basis of it.

For me, the bigger issue with Dasher (like Moons and his propensity to belt blokes) is the umps stuff, I fear it costing us in a final, and I'd want to see some change there before September.

Too right Mackie also did it which is why (along with the rest of his season long shit form) I have been harsh on him lately also and would be just as happy to see him omitted to try and sharpen him up a bit before finals.