How to beat Geelong.

[ghostdog]

Call me superstitious. The 'How to Beat St Kilda' thread seemed to motivate, and we almost took it to 'em. (Yes, there are days when I truly believe it is I who holds the power.) :cool:

So, how do we beat Geelong? If anyone caught the Bulldogs and Cats an appraisal there may be handy.

[Knight Ryders]

It will take a total team effort to do it. OUr number 1 priority will have to be winning ball from the stoppages. They will try and enforce their bigger bodies on us around the ball and try to dominant us mentally and physically. For this reason, it will be important that Watson, Hocking and Ryder hold their own around the stoppages. McVeigh would be very handy, but probably not quite ready. Skippy could actually be very handy in this role if given the chance.

We should also try to stop some of their run by blocking players from doing their 1-2-1 plays they use to create run and space in the midfield and from the backline. Our tackling pressure is going to have to be similar to that of the Saints match in the last 3 quarters. Jetta, Davey, Lonergan, Stanton, Winderlich, Watson and Ryder will all play pivotal roles in this area.

Without this, we won't get enough of the ball to play our gamestyle.

It goes without saying really, but we are going to need to execute our skills well and put scoreboard pressure on when possible. Missed chances against the Saints let them off the hook.

[Andrew_5]

I'll add:
Don't let them get off to a good start..
watch our turnovers..
I think our defence is key.. they don't seem to play aswell when thier forward line is rattled..
and last but not least.. outscore them..

[BringBackCransberg]

Whilst I genuinely believe we are a shot (things needing to go right/playing our own game of football/couple of superhuman efforts/etc) it would be great if any Essendon supporters out there with flu symptoms could make it to any of the Geelong training sessions this week.

[krisholio14]

Tackle like your life depends on it and back your pace. Do those two things for 4 quarters and you'll go alright.

[bipolarbeaR]

Not having Brad Johnson. :P

[Kong]

It would be great if any Essendon supporters out there with flu symptoms could make it to any of the Geelong training sessions this week.I'm about 4 days into a cold (life is miserable) and I live less than 10 minutes from SS :thumbsu:
On top of that, half of the team has been known to train in my gym. I'll be sure to cough on the dumbbell before I hand it to them next time :p

[Geelong_Sicko]

Whilst I genuinely believe we are a shot (things needing to go right/playing our own game of football/couple of superhuman efforts/etc) it would be great if any Essendon supporters out there with flu symptoms could make it to any of the Geelong training sessions this week.

I'm about 4 days into a cold (life is miserable) and I live less than 10 minutes from SS :thumbsu:
On top of that, half of the team has been known to train in my gym. I'll be sure to cough on the dumbbell before I hand it to them next time :p


:eek: OH NOES!! GERM WARFARE!

[yaco55]

Two keys to this game

1) nullify Geelong in the midfield
2) Have marking targets in the forward half. Geelong Backs zone of their forwards, so it is important to honor leads and pinpoint passes into the forward 50.

[daffo]

I was at the Bulldogs V Geelong game. A lot of Geelong midfielders would run to space as soon as their teammates won the ball. We will need to win at least 60% of the clearances and hard ball gets or we will be toast. Also we need to shut down Steve J, he is a class act and could explode against us. We don't have anyone that will match up well against him.

[Grey Smith Bar]

Avoiding soft turnovers would be the first thing I would be asking for.

[Boucks09]

Daffo makes a great point about the Geelong players running into space. They illustrated that on the coverage on Channel 7 with FreezeCam (when Kelly bolted from CHB on the kick in and got the ball on the wing).

How do we beat them?

We play the exact same style as we did against St.Kilda, except for 4 quarters not 3.

Their backline works in the same manner as the Saints, with the defense unit being exceptional. Lloyd needs to run Scarlett up the ground a little as he was damaging on Friday night and starts much of thier drive. I'd take a 0-0 draw with Lloyd on Scarlett to be honest...that's how highly I rate Scarlett.

We need to isolate Neagle and Taylor in the goalsquare. He is their weakest defender and we need to isolate him one-one-one.

Monfries to Milburn to do a Luke Hodge type tagging role.

McPhee to go forward and take Mackie.

Davey, Zaharakis and Jetta to create problems for Wojinski and Kelly.

I think we have the match ups to handle their KPF's:

-Hooker on Mooney
-Pears on Hawkins
-Daniher/NLM on Rooke

However Stokes and Johnson could be very difficult. Slattery and Houli will need to have outstanding games. Houli to Stokes (he has done a great job on Milne and Nahas), Slattery on Johnson.

I actually hope that Johnson moves further up the ground this game. He is much more damaging as a forward, whilst his 35 possies don't hurt the opposition anywhere near as much (see the game vs North or Grand Final 2009).

We have an advantage with Ryder in the ruck, but we need to manage his workload so that he is able to run the game out strongly.

Hocking to tag Ablett. What is a breakeven with Ablett??? 30 possies under pressure?

Ling will go to Jobe which means that Winderlich and Lovett MUST win some hard ball for us. They have shown this is an area of their game that they are quite competent at. I would also bring in Skipworth for Lonergan to assist in this area.

Stanton simply needs to fire. I would play him head to head on Corey.

I think we have more chance this week than we did against St.Kilda.

[efcboy]

we beat them with speed - i'm praying dempsey comes up ok as he could be a very important player breaking the lines off half-back.

if we stick with the current blokes we might also beat them for fitness and run over them in the last quarter.

[hateitorlovett13]

we beat them with speed - i'm praying dempsey comes up ok as he could be a very important player breaking the lines off half-back.

if we stick with the current blokes we might also beat them for fitness and run over them in the last quarter.

Exactly. They lack foot speed, even if they move the ball quickly. They have two very quick players (Wojinski, Varcoe) compared to Lovett, Davey, Winderlich, Dempsey and more. If we can expose their lack of pace, and execute our skills well, then we will win.

I think our forward line is a worry, with Scarlett probably taking Lloyd out and Neagle not doing much at this stage. Hopefully the kid can pull out a big performance and give us a bag.

[BringBackCransberg]

:eek: OH NOES!! GERM WARFARE!

What an apt username you have *laughs maniacally*

[cocobonobo]

Whilst I genuinely believe we are a shot (things needing to go right/playing our own game of football/couple of superhuman efforts/etc) it would be great if any Essendon supporters out there with flu symptoms could make it to any of the Geelong training sessions this week.

especially of the pig variety :D

[the diddy]

Neagle wont play, not fit enough, Lucas will come in.

[DonMania#5]

Also we need to shut down Steve J, he is a class act and could explode against us. We don't have anyone that will match up well against him.
Slattery :o
Nah, Slattery has actually been okay the past few weeks.

[re cat]

especially of the pig variety :D

Nah, that's Freo's problem, it was on the plane back to Perth with them:eek:

[reincarnated]

Mark Blake plays like a cow with a ‘cup of tea’. The big Mummy Mumford runs like a slow melting iceberg. Clearly Geelong’s glaring weakness. I just hope Ryder starts in the ruck (and not in the forward line like last week) and is given an extensive run there. (ie. almost 4/5 of the game time). Ottens is who they are quietly missing. They won’t be able to handle Ryder’s mobility.

Though they are fit and strong and have mature bodies, we can exploit them with our run and carry and also speed over the whole game, especially nearing the end of the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter. Geelong always have the games won by quarter time that they don’t get tested in the last quarter often. Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood found out that our strength is our speed and fitness base. (Corey, Enright, Ling, Chapman they are all wrong end of their 20s).

So we need to make a point about our starts to games. Players need to be ready from the first bounce and need to stay within 3 goals of them nearing the last quarter. I just feel that if we can do that, we can out run them at the end.

Key to staying with them is our in and under work. (ie. Clearances and attack on the footy) and tackling. Pressure to make them work that much harder to move the ball forward, which is key to reducing their efficiency and making them tired. Sydney often stayed with them because of their pressure, tackling and their in and under work. So really need big games from Watson, Hocking, Lonergan etc. I never thought I’ll say this but Lovett-Murray is a big loss for us. That bigger body at the contests will be missed.

There won’t be nothing more motivating than reminding our players of our last game against them. 99 points good old fashion thumping. Did anyone see the arrogant Stevie J look away kick last week? And Thompson’s interview, that he really didn’t care whether they won last week or not? Unbelievable.

Could be our pluses if Stokes and Chapman are missing. So they need to rely on Varcoe and maybe Bartel playing forward pocket.

My match up would be...

Pears on Hawkins
Hooker on Mooney
McPhee on Rooke
Houli on Varcoe
Slattery on S.Johnson

Hocking to tag Selwood.
Stanton to run with Ablett
Monfries to restrict the run of Enright

Daniher to come in for Lovett-Murray.

Just wish Prismall, McVeigh, Remiers and Laycock got up one week earlier in their recovery.

[bOmBeR_BoY1]

Ammunition. Firearms. Aim Practice.

We'll start with them.

[Wahooti Fandango]

I wish NLM was playing as I would love to see him smash Mackie. Damn I hate that guy.

[Mecha]

Personally I think victory will come down to the first quarter.

Geelong have won 8/9 first quarters. [ranked 1st in comp]
We have won 2/9 first quarters. [Ranked last in comp]

So far other teams put on a good lead early and we fight back and run over the top as the game goes on.
But if Geelong blow us away early there wont be any confidence left to stage a comeback.

[GmeUP]

We can't and we won't (would love to be proved wrong). We play to similar a game style to the Cats and their skill base compared to ours is astronomical. I would just be happy to be within 5 goals at the final siren to show we aren't to far away from the best in the bussiness.

[Houli to Neagle]

Hocking to SJ!! (Left field I know:p)
Winda & Dyson to Selwood!!

[Zaka11]

Anyone else see Geelongs injury list. They are missing a few key players like the Hawks were that night. Chappy always murders us im glad he is not playing this week!

[bombre-boy]

Let down the tyres on their bus...or put a "blue and white hoops swine flu" quarantine before the westgate....

[King Of The Hille]

who do we think ling will go to????
im leaning towards stanton as i dont think he ha the pace to go with winderlich or lovett

[Skeeta Olly]

Hocking to Selwood

Ling to Stanton

Leaves Winders Lovett - Corey Bartell ?

[nighthawk]

Hocking to Selwood

Ling to Stanton

Leaves Winders Lovett - Corey Bartell ?

I think you've got it, though I think they might get someone to pressure Watson and maybe Lovett too, but the pink pig to put the tightest tag on Stanton.