SJ
Premium Platinum
AFL Premiership Round 7
Essendon V Geelong
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Friday May 10
Etihad Stadium 7:50 PM (Local Time)
So here we go footy fans. 1st v 2nd in front of 90,000 plus screaming fans at the football mecca known to the masses as the “G”.
Hang on. Make that a little over half of that crowd at the Dome. Nothing like playing a home game against the Bombers at their home ground. No matter where it is, this will be an absoulyte cracker with the winning side to be handed the Oysters Kilpatrick trophy.
At the selection table - Much like a cheap brothel, there’ll be plenty of ins and outs at the Essendon selection table on Thursday night. Hurley, Ryder, Carlisle, Fletch, Winderlich and Heppell are all possibilities to come in while Hille is off to Paris on annual leave. Stanton is the only doubt for the red and black.
Geelong had most of their AFL listed players playing in the VFL put their hands up for an AFL call up with another dominant display. The cats will however wait on the fitness of Chappy with Caddy ready to step up if the angry bald man doesn’t get up. Murder may be the unlucky bloke to miss after being subbed off without having too much impact.
History – The cats have a handy record against the Dons winning 8 of the past 10. In saying that in comparison with a lot of other clubs recent records against the cats, the Bombers have come out pretty well. The last few went a little like this:
2012 Round 17 – The Tommahawk snagged 5 majors in Geelongs 67 point demolition in front of 50,000 at the same venue. Mitch Duncan had it on a string for the cats as the Bombers continued the downward spiral at the end of last year.
2011 Round 15 – A 4 point win for the Bombers against a fast finishing Cats was a massive achievement. Missing a lot of their better players, including Watson, the likes of Heppell, Melksham, Howlett and Stanton ran riot with Monfries snagging 3 majors.
2010 Round 12 – 71 points separated the 2 sides, meeting for the second time of the season. Varcoe and Pods both booted 5 majors while Ablett, Kelly and Bartel suffered from leather poisoning, racking up stats at will.
2010 Round 1 – Down by 6 points at 3 qtr time, the cats came home with an 8 goal last qtr to run out 31 point winners. Ablett had a lazy 37 touches with Mooney and Byrnes snagging 3 a piece. Stanton tried hard with 33 possies, but the forward line of Neagle, Gumby and Williams failed to fire. Hard to wonder why….
2009 Round 10 – Geelong amassed 433 possessions in a 64 point win. SJ snagged 6 and Moons kicked 4 while Selwood racked up 37 touches.
2008 Round 2 – After a demolition job on the Kangers in round 1, premiership winning coach Matty Knights
The blokes that matter –
Ryder was spoken about in some circles as possible trade bait. In the mould of Jarrod Brennon, he can look like a match winner one minute but then go missing for the rest of the game, frustrating Bomber fans to no end. His form to date in 2013 has made those fans eat humble pie with the big fella being a dominant force until being forced to have a few weeks off for a bump that looked to have a little less force that Lindsay Thomas’s the week before. But hey, that’s the MRP, they always keep us guessing!
Bundy Christensen put in a performance last week that should have turned a few heads. 28 disposals, 3 goals and half a dozen clearances speaks volumes but when 18 of his 28 possessions were contested, there’s some hard work being done by the little bloke. The Geelong faithful just take it as another step up for Bundy who will pull together more of these types of matches in years to come.
Zaharakas is no longer just the hardest name in AFL footy to spell. The ANZAC day hero from a few years back has fought his way through a variety of injuries and is stepping up into the upper echelon of midfielders. Very similar to Dayne Beams rise of 2012, Zucker is a key component in Essondon’s ever improving midfield.
The Big H is the AFL’s Mr Versitile. Despite being an early tip for the All Australian CHB, Harry Taylor has stepped up to pose an offensive threat up forward helping himself to 9 goals so far this year with the vision to float forward more often when the opportunity beckons. However with Rivers out injured for Balmey’s obligatory 1-2 weeks, H will need to take up a key defensive post on one of the Bomber talls. 49 marks for the season just shows how good his hands are.
Jobe One is one of the blokes that is just about untaggable. Strong as an OX, hard at it with no fuss he’s changed from an inbetween type player with no set position that Sheeds was looking to off load and transformed himself into one of the best mids in the comp. Many a year ago his kicking made opposition teams happy but through sheer hard work (not peptides) it’s become a strength of his game. Much like our beloved captain, Jobe leads his chargers from the front and leaves nothing out of the field. Except for a bit of blue Powerade!
Matty Stokes is another that has taken his game to the next level. Racking up possessions at will, his ball use through the middle of the ground has been second to none. A much improved fitness base has resulted in him spending more time in the midfield. Occasionally the whipping boy for some strange reason, a large serving of humble pie is being dished up by the number 27.
Jake Carlisle has been a giant killer this year so expect him to line up on the Hawk. Has great positioning and reach, learning from one of the best in Fletch. After all, Fletch only has another 4 or 5 years left in him. Carlisle is well and truly in the running to be the All Australian full back if he continues on with his current form.
A lot has been said about doctors, drugs and the results of both. I count my blessings every day that the Collingwood and Essendon doctors were clearly taking mind numbing drugs when they looked at the X Rays and decided that Stevie J’s ankles wouldn’t hold up to the riggors of AFL footy at the end of 2006. In the 6 and a bit seasons since, he’s played 133 games and snagged 278 goals as well as pinch hitting in the midfield. For those attending the match, take note of his field kicking. There has never before been a player that creative by foot. He virtually instructs his team mates where to run by dropping the ball in the right spot. Sure there’s still room fo the snaps and look away handballs but SJ is clearly more than a half forward with great goal sense.
Verdict – The Bombers have been up against it in the media again this week but just continue to churn out some seriously good football. Take last weeks game with a grain of salt as there was always going to be a bit of a let down after ANZAC day. Most games against the Giants are going to be fairly anti climatic. Another big week, a lot of focus, this is a massive test for the Bombers.
As for the Cats you would take a 4-2 start at this point, given a tough draw, but the boys have just done enough to get the chocolates in all 6 games. Without a massive impact on the scoreboard from Hawk, Pods or Stevie J so far this season, the kids (or kittens) have stepped up big time with goals coming from all and sundry. Some have said Hawkins looks a little heavier, I for one don't see it. Once the big blokes start dominating, watch out!
The midfield battle will be telling with the Cats forced to once again try and shark the oppositions hitouts. Expect some silver service from Ryder as he did before his holiday so the pressure will be on to create errors in the guts. Geelong has been able to wear their opponents down in the latter stages of the games so far and started to win some clearances. With neither side putting up terribly good numbers in that department, first use of the ball will go a long way. Taylor Hunt’s assignment (Stanton if he comes up, otherwise Zucker or Heppell) will be interesting to watch and I’d expect to see the hyphen go to Watson considering his job on Kennedy up at the SCG a few weeks back.
In the end though I thing the cats will have too much run and too many options for the Bombers to contain. They certainly are playing well enough but if both are at the top of their game, the Cats are still too good. Geelong by 21.
