Review Varcoe, Cowan, Wojcinski, Ling needed! - 2011 Geelong Board player review

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Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

Sorry, this is a little long... had a bit of spare time at work this morning :cool:

Allen Christensen - 2011

Like so many Geelong supporters, I was extremely pessimistic leaving the 2010 preliminary final after we had been comprehensively belted by Collingwood. Most of us suspected that it would be Gary Ablett’s last game in the hoops – a point rammed home less than a fortnight later when he shook hands with Guy McKenna in his red Suns polo at his first press conference as a former Geelong player. Shortly after, Mark Thompson would jump ship citing “burnout” – only to re-emerge as James Hird’s mentor at Essendon weeks later.

From a Geelong point of view, it seemed our four-year period of dominance was over. Key players were on the wrong side of 30 and surely couldn’t keep up their motivation for yet another season; while new coach Chris Scott seemed extremely impressive; only 12 first year coaches in VFL/AFL history had won premierships in their first season.

But as pre-season 2011 rolled around, I began to feel more confident. We had so many gun players in their prime – Selwood, Bartel, Johnson, Enright – and could expect natural improvement from the likes of Varcoe and Hawkins.

Scott spoke about bringing youngsters into the team, which was music to the ears of most Geelong supporters. Menzel and Duncan had brought renewed enthusiasm into the team in late 2010, only to be dropped for the finals. Our draft crop of 2009 (Menzel, Duncan, Christensen, Vardy) had big wraps on it, and most of us couldn’t wait to see the new guys in action.

Menzel, Duncan and debutante Cameron Guthrie played in the round 1 win over St Kilda. The following week, we travelled to Perth to meet Fremantle with another youngster in tow – Allen Christensen. The small midfielder/forward had been drafted at #40 in the 2009 National Draft, a year after being overlooked entirely for – in his words – “being too fat.”

The boy with the mop of black hair and striking forearm tattoo celebrating his indigenous heritage donned the green substitute’s vest in his first game and was injected late; collecting 8 possessions and showing plenty of poise in a game that went down to the wire. The following week he was substitute again, against Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium. He kicked his first goal in AFL – celebrating with the type of unbridled excitement that you suspect could only come from somebody drafted to play for the club they supported as a youngster.

Allen missed the round 5 win over Sydney, and was a late inclusion for Johnson in the round 7 win over North Melbourne – picking up 12 disposals after being subbed in for Ottens at half time. In round 8, he waited impatiently on the bench – again with the sub’s vest on - in front of more than 80,000 people in the top of the table clash against Collingwood. He was brought into the game earlier than expected, after Ling appeared to seriously injure his arm in the third quarter. One of Christensen’s first acts was to recklessly throw himself into a contest in Geelong’s forward line, earning himself a free kick for high contact and coolly slotting the goal from 50m – in a game when his team could only manage 8 goals for the night.
It was no surprise when a feature on him in The Age the following week led with the headline “Allen Christensen, sub machine.”

But Christensen’s pace, class and goal scoring ability was providing too valuable to have sitting on the bench for more than half a game. The next week he played a full game against Carlton, earning 18 handy touches. He wouldn’t play again until round 14 – a game that senior teammates such as Selwood, Bartel, Kelly and Ottens missed. In hindsight, missing four weeks freshened him up for the rest of the season – Christensen wouldn’t miss another game. is game against Adelaide was his best to date – 26 classy possessions, 6 tackles, 6 inside-50s and two goals. Commentators compared him to Stokes, but elements of his game were more in line with Ablett Jr – like his ability to shake and break tackles, the way he’d draw two opponents to him while firing off a handball and of course his goal sense. Geelong fans thought he was a shoo-in for the week’s Rising Star nomination, but it went to Gold Coast’s David Swallow (who had less possessions, tackles and SuperCoach points that Christensen that round, but hey, who’s keeping track?)

After a quiet two-goal game against Essendon, Allen started to explode. He had 25 touches and kicked two against Brisbane; and finally earned that Rising Star nomination in round 18 against Richmond with a 26-disposal, two goal game. One his goal was Ablett or Varcoe-esque, tucking the ball under his arm and running towards the boundary line, slotting the goal from a tight angle. The Rising Star nomination didn’t mean much to him though. If you ever want a way to endear yourself to your club’s supporters, you say things like Christensen said straight after the game.
“I don’t really care (about the nomination),” he said.
“Like I’ve said, I play for Geelong, what more could you want? It’s only an award, I get to play for the Cats.”

His career high disposal count of 28 came in the 150-point win against the Gold Coast in round 20 – only four players on the field had more possessions than him.
Christensen was again the substitute in the round 23 loss to Sydney; Scott effectively giving him a ‘rest’ (by only playing him for a quarter) while keeping him match-ready ahead of the finals.
If people weren’t already buzzing about Geelong’s kids, they were in round 24 as between them, Menzel and Christensen scored as many goals as the entire Collingwood team – eight – as Geelong beat the reigning premiers by 96 points. The pair were pure class from start to finish, with Menzel taking high flying marks and Christensen slotting set shots and evading tackles at will.

He joined Menzel, Duncan and West in playing his first finals match in the qualifying final against Hawthorn. Unfortunately Menzel would rupture his ACL in the second quarter, with Stokes replacing him. Christensen was the most impressive of the youngsters (West’s hanger in the last quarter aside) – collecting the equal second-most possessions for the Cats (23) and earning votes in the Herald-Sun.

The preliminary final against West Coast was a one sided affair from early in the contest, but Allan did his part with 19 touches and two goals – one the second goal of the game after a strong contested mark.
Only 25 weeks after making his debut, Christensen was off to the grand final. For three quarters, it was a slugfest in which neither team could break free. While his possession count (15) was more modest than his other two finals, Christensen had an influence. One of his first acts was to earn a free kick for a strong tackle on Luke Ball. Late in the second quarter, when Geelong badly needed a goal, he chipped a deft pass around his body to an unattended Joel Selwood alone in the goal square. Half an hour later, he drew three Collingwood players to him in the middle of the field before shooting out a clean handball to James Kelly.

Only two minutes remained until three quarter time and with Geelong two points up, Josh Hunt blindly bombed the ball high in the air outside his defensive forward 50. Waiting under it were two Collingwood premiership players – Shaw and Toovey – and Christensen.. All three players simultaneously rose for the ball, Christensen putting his foot in Shaw’s back and somehow taking a spectacular mark against two players older and more experienced than him. “The smallest man there, but he rose like a giant!” exclaimed Anthony Hudson in the Channel Ten commentary box. Christensen quickly played on, getting the ball to Bartel in the midfield and the play ended in Hawkins’ third goal for the quarter – giving Geelong some breathing space before three quarter time. It was as close as Collingwood would get for the rest of the match.

Most grand finals have defining moments – Leo Barry’s mark, Scarlett’s toe-poke, Shaw’s smother. If the 2011 grand final will be remembered for one, it has to be Bundy’s mark.

Heading into 2012, Christensen is a premiership player with just 19 games to his name and is seemingly cemented in our best 22. He more than adequately filledthe void left by Ablett in 2011 and provided the explosive pace our midfield otherwise lacked. Barring second year blues, he should get even better next season. Add in Duncan, Vardy, Guthrie, Cowan, Brown, Smedts, Motlop and return of Menzel and Geelong’s future looks a lot brighter than it did this time last year.
 

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Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

Turbocat said:
Funny , I was looking at the review I did in 2006 the other day of Moons

Now , 5 years later I like to have the chance compliment what I said back then
So put me down for Cam

Also Id like to have a ping at Jimmy B
Click to expand...
No worries.
 
Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

Chief has decreed that every 2011 player review across all team boards will be collated into the inaugural BigFooty Annual and published as a PDF on BigFooty with all contributors fully acknowledged for their pieces.

Senior players still up for grabs:

1 Mitchell Brown
5 Travis Varcoe
6 Brad Ottens
7 Harry Taylor
9 James Kelly
10 Daniel Menzel
11 Joel Corey
14 Joel Selwood
16 Dawson Simpson
17 Shannon Byrnes
18 Josh Cowan
19 Taylor Hunt
20 Steve Johnson
22 Mitchell Duncan
25 Tom Gillies
27 Mathew Stokes
29 Cameron Guthrie
30 Matthew Scarlett
32 Steven Motlop
34 Simon Hogan
35 Paul Chapman
36 Nathan Vardy
39 Darren Milburn
44 Corey Enright
 

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Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

Darren Milburn

At the age of 33years 155days Darren finished his 2010 season his 14th over all with the Cats, amassing a total of 278 games.

The wiry number 39 was defying old father time,his last season had been one of his best in what most would agree had been a very very good careerer to date.

The question was being asked could the man Geelong fans call Dasher play on in 2011 and reach the magical 300 games.

The stage was set with the agreement of a one year contract and the Geelong faithful strapped them selves in for the new season.

2011 brought the new sub rule into play and Darren was first cab of the rank to fill the position rd1 against the Saints.And as it happened he was called on early with a sickening injury to Joel Selwood,and he did what Darren always did and gathered a lazy 14 possessions in a scrappy old game and for good measure finished off by kicking a last minute goal to be an unlikely hero in a one point win.

His form remained solid through rounds one to thirteen until finishing on the bench against the Saints with an Achilles injury and missing the next four matches and as a result loosing any chance of making the 300 game milestone and perhaps his chance at a third Premiership.

He returned to play his part in rounds 18,19,20 and 24 helping facilitate the player rotations crucial in the end to the teams ultimate success and third premiership in 5 years.

Dasher may not have taken the field in the final series but he was a big part of the 2011 push for the flag.

Darrens last game for the Cats was rd 24 a huge win against Collingwood,he played 14 games for the year and never tasted defeat and finished with a total of 292 games over 15 wonderful years.

LEGEND OF THE GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB.
 
Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

Jimmy Bartel , Geelong Board player review 14/10/2011

While I don’t think it was JB’s best year , as always , it not the quantity with Jimmy , it’s the quality.

When Ablett was piling up the stats with give and gets , I often thought that his best was when he touched it less and contributed more on the score board. A 70M goal or a clever shimmy that developed 6 points were worth more than 20 handpasse’s in my eyes.

And so it is with Jimmy Bartel. He is not someone who will get a stack of the ball but what he does get , he has probably earned. Not too many gifts and cheepies go his way, how often is the ball is just tossed up in the forwardline knowing he will fly and probably mark it over much taller opponents. I wonder if that’s what Ted Whitten was like? CHB,CHF and everywhere else. When I look at Jimmy I see a footballers, footballer. Its not the stats that I look at it’s the timing and the impact.

Who doesn’t love Jimmy? Like that Seinfeld episode , I find myself thinking , you have got to love “The Jimmy”. The girls would love to take him home to meet mum and the blokes would just love to have a beer with him. JB turns up in a rather unusual dress up on Mad Monday , and if it had been anyone else , I wonder if it would have got a louder reaction. He is forgiven because he is Jimmy Bartel.

But its on the field that is his house. He’s the problem solver , almost like the “Bill Murray” of the Cats .. “Who you gunna call?” Regularly a player would be missing , rested or injured and its was Bartel asked to fill the breach. Some footballers are a Jack of all trade and Master of none , but Bartel is very close to a master at most.

But its not just his proficiency that strikes me, its his propensity to rise to the occasion. Like the first game this year. Pretty ordinary match and most watching that game would have given long odds on us being Premiers but when something was required Jimmy found a way to kick a miraculous goal , without which we wouldn’t have won that night.

To understand Jimmy Bartel , one need only look at his GF in 09 and 11. In 09 when Hayes was going crazy in the first Q , who stopped him? And then this year , when the Pies where making a run , who stood up? That vision of Jimmy in the middle 4 or 5 Pies jumpers will stay with me for a long time. Surrounded & outnumbered yet he still got the ball out and we scored. That’s just gutsy, gritty football , more atune to someone like Rooke not a player with the class of Bartel.

Jimmy B has always been a great mark for his size and that one in the GF is just so typical of Jim. But what really sets him apart from several other good marks is his ice cool temperament. After taking a grab to waste it can deflate. He rarely does that. The slots the goal when needed. When the heat is on is when players are judged and those who perform are match winners. Yet he looks so relaxed, in those situations, its just so natural for him. He doesn’t get too fazed by it, he just does it and does it well.

What I do find amazing is he has never won a B&F , as he is a very fair player and to my eyes close to the best. He recently signed a 4 year deal that will probably ensure he is a one club player. 4 years for most players at his age may seem a bit ambitious but Bartel could quite easily develop into a very solid backman/forward in his later years. His versatility again being his calling card

Bartel for Capt , Id like to see that but it probably wont happen. Still he is a leader our Jimmy , and no matter his title he is a leader of our football club.
Great year Jimmy , 3 times Premiership player , Norm Smith winner and a loyal Geelong Champion.
 
Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

I think I watch enough of Geelong but when I read these reviews I realise how much insight I lack.

These are truly tremendous reviews. Keep 'em coming.
 
Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

I'll go again , here's Dan Menzel

Dan Menzel , Geelong Board player review 15/10/2011

Talking footy at work is nothing unusual. Like a car runs on petrol , worksites around Geelong seem to run on football. This week , while talking to a fellow Geelong supporter about trade week and other stuff , we started jawing about Daniel Menzel.

Now this guy I was talking to , his nickname is Melanoma. He is not a positive man old Mel , he can turn rays of sunshine into a cause for death , he can turning earning money into a tax problem and nearly every Geelong player can be and has been crap at times. Yet he really likes DM. He was just amazed at how dumb the other clubs were and how we got him at pick17?

Fair question, I reckon too, cause Dan is a standout footballer. Like Beehive oozes honey, Dan oozes class. It’s not as if he has that type of hidden talent that you see after many games of watching a guy play , this kid has plenty of bullets in the gun and enough style to make him standout on a runway.

I had to think , who the heck was in that draft? So I looked it up.
From the top , Scully, Trengove, Martin , Morabito and Cunnington.
Then Rohan Sheppard , Butcher , Moore and Melksham to round out the top ten.
Then Gysberts, Lucus, Talia, Jetta, Howard and Pittard at 16

Now , while some are obviously more long term picks than others , I do have to wonder how he got to us. Scully, Trengove and Martin are all guns. One can argue about there order but they are 1,2,3. But after that it’s a bit more grey. The thing that’s glaring is Port Adelaide had 3 picks before us. 3 Picks and 2 Victorian kids in them. Ouch.

Looking back at his nationals he was used a floating back , perhaps SA were trying to utilize his kicking while others like Trengove was used on the ball. Fair enough I suppose. I’m certainly glad they did cause if he’d gone forward and kicked a bag I doubt he would have been 17.Perhaps we wasn’t 100% fit. When he came to Geelong they found an OP issue that they were not really aware of. Good luck for us.

Anyway , my mate Mel , he saw him play a game last year in the VFL. A game on TV , and said “you could see straight away , the kid had something”.
And he was right. That game he was running on the flank and did a nice little head fake , crossover move leaving that left the defender looking glued to the ground. It showed his agility was a great asset. One of many we now know he has. He went on to play 3 games last year and showed in those 3 that he was bright light for the Cats future.

This year, he had a classic break out year. Talk about bright light. Nothing makes a sign standout like a big chunk of Neon but for footy players , playing well against the reigning Premiers on the MCG is the way to get noticed. His 5 goals in R24 had him locked in for his first Final Series , add that to doing Swan cold in the first game in a 1o1 and he was lighting up the G in the way Neon never does.

Then in F1 V Hawks, he kicks our first 2 goals. The first was nothing but a gift for being in the right place, right time but the second was so telling. We at Geelong do tend to waste our forward entries a bit, no one on this site needs a reminder about wasting forward entries against Hawthorn and in the first game of the finals were starting down the same path while Franklin was looking dangerous. So when he took the mark , a very nice 1o1 , and went back to have his setshot it showed this boy of 21 games has a Bartel like confidence in his own ability. Thru the ball went and away the Cats went too.

The shame was the knee. A huge disappointment and certainly then a little worrying. Not just about his future but for our finals. This kid was giving us that medium forward impact that SJ was not and him going down was not ideal. To me , this says plenty about Dan. So very quickly he has become a must pick
Has a leap that sooner or later will give him a West like specy. He has those sneaky game vibe that means he can quite often dance his way thru trouble and can use it on occasion to score a ground goal. And of course he is a beautiful setshot.

What does the future hold? Well plenty. Short term the kid will probably hit the gym while out with his knee and long,long term he has the ability to play key forward. For now , he just needs to get right so he can bounce back late in 2012. If his mission at the start of the year was to become a must pick he should consider this year a success, even though it probably has slightly bitter taste to it.

Well done on very good 2nd year Dan Menzel
 
Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

Decided to do a 2010 review as well as an 11 one because I felt I owed the great premiership player for not writing one last year. Don't mind if it gets moved or scrapped or not included in the compendium because that should only be for this year's reviews anyway, but hey, it's a good trip down memory lane.

So here goes:
Part 1-2010, the Breakout Year

Turbo’s tracking of Moons inspired me to go back to the start for a bit. Initially as we all know, Pods came to the club in 2009 after finishing his sports science degree and being recommend for an interview on our fitness team by his good mate David Johnson (they played together at the Bombers reserves, way back when). As you do when you recruit the best player in the VFL, he was given the captaincy and mentored the young players, also kicking 68 goals in 17 games, no mean feat given how young the team was around him. Showed what we all knew, powerful man, fantastic mark, agile enough at ground level and just a real presence. Then the talk started. A spot? Really? Well the AFL did change the rules to allow mature age rookies, so it was now possible. We all discussed it here:
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=650683
Some of the best supporting quotes were:

witsend said:
I know it's unlikely but wouldn't it be a great story if Pods were to succeed at AFL level...eg 2-3 goals a game?
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vinum coupe said:
In my mind there is no way (other than injury) that he won't play this year.
I know the draft was weak and there would have been a weighting towards "the draft is weak, lets get some insurance instead"

But I just can't see them putting him through all this mentally and financially without saying he will play.

And they can guarantee that with the round 11 upgrade.
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GenW said:
Pods is clearly the best player in the VFL. He is so dominant in that competition it's ridiculous.

He deserves a shot at the big time even at 28.
Click to expand...

Selective Retention said:
I'm open to it.

Pods provides another option and people are kidding themself if they think Brown can step right in off a season ending injury, he's probably behind where he was when drafted last year.
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Cohzee said:
Can't see any real harm in trying.
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OldStyle2007 said:
I reckon it's fantastic he'll get a chance. He's been clearly the best VFL player for a few years now and he well deserves his shot at the big time

Also should put the wind up Gamble
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And the detractors:
Partridge said:
I would have thought that's a fairly important point.

Sorry I can't see any value in this at all. If he plays senior footy my guess is he'll be too slow, unable to keep up with the game, and probably unable to get a kick. He'll also be playing on far better defenders than he faces in the VFL.

Didn't we learn anything from the Gary Ayres era?
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Sttew said:
Not a good move - has desperation written over it, if true. We have a FF, and we have other forward options.
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rizzo said:
Pass. Would rather pump games into Mitch Brown.
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CatmanForever said:
28 nahh get some young talent
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pinion said:
it's a big call to think a guy who's never played AFL can step up to that level at his age. as a mature age key forward in the VFL he'd probably spend most of his time playing on under-sized oponents, and the step up to AFL level would be huge.

i think there are better, safer options around
Click to expand...


From the moment he was drafted there was talk he would play, Thompson fuelled it further when while being interviewed by KROCK on the back of a ute at a practice match against Richmond in Yea, he said he would play 10-12 games that year. But after the practice match series, only an emergency for round 1, the same for round 2. I went out to Vic Park that week’s Saturday to watch our practice match and saw that Stevie Motlop was not there, which meant that he would make his (what would turn out to be ill feted) debut 2 days later, meaning no spot for Pods. We were getting belted early, but Pods turned the tide in the second quarter, just marking stuff and killing people, we only had 8 inside 50’s for the quarter and he kicked 4 goals and set up two others, including one to the great man Maximus Rooke (I miss him). Down the tunnel he went to not return, PO was shattered, injury, surely not? As it turns out he was only permitted to play a half because he was on standby for the Hawks game. That was a great Easter Monday clash, sadly Motlop was winged, Scarlo hurt his back, and Moons belted someone, which opened the door for the great man. A debut at Freo with 11 marks later, some of the doubters began to see he could play. A few weeks later he had several bags of 5, culminating in his destroyal of Dustin Fletcher at the Dome in Round 12. Now we had few doubters and many believers, as can be seen here:
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=692756

thrillhouse said:
Nuff said, right?
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Jimpson said:
Yeah you kind of expect a mature mature-age recruit to come in and perform.

And he did! Really well, great stuff
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The Riddler said:
Jeez he's got some strong hands, great overhead mark. Just wish he had've kicked the couple easy ones.

Still, gets a tick from me.
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meto said:
I'm just tryig to recollect when was the last time a Geelong forward took 11 marks in a game. Big Billy maybe?

Great debut Pods.
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meto said:
Has to play next week, 11 marks in your first game, come on!!!

Apart from a couple of clangers could easily had 4-5 goals.
Anyway, gave off what he didn't get himself.

Ridiculous if he's not out there.
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OldStyle2007 said:
What an awesome debut. I can't believe he hasn't played AFL before now

Makes you wonder where the J-Pod was when we were going through the great McCarthy/Playfair experiment!!!!!
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Ammo Man said:
Big tick for Pods for his first effort in the hoops. 5 or 6 more like that and I might jump on the bandwagon.
clip_image003.gif
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meto said:
That would be really funny seeing heaps of supporters with the big 31 on their backs, talk about sending a message to the selection committee.
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Partridge said:
Very, very happy to be proven wrong by the big fella. A couple of missed kicks at goal, but on the whole he couldn've have done much more.

But great debut by Podsiadly. Hope he keeps it up.
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Selective Retention said:
I saw a guy wandering around uni today wearing the guernsey with #31 on the back. People have jumped on very quickly.
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-I was vindicated for doing this! :thumbsu: but anyway...


Turbocat said:
Just like Lou Richards one doesn't need an award to say what he is.

His marking ability is absolutely top draw. His conversion is better than average. His defensive pressure has the power of a mature body.

So what he is not a rising star , keep going like this he will be one.
Click to expand...

Vegas. said:
Anyone else enjoy the jPod Shuffle up the Ford Stand end today when he brushed off a few defenders snapped truly?
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darren forssman said:
hahaha...names up in lights:

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cat-fans-enthralled-by-the-j-pod-shuffle-20100503-u2ky.html
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vinum coupe said:
Go to a game then.

Runs into gaps that others don't . pure forward.

Yes he jumps over / runs in front of people. Almost like a kid in a school yard. And I friggin love it because he has the ability to clunk them.

It makes footy fun .
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InnocentBystandr said:
Can't believe I'm the first to bump the Pods toast tonight!

Another bag and this time not at KP! But more than the goals, I love his presence around the ground and defensive pressure.

And he wasn't 100% fit tonight either. What a gun. The week off will be good for him.
Click to expand...

LongBomb said:
5 bags of 5 in his first nine games of football.
Awesome effort. Only 2 other players have done this.
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Cat Attack08 said:
Another week and the man crush gets a little bigger.

This week as a one out tall forward Pod's dispelled some more rumours that he is only good because he gets the third best defender and he has other tall forwards around him to take the focus off of him.

What does the great man do? Just kicks a lazy five on the "Greatest Fullback in the Lloyd era" away from SS and just to add to the degree of difficulty does an ankle in the first few minutes to go with a sore groin

in jPod we trust
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Turbocat said:
Best game for Geelong.

Geelong down 2 tall forwards and him wounded , he did the right thing for Geelong he played and then excelled. He should have kicked six , the mark taken off him in square was just a blatant error.

If anyone has any doubts after this game then they are dumb as a sack of hammers. The guy marks like he has Velcro on his hands , he kicks in a very reliable , repeatable style over 50M.On top of that he works hard, tackles and is a team player.He is a mature footballer close to physical peak. He has the game to rip apart sides in Sept , bring it on.
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HMac said:
Just heard Steve Johnson on the footy show say that Pods is the fastest player over 20 metres in the team. No wonder his forward leads often look unstoppable.
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cat on acid said:
Podsilovely!
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Farmer2Goggin said:
I just love how humble he is and how he keeps his cool even though he must be over the moon knowing that he is a vital cog in the most incredible of teams.
Just amazing to have such a natural forward once again on our list - I would love to have been a fly on the wall when the coaches realised he was holding his own at training against the best , then rolled the dice and drafted him
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TMS said:
As they say, hindsight is 20/20 - but there's some cringes, giggles and scarily accurate statements to be found in this thread from March.
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vinum coupe said:
Ha ha. Awesome work TMS.

Gee there are some train wrecks in that thread.
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meto said:
Would we had ever believed it possible, the creation of Geelong legend inside 10 games, I find it hard to believe, but that's what he's now become.
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Premiers2007 said:
Did anyone else here Grant Thomas call him the G-Pod on Footy Classified. Had a laugh, nearly as bad as K-Rock calling him the the I-POD.

Looking at the old thread these people voted that he would never play a game.

0 - not a even close
Cat in the West, Hoops, iamjason, Partridge, Prissa2Hurley, Ricketts, sozza5, stevie20

I wasnt much better, I said "He is an insurance policy for Hawkins and Mooney only. He will play when they are injured or rested. Will probably play around 5 games."
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vinum coupe said:
What the?

Of course it's a no brainer.
He is in the best 22. This 'potential' you mention isn't, and may well never be.
Click to expand...

As you can see, he won over us all, and it was a wonderful year for the Pod. Alas no premiership as we were soundly beaten in the prelim, but Wells had done it again, we had found one. Fairytales indeed do come true, but a true fairytale needs a wonderful ending, but that required the ultimate prize didn't it, could he get there?


We shall see....
 
Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

2011
Anyway, onto 2011:
After having a modified pre season because of hip surgery, Pods was killing it early in our NAB Cup game against North, before breaking a bone in his hand attempting to punch the ball. This saw him miss the rest of the practice matches, and after missing the nailbiter against St Kilda in round 1, was rushed straight back in for the round 2 game at Subiaco, where he had only 2 possessions, clearly still underdone. But he would come good, kicking 2.3 against Port the next week. Then for the trip to Sydney in the wet he really hit form, with Hawkins out with injury and Mooney asked to pinch hit in the ruck to help Ottens he was the big banana up forward and in conditions where the ball was a cake of soap, he was clunking them and showed his class marking ability as well as splitting the packs for others. Unfortunately his radar was again off in front of goal, kicking 1.4, although he did kick the sealer in the last quarter. In the big Easter Monday clash against Hawthorn he started to really hit form, finding space inside 50 and taking 8 marks and being dominant, as well as having 15 disposals. Again he missed a couple of easy shots before kicking a beautiful banana from the boundary line on his wrong side in the last quarter to seal the game. After the bye in round 6 he was back on home turf for the ‘which one is which’ much hyped clash of the Scott brothers. While that part if confusing, on the field no doubt the Cats would have the upper hand and we did, and Pods was the best tall on the ground and in my opinion close to the best player on the ground with 16 disposals, 10 marks and 3.4. The goalkicking still needed improvement but you could see the big bear really starting to find it’s roar.

On we went for the much hyped ‘prelim rematch’ against Collingwood, and extra spice was added by the fact we were 1st and 2nd on the ladder. It turned out to be a great game, with the Cats dominating the first quarter and implementing our press like the Pies had done to us in that fateful clash. Unfortunately we didn’t make the most of our efforts, kicking 2.9 in the first quarter, which nearly came back to haunt us given we only won by 3 points. With no Mooney who was struggling with his knee, and Hawkins regrettably put in the ruck again, Pods was the key target and his game mirrored the team’s, taking 6 marks including a massive speccy at half back (which was a mark of the week contender) but kicking 1.2 including a couple of missed shots and an awful one where he kicked it out on the full from 30m straight in front. Again though, as with a lot of his games, in the last quarter with the game in the balance, he kicked straight at the crucial time for a crucial goal. Round 8 saw a heartstopper against Carlton at the Dome and Pods was solid without being outstanding, with 7 kicks, 6 marks, 3 tackles and a goal, and supported exciting youngster Nathan Vardy well in his debut. Up on the Coast the next week the Cats look flat and were led by the Suns up until half time, but after no doubt a Scotty rocket in the changerooms, we turned it on the second half. Pods was good all game, with 2 goals in the first quarter and finished with 14 disposals, 9 marks, 4 tackles and 4 goals 2, a very good return on a good defender in Nathan Bock. With Scotty’s pointed comments on Channel Ten after the game indicating Hawkins was on thin ice (he had been subbed at ¾ time), Pods was looming as the crucial figure in the middle part of our year.

And so it proved, the next week Mooney was again out with his troublesome knee and his future was in real question, while Hawkins had been dropped to play reserves at Box Hill. While Brad Ottens was the dominant figure against the Doggies with 5 goals in a ‘turn back the clock’ performance and young Nathan Vardy was impressing, Pods was dominant when the game was hot early and finished with 8 marks and 3 goals. The crucial Saturday night game against the Hawks followed, which was Pods breakout game. I knew he was on when he kicked a goal on his left foot from the boundary line early and in the second quarter was dominant, raggdolling both Shoenmakers and Gibson and taking some wonderful marks. You could see the effect such a powerful man has on defenders confidence as Shoey’s was shot by the time he fumbled the ball over the back to allow Pods to kick his 6th goal, we were only in the second quarter! After this he ran straight to the bench and the roar from the fans was something to behold, it was akin to that first home game he ever played where the whole premiership stand stood and applauded when he went to the bench, and our humble hero ‘thought Ablett must have been running off behind me’. Ah yes, it brought back the memories. Despite Pods dominance we were only 3 points up at half time with Franklin also going bananas up the other end. After half time the Hawks wisely put 3 defenders on him and we kept bombing it in there in a silly fashion, but the notice had been served, the Pod was on.

This middle part of the year was a challenge for Pods as he played as the lone key forward one out, and he played well again against St Kilda with 17 disposals 9 marks and 2 goals. After a solid performance in a Cats win against Adelaide next week where we had about 6 key players out injured, the Essendon game indicated to me Pods was a bit flat and while contributing, the workload was starting to take it’s toll. Although the trip across the nullarbor did him well and despite a ridiculous amount of illegal bear hugging from McKenzie he had 13 disposals and 3 goals in a narrow loss to the Eagles. Then the Cats went straight to Brisbane for a mid season training camp and the relax and the ride on the theme park roller coaster must have done Pods well, because he went on to destroy Brisbane, and specifically Matt Maguire, with 8 goals. In a game where the team seemed a bit flat and only had a narrow win, Pods was very much the matchwinner. This game showcased the best of Pods, it reminded of a post by vinum coupe once where he described that Pods just runs and jumps and hits packs and clunks them, and it makes footy fun. It’s this wonderful intersection of brutal power that you hear audibly when he crashes the pack, but such a lovely graceful leap and vice like hands. I almost watched this game in slow motion in my head, where you can just really appreciate how beautiful it is to watch such a natural marking footballer do his thing and enjoy it.

After being concussed against Richmond the next week Pods missed the utter destroyal of Melbourne with general soreness (which was listed as ‘facial soreness’ which gave me a good laugh), he would have been filthy as Moons later said, would have kicked 10 that day. He played well from here in the run home, with 21 disposals 8 marks and 5 goals against the Gold Coast, playing I thought even better against Adelaide the next week even though he only kicked 2 goals, with 22 disposals and 9 marks he paid a real significant part in a narrow win.

Fast forward to the qualifying final against the Hawks, crucial game, the winner goes straight through to a prelim and a good passage to the GF, the loser probably ends up with a prelim against Collingwood if they get that far. And Pods was a crucial part of a crucial win, along with Ottens (and also Hawkins and West) he got hold of Hawthorn in the second and third quarters, kicking 3 goals and helping setup the matchwinning lead. After another good performance with 15 disposals, 6 marks and 3.3, the dream was right here, Pods was finally going to play in an AFL grand final.

Alas it was not the fairytale day for him, after a quiet start, not helped by Tarrant elbowing him in the kidneys the whole first quarter every time the ball was 100m away, Pods went up for a mark in the second quarter and was down. We were somewhat used to that, with the speed and power with which he hits the packs, sometimes it takes he, and all those he’s just flattened, a few seconds to get up, but alas this time he did not get up, and PO knew his hero was in big trouble. Stretchered off with a dislocated shoulder, his day was done. But dreams do come true, and after a wonderful performance from a class Cats outfit, he would finally, finally, become a premiership player. To watch him, with a beaming smile, hugging Scotty on the bench with a minute or two to go was fantastic, and showed for all that footy is fun to him, it means a lot too.


All in all Pods had a great year, averaging 8.2 kicks and 4 handballs a game, most importantly averaged 5.7 marks a game, 2 tackles a game and kicking 52 goals 38 behinds, in the process becoming our leading goalkicker for the year and also kicking his 100th career goal, and finishing top 10 in the B&F, no mean feat given the caliber of our side, and shows that he had a great consistent year and the coaches really rate the crucial structural role he plays for the team.



To think that a couple of years ago the guy was the weights supervisor, and now he’s a premiership player, and a humble one at that. Despite his comments that he owes the other blokes for this, and Hawkins wonderful performance in the GF, let’s not forget to pay due homage to Pods for helping us get there. When you look at the struggles Cam had throughout the year, and Tom through the middle part, Pods was crucial and heroic at times in how much he gave himself to splitting packs for the team, and in the washup it was crucial. He might have been a rookie 2 years ago, but he’s an integral part of the year now. My fiancee loves the Disney movies, we watch them all the time, in fact we watched the beauty and the beast again the other night, and where we are now with the JPOD reminds me of that, played like a beast, but always unloved, given pre seasons, then no rookie list spot, ok he wasn't as ugly as a beast, although some thought he looked as old as one :p but all it took was a chance, an opportunity, finally, for him to hop, skip, jump, clunk them, and people could see the beauty in the footballer he was and is and what he can do. Just shows you that sometimes you focus too much on trying to work out what a footballer can't do, rather than just opening your eyes and seeing what's in front of you and what they can do. Glad Wellsy did that. The best thing is he's loved now, all the rejection was worth it, the fairytale has been achieved, but it isn't the end, this might be the chapter that means the most to all of us, but there's still more chapters to be written.


Let’s hope that he recovers well in the off season from his shoulder surgery and has another great year in 2012, and we see him in the hoops for a few more years yet. Well done on a great year Pods. :thumbsu:
 

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Review Varcoe, Cowan, Wojcinski, Ling needed! - 2011 Geelong Board player review

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