Preview 2nd Prelim Final Geelong v Brisbane Sat Sept 21 2024 515pm @ MCG

[Mr Meow]

Yeah, but Tuohy can play everywhere on the ground bar the ruck.

Duncan can't play from either fifty, he doesn't offer the marking ability of Tuohy. I'd trust Tuohy to lock down a forward if Henry, Kolo or Zuthrie went down. Duncan is still really between the arcs.

Anyway, they'll both play in the Prelim.

Against that, only one Geelong player on the ground on Thursday had more rebound 50s than Duncan.

Secondarily, he was playing half forward at times in the match - best evidenced by providing a marking contest inside 50 in the 2nd quarter, the one that Henry crumbed for a goal.

Geelong freely rotate Duncan between half back, the wing and half forward within matches. Take a look at his position changes at the centre bounces through the Port match, or really any match this season, if you don't believe me.

 

[iameviljez]

Geelong freely rotate Duncan between half back, the wing and half forward within matches.

Yes, they do (typically half-back a lot more than half forward). But the difference with Tuohy is that he can play as a pure forward or a pure defender. Duncan's only ever really that half forward or half back player.

 

[Mr Meow]

Yes, they do (typically half-back a lot more than half forward). But the difference with Tuohy is that he can play as a pure forward or a pure defender. Duncan's only ever really that half forward or half back player.

But Duncan averages as many rebound 50s per game in 2024 as Tuohy. He has played just as deep, but also been rotated to wing or half forward just as much. Their season heat maps would be almost identical. They average the same combined scoring shots + goal assists this season.

It is also a real stretch to suggest that Tuohy any longer is used, or capable of, specialist lockdown defender jobs. They are using him in the exact same capacity as Duncan.

 

[STPer18]

 

[00VicWard001]

16 days is certainly a long time between drinks but I actually thinks it's suits us this year with this list
Older guys get the break and younger ones are chomping on the bit!!

Absolutely. A break allows guys like dangerfield and Holmes to go max effort repeatedly.

Stanley, Duncan and Blicavs too.

And the young guys, will appreciate the rest after a long season.

The guys who do the long kms in game - who do max sprints - Miers etc will definitely feel like they are running on top of the ground.

This last bit of the season has had a big focus from CS and his team to prime our team to get goals early. So I imagine that they will be very ready and feeling very healthy in 2 weeks.

It's that last quarter where this break will really shine through.

 

[Mr Meow]

Absolutely. A break allows guys like dangerfield and Holmes to go max effort repeatedly.

Stanley, Duncan and Blicavs too.

And the young guys, will appreciate the rest after a long season.

The guys who do the long kms in game - who do max sprints - Miers etc will definitely feel like they are running on top of the ground.

This last bit of the season has had a big focus from CS and his team to prime our team to get goals early. So I imagine that they will be very ready and feeling very healthy in 2 weeks.

It's that last quarter where this break will really shine through.

Spot on. Time and time again the side who had a week off before the prelim finishes full of run, or simply swarms from the start. There are exceptions to that rule (pre finals bye muddies it a bit) but generally the week off is a positive for teams.

 

[Chinacats]

Good to see & hear Scott praise Lappin and the development work he has done with the new batch of cats coming through to be important cogs in our team . Well done Nigel!

 

[Heckler]

Team in best form will win the Cup

Power v Cats
Cats win was very impressive
A masterclass of Chaos Footy
Totally stopped Power's Run
As they did to Don's and Hawks
Media focus on Power's capitulation
Better than focusing Cats pressure

Bulldogs v Hawks
Hawks looked good controlled the game
Lots of uncontested marks no resistance
Dogs looked flat no real pressure no zip.
Hawks will be drunk on their own bathwater
Power will rebound seeking redemption
Unless Cats have left them a broken team.

Swans v Giants
Giants were quick and slick early
Swans looked flat couldn't get running
Swans have no forwards rely on Mid's
Giant took the foot off the gas mid Q4
Sub sparked Swans who stormed home.
Heeney claims, Come from behind specialists
Worry is Swans may have run into form again

Lions v Blues
Blues panicked when the pressure was on
Worked back into game when pressure fell
Outscored Lions in the second half
Lions are great front runners but vulnerable.
Giants should win a tough game at home.
Would rather face lions after a close win.

 

[Lana]

View attachment 2106201

The benefit of having a plus one at the stoppages who sags off on the offensive side

 

[iameviljez]

Probably trains great, but get him on edge. Same with Bews, SDK , touhy and a few more. Get them hungry.

Jesus, do you think a team like Geelong doesn't train properly?

 

[iameviljez]

Team in best form will win the Cup

Power v Cats
Cats win was very impressive
A masterclass of Chaos Footy
Totally stopped Power's Run
As they did to Don's and Hawks
Media focus on Power's capitulation
Better than focusing Cats pressure

Bulldogs v Hawks
Hawks looked good controlled the game
Lots of uncontested marks no resistance
Dogs looked flat no real pressure no zip.
Hawks will be drunk on their own bathwater
Power will rebound seeking redemption
Unless Cats have left them a broken team.

Swans v Giants
Giants were quick and slick early
Swans looked flat couldn't get running
Swans have no forwards rely on Mid's
Giant took the foot off the gas mid Q4
Sub sparked Swans who stormed home.
Heeney claims, Come from behind specialists
Worry is Swans may have run into form again

Lions v Blues
Blues panicked when the pressure was on
Worked back into game when pressure fell
Outscored Lions in the second half
Lions are great front runners but vulnerable.
Giants should win a tough game at home.
Would rather face lions after a close win.

Ahhh yes. After spending a year largely off the board, I'd forgotten there was always that one Geelong poster who wrote their posts like prose

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Sit back and hope the other teams all belt the suitcase out of each other....

That's it isn't it.

We want every game except our prelim to be a heart-stopper, and play whichever battle weary opponent is left come GF day.

As awesome as we were in '22 (and we would've won it regardless) Collingwood running Sydney right to the line can't be underestimated IMO.

The emotional and physical comedown from that, and then knowing you have to do it all again a week later just fries you mentally.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Why unbelievable? It’s building the winning formula…. I like the No name brand , but buy in to the team ethos of hunt, pressure, tackle and to have a youthful dog hunger . It’s not about names… Hawkins & Guthrie & Stewart are names, but I would prefer Humphries, Mannagh, Dempsey & Bruhn…..
remember Grant Thomas said tigers list was worst ever to win a premiership, but in hindsight not really.
Look at hawks no name kids, they’ll be champions of their club. They are not duds it’s just the football world don’t know their talents yet.
If they want it then take it!

It's a good point.

The likes of Bruhn, Neale, Mannagh, Humphries, Henry, Dempsey, & even Holmes & SDK might not be household names yet, and/or regarded as 'stars' by everybody.

In 5 years time though, let alone a decade, we could very easily be looking back and saying what a great group that was, we just didn't know it yet.

Sore point I know, but the '08 Hawks & the three-peat Hawks had almost entirely the same elite nucleus of talent. It was just them as youngsters vs players in their prime.

The '04 Cats & '07 Cats would be another example of that, along with your Tigers one.

 

[catsfootyfan89]

I want anyone ragging on under 50 game layers to go watch Zuthrie's game from Thursday night.

Bloke was unreal and is still extremely under rated in a global sense - but he just does his job and gets it done.

Was listening to Kane and Kingy on SEN and they raised a really good point about Zuthrie. When he first started out, he looked very unlikely to turn into the player he's become. Built like a matchstick, confused out there sometimes, wilted under pressure etc. It's a massive credit to the player development team down at Geelong to turn these guys into seriously valuable players we depend on. We just keep doing it. I genuinely believe that the players themselves are only half the story. How many other clubs out there could have turned a Mark Blicavs into the player he's become? Same with Z Guthrie, Kolo, Gryan etc.

Whatever they're doing down at Geelong, they're doing it right.

We won a Premiership in 2022, then turned over almost HALF our squad. Spent one season missing finals, then we're straight back into a Prelim.

Imagine Prelims just being a formality for your club. Imagine what Freo, North, Carlton, StKilda, Gold Coast etc would give just for one Prelim appearance. We've played them in the MAJORITY of our seasons in the last TWENTY years.

It's just fecking crazy. How good to be a Cats supporter.

 

[juzcat]

Duncan is well and truly finished. Hopefully he or the club can recognise that and make the appropriate decision at seasons end.

AFL360 Scott said Duncan will play on.

Sent from my SM-S928B using Tapatalk

 

[Warhorse]

Bruhn has his best game in the hoops.

Really?

 

[CabWesty]

I thought Duncan was solid on Thursday. Along with just about everyone in the hoops. Will deservedly keep his spot.

But does he have another season left in him? I'm not sure he does. He's been a brilliant servant of the club for many years, my daughter's favourite player, but even she would admit that he struggled at different times this year. And that's likely to only get worse with another preseason and a few more games under his belt. If he does play on, I suspect he won't play many games next year.

Just a thought, but I wonder if some of the guys like Duncan (who some think are washed up) would contemplate moving back to the VFL and mentoring the guys coming up in 2025.

 

[supahoops]

I'd love to hear your intel on Duncan's declining training standards as it's the first I'm hearing there's an issue.

Chinese are across everything now mate, if only I’d known I could’ve added it to my Mullin argument lol. BF at its finest.

 

[supahoops]

Ahhh yes. After spending a year largely off the board, I'd forgotten there was always that one Geelong poster who wrote their posts like prose

Feel nauseous reading like that.

 

[iameviljez]

As awesome as we were in '22 (and we would've won it regardless) Collingwood running Sydney right to the line can't be underestimated IMO.

Utterly everything else went right that year up until Holmes pinged his hamstring - Brisbane in particular did us two massive favours by knocking out the two previous premiers, then turning over for a belly rub in the Prelim...

 

[iameviljez]

Was listening to Kane and Kingy on SEN and they raised a really good point about Zuthrie. When he first started out, he looked very unlikely to turn into the player he's become. Built like a matchstick, confused out there sometimes, wilted under pressure etc.

I disagree with their assessment - while he was built like a stick, he always looked pretty composed and good with the ball for mine.

 

[supahoops]

I disagree with their assessment - while he was built like a stick, he always looked pretty composed and good with the ball for mine.

Was about to say the same, you just knew that once he filled out he had the tools, that’s just lazy commentary.

 

[kickazz]

It's just so unbelievable that we're in a prelim with the ins/outs from the last side that went into Sep. How?!

Just looking at those INs and OUTs and trying to match them best I can:

Cam Guthrie - Max Holmes
Isaac Smith - Ollie Dempsey
Joel Selwood - Tanner Bruhn
Gary Rohan - Ollie Henry
Brandan Parfitt - Shaun Mannagh
Mark O'Connor - Oisin Mullin*
Tom Hawkins - Shannon Neal
Sam DeKoning - Lawson Humphries
Tom Stewart - Jack Bowes

That seems the best matches I can do, with Tom Stewart for Bowes the clear odd one out. I think in reality Stewart comes back in for either him or more likely Duncan or Tuhoy. We are going shorter and quicker than 2022 GF at the moment - and probably need it with the way we and other teams play.

There's a clear upgrade in Mannagh over Parfitt - both capable as mids but Mannagh more damaging all round and a goalkicker, damaging half forward.

Henry and Neal are better choices than their counterparts based on 2024 form, but are downgrades. Rohan was better at competing and not letting opponent marks than Henry. (Players like Sicily come to mind as a concern here)

Holmes could almost be considered an upgrade over Guthrie (2022 B&F) - just so explosive and in top form. But a hardened inside mid he is not; that may or may not matter.

I think Dempsey is an upgrade on Smith - but geez Smith played a blinder that day. Experience does matter in finals.

Bruhn is doing his best and I'm happy with it, but drew the short straw to be compared with Joel.

Humphries and SDK is not really like for like - one a better ball user and rebounder, the other (was in 2022) more reliable negater, now presents a ruck option.

Oisin vs Merrick is interesting - one is much faster, the other probably a better kick and more proven/reliable.


Overall, we seem to have a bit more pace on the outside, bit more attack than defence and are a bit lacking in genuine midfield grunt and down a tall. Does that match what we need for our opponents?


*inb4 'racist'.

 

[kickazz]

Tuohy - offers a bit more versatility than Duncan

Plus Duncan has shown he looks better when he can work into the match rather than coming on as an impact player

The big thing with Duncan this year I recon is that he hasn't been able to pull off some of those longer diagonal kicks reliably - that can really hurt. Haven't watched him closely of late but if he puts those away we are safer.

 

[kickazz]

Was listening to Kane and Kingy on SEN and they raised a really good point about Zuthrie. When he first started out, he looked very unlikely to turn into the player he's become. Built like a matchstick, confused out there sometimes, wilted under pressure etc. It's a massive credit to the player development team down at Geelong to turn these guys into seriously valuable players we depend on. We just keep doing it. I genuinely believe that the players themselves are only half the story. How many other clubs out there could have turned a Mark Blicavs into the player he's become? Same with Z Guthrie, Kolo, Gryan etc.

Whatever they're doing down at Geelong, they're doing it right.

Yeah Wells gets all the credit for recruiting - and no doubt he has unearthed some gems. But it's what happens once they get here that probably needs some long overdue praise.