Autopsy 2014 Geelong Football Club season review

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DV2000

Club Legend
May 9, 2014
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Review the year that was - on and off the field, players, coaches, tactics, leadership, fitness/management staff, what worked, what didn't work.
 
Sep 15, 2005
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Bring back Chappy.

Get rid of Varcoe.

Joel Selwood. Oh Captain, My Captain.

Brown can play, no he can't. actually maybe he can?
Brown will stay, no he won't. actually maybe he'll walk?

Ditto Walker, minus the speculation on his retention. Sub topic; is the tough guy still a commodity in football; is Walker a tough guy?

Blicavs is apparently a good runner.

Bundy out, Bundy in, Bundy out.

I was actually pretty much the first poster here that said Linco/Thurlsy/Harts/Kersto would make it, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!

HMAC is Back!! No, wait a minute - he's stuffed.

Stevie J's a monty for the Brownlow! No, wait a minute - he's stuffed.

Stokes is a monty for the Brownlow! No, wait a minute - he's stuffed.
No hang on, he's back, but somehow he seems to have reverted back to a 2009/10 version of himself.
Oh well, still better than Varcoe.

See; Kersten really is the messiah; suck it! No, wait a minute, he's stuffed too. Until 2015.

Jared Rivers is stuffed. No, wait a minute; he really was just resting.

Has Duncan 'levelled up', or is he merely keeping pace with the modern game?

It's pretty much all James Kelly's fault. Wha- another year?

Corey Enright's retirement may coincide with the realisation of Flying Cars.

Big Daws on the sauce. Back is sore.

Bundle Steven Motlop up in bubblewrap until rd.1 2015.

When Taylor stitches up opposition Forwards, it usually suits us, but when Taylor switches up Forward, it suits the opposition, who is usually already stitching us up.

We shoulda got Brad instead, amirite?!

Maybe; just maybe, if we all just for one damn minute put our differences to one side and wish really, really hard, the knee fairy will get Daniel Menzel up for 2015.

Tom Hawkins' Back.

I'll get me coat.
 

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Oct 5, 2013
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We sucked, our "kittens" were shitter than what they left in their kitty litter tray

Can't blame the coaching staff for sticking with the veterans as they were still solid but I felt we really lacked speed and creativity and while it appeared our season was right back on track entering the finals . . . a few of the older brigade looked to have nothing left in the tank.

Hamling was good in the VFL for most of the season, he's still very skinny and would get brushed aside but he is super athletic and could have been worth a try in Mackie's place for a week or two while Thurlow and Bews had plenty of speed/creativity to burn but did not feature much at all.
Lang & Hartman were two others I was eagerly hoping to see more of.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I hope 2015 brings about the transition we thought may eventuate this year, would like to see the younger blokes get a run and stay there just as Blicavs & Kersten did. I am unsure we have the list to contend for a flag next year but if we get 15+ games into Kolodjashnij, Lang, Hartman, McCarthy, Hamling, Jansen, I think we'll really have a good chance of molding these kittens into something special by 2017 or beyond.

(obviously all changes in regards to expectations if we were to acquire a Frawley and Dangerfield though)
 

DV2000

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May 9, 2014
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I'll start off with a basic statistical overview of our H&A season.

Our final ladder position was 3rd, yet in terms of percentage, we were ranked 8th. This gives some sort of indication of us being very lucky to secure such a high ladder position while not being one of the top teams in the league. Our average winning margin was just 28.9 points (ranked 12th in the league), whereas the Eagles' was 50.1, the Hawks' 47.2 and Port's 42.7. This stat, along with our average losing margin of 49 points (3rd highest in the competition) makes it easy to see why our percentage wasn't as high as the last few years.

One major issue that we faced throughout this season was our fadeouts towards the end of matches. We won 18 out of a possible 22 1st quarters (the most in the league) and 15 out of 22 2nd quarters (equal first in the comp). However, the second half figures were a far cry from the first half. We won just 8 of our 3rd quarters (we lost almost 2/3 third quarters), which was ranked 3rd worst in the league. We won 12 of our 4th quarters (a return of approx. 55%), which had us ranked 8th. In total quarters won, we ranked 4th, with 53 out of 88 (60.2%), bettered only by the Swans, Hawks and Power. So based on quarters won, we deserved to be in the top 4, but the overall points for and against categories told a different story.

On average, we scored 92.4 points per game, ranked 6th in the comp, and we conceded 81.2 points per game (making us the 9th best team defensively).

Over the course of the season, we used a total of 35 players at AFL level. Only Sydney and Port Adelaide used less players during the season. Depending on which way you look at it, this could possibly point to us not using as many players as we need to be in order to undergo a successful "rebuild", or it could also point to the fact that we have a sound, well-settled team.
 
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Oct 5, 2013
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An atheistic amen to all that Bobby_ ! :thumbsu: :thumbsu:

What were your thoughts of the new brigade this year and do you think there is one or two whom you think can turn it on? (potential A graders)

Caddy looks like he craves the big stage. Some of his work in the second half of the semi final was Bartel-esque. His hands overhead and the way he extracts the hard ball to create opportunities for others is quite brilliant. You either got it or you don't and he has it in spades in my opinion.
 

romeoh

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 23, 2011
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I'll start off with a basic statistical overview of our H&A season.

Our final ladder position was 3rd, yet in terms of percentage, we were ranked 8th. This gives some sort of indication of us being very lucky to secure such a high ladder position while not being one of the top teams in the league. Our average winning margin was just 28.9 points (ranked 12th in the league), whereas the Eagles' was 50.1, the Hawks' 47.2 and Port's 42.7. This stat, along with our average losing margin of 49 points (3rd highest in the competition) makes it easy to see why our percentage wasn't as high as the last few years.

One major issue that we faced throughout this season was our fadeouts towards the end of matches. We won 18 out of a possible 22 1st quarters (the most in the league) and 15 out of 22 2nd quarters (equal first in the comp). However, the second half figures were a far cry from the first half. We won just 8 of our 3rd quarters (we lost almost 2/3 third quarters), which was ranked 3rd worst in the league. We won 12 of our 4th quarters (a return of approx. 55%), which had us ranked 8th. In total quarters won, we ranked 4th, with 53 out of 88 (60.2%), bettered only by the Swans, Hawks and Power. So based on quarters won, we deserved to be in the top 4, but the overall points for and against categories told a different story.

On average, we scored 92.4 points per game, ranked 6th in the comp, and we conceded 81.2 points per game (making us the 9th best team defensively).

Over the course of the season, we used a total of 35 players at AFL level. Only Sydney and Port Adelaide used less players during the season. Depending on which way you look at it, this could possibly pint to us not using as many players as we need to be in order to undergo a successful "rebuild", or it could also point to the fact that we have a sound, well-settled team.
But the Eagles were ordinary and look at their winning margin-stats, lies and damned stats!
I'd say if we won that many quarters, then we did deserve our spot on the ladder. Port probs better than us but all the rest below us- we were better. Even north -despite final loss. We beat them twice and nearly beat them despite running out of luck and being hobbled in finals.
We did well all things considered.
 
Sep 15, 2005
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Over the course of the season, we used a total of 35 players at AFL level. Only Sydney and Port Adelaide used less players during the season. Depending on which way you look at it, this could possibly pint to us not using as many players as we need to be in order to undergo a successful "rebuild", or it could also point to the fact that we have a sound, well-settled team.

All interesting stats in your post DV2000, the one I've quoted is the one that's probably the most contentious though, as you yourself identified.

To me, broadly speaking it reads as though the club has continued to attempt to walk a tightrope with regards to the 'rolling rebuild'.

'We' have attempted to remain as competitive as possible, while integrating a core group of players which the club have identified as the best currently on the list to take us forward.

In hindsight perhaps a lack of adventure and forward-planning at selection might be marked as a knock on the club.
Then again, the opposite argument could be made if we were seen to be 'gifting' games to the currently untried and underutilized.

The untrodden path can sometimes seem the most enticing, and this season definitely had the feeling of a holding pattern, sometimes even like a club treading water.

But the alternative approach really isn't in keeping with the Geelong philosophy, and would be a step down the path which starts people thinking that it's ok to drop a game here and there for a draft pick.
The 'play the kids' mentality can very much lead to a 'let's not play our strongest team' mentality.
The club once had a shabby reputation with it's handling of retiring/retired club veterans, deservedly or not.
These days club veterans are treated with more respect.
Despite the high-profile split, Chappy wasn't particularly scathing about his and the club's inability to reach an agreement, and the separation with Pods was positively amicable.

The argument was played out on this board week after week, and it would be pretty rare for even the most radical of posters to call for the axing of one of the veterans, aside from poor ol' Trav Varcoe. Most of us wanted the strongest team possible on the field.
There was a small window toward the end of the season where we may have had the luxury of resting a player or two, and that opportunity was not taken, maybe it should have been.

I'm reasonably sure I've heard Chris Scott speak of his discussions with the Geelong board prior to his appointment, whereupon he pledged to play a certain number of young players, no matter what.
Honestly I don't know the criteria; 4 kids with under 50 games? 3 kids under 21?
This of course was when our list was still full of class and experience.

Could we have snuck a few more games into the youngsters? Definitely.

We tried to pinch one while getting games into a core group of young players.
Didn't work.

Perhaps that pre-appointment pledge needs refining, but then again, the 'play the kids' mantra has suddenly become a bit hackneyed now that free agency has entered the equation.
 
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Nov 12, 2002
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What were your thoughts of the new brigade this year and do you think there is one or two whom you think can turn it on? (potential A graders)

Caddy looks like he craves the big stage. Some of his work in the second half of the semi final was Bartel-esque. His hands overhead and the way he extracts the hard ball to create opportunities for others is quite brilliant. You either got it or you don't and he has it in spades in my opinion.

Very, very confident in Caddy, Guthrie and Horlin-Smith eventually making it. I will say I think they need to figure out what Guthrie's role is; is he a pure tagger, or ballwinner. I think it really needs to be one or the other. Horlin-Smith has to get fitter and stronger as he really ran out of gas late in the year. Think they'll all be better again next year.

I'd love to see Bews get more games; a small defender who actually defends as his first priority would be great. Thurlow I think looks good but needs a definite position week to week. That's about it for young players. I don't want to say 'potential A graders' as they'll all ebb and flow in their development. As long as they're better next year.

Most of all, I just want to see football skills improving. Better marking, and especially better kicking. I don't know when elite kicking skills suddenly became a luxury, they should be absolutely expected. Having a genuine ruckman or two who can run out a few games in a row would be nice as well.
 
Sep 15, 2005
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What were your thoughts of the new brigade this year and do you think there is one or two whom you think can turn it on? (potential A graders)

Caddy looks like he craves the big stage. Some of his work in the second half of the semi final was Bartel-esque. His hands overhead and the way he extracts the hard ball to create opportunities for others is quite brilliant. You either got it or you don't and he has it in spades in my opinion.

Yep, well said.

I think that the MC have identified a group of players that they think will be part of the next premiership side, and pumped games into them where (they feel) practical.

Personally I love Cam Guthrie's game, I think barring injury he will be around for a long time and I think he still has just as much improvement as any of our young players in him, which is saying a lot, as he has already attained a high level of output, despite a bit of a dip toward the tail end of 2014.

You've summed up Caddy superbly; personally I was quietly confident that he'd get back to his best once he'd settled back into the side, and he is tracking very nicely, I think he's shown himself what he is capable of.

I was pretty negative on Horlin-Smith last year, but he proved me very wrong and really made huge strides.
Faded toward the end of the year, but then again so did Guthrie, who is more advanced in his football.

I think Blicavs cemented his spot in the best 22 fairly early in the season, hopefully he still has a lot of improvement in him too.

Your question was 'potential A graders' though and I think you've answered your own question, as Caddy, at his best, is a star and has a big influence over games.
 

Lana

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 23, 2010
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Pre-Season I was hoping that we would rebuild our Forward line but long term injuries to Vardy, Kersten, Burbury, McCarthy, Motlop, Christensen and Caddy prevented that. Even Smedts who could have played forward was injured for half of the year. The reason our forwardine was such a mess can easily be explained by the above.

Instead we rebuild our midfield, Guthrie, Horlin-Smith and Caddy, replaced Kelly, Bartel and Corey. These young midfielders joined the midfield rotation of Duncan and Christensen with Motlop spending more time further up the ground. We need to keep what we already have on the park and develop at least two more young midfielders to allow us to move Guthrie back to the defense and to allow Caddy and Moltop to rotate forward. But we have laid the ground work of our midfield for the next five years. I hope to see Hartman, Lang and Jansen given plenty opportunities next year especially if we let Hunt go. Compared to the rest of our team our midfield is in good shape.

Next year our team should focus on rebuilding our defense, we can't play the year with an average age of 31. Moving Varcoe down back and getting Frawley will help us to transition our defense between generations. If we don't get Frawley one or both of kolodjashnij or Hamling must play a dozen games next year, the same goes for Bews and Thurlow.
 

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That process is well under way.

There's nothing positive about finishing top 4 (deservedly) and bombing out in straight sets.
Well I disagree.

I thought there was a chance we'd miss the eight. We won 17 games. It's certainly not all negative.
 
Nov 7, 2010
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Well I disagree.

I thought there was a chance we'd miss the eight. We won 17 games. It's certainly not all negative.
I agree, but we over achieved as far as ladder position is concerned to where I thought we'd finish at the start of the year,half because our players have inherited a winning culture that again got them over the line in a lot of close ones and also the teams that I expected to come on in 2014 seamed to stagnate or go backwards,all in all I happy with 2014,but like Partridge disappointed to go out in straight sets but you could make excuses on the player availability for the finals but every one gets injuries we just don't bat deep enough in some positions.
 
Nov 7, 2010
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Hawthorn's are pretty lousy too I noticed the other night. They spent all their time getting the ball and hitting targets. Fools.
I hate that 14mtr game but they work hard for each other all over the ground and it's getting the job done.I question sometimes wether our high intensity up and back game plan is right at this stage for our age demographic IE a lot of old legs and a lot of young legs not being able to run out games as they would like.
 

Whit3y

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I agree, but we over achieved as far as ladder position is concerned to where I thought we'd finish at the start of the year,half because our players have inherited a winning culture that again got them over the line in a lot of close ones and also the teams that I expected to come on in 2014 seamed to stagnate or go backwards,all in all I happy with 2014,but like Partridge disappointed to go out in straight sets but you could make excuses on the player availability for the finals but every one gets injuries we just don't bat deep enough in some positions.

we bat poorly dont we

i fear for geelong for the future, i fear it

too many unknowns "they cant all be champions" will these guys be as good as what they are replacing? and these are the guys with at least some senior exp
mccarthy, hartman, burbury, bews, walker, thurlow, big dick kersten, schroder

too many sic notes
cowan, menzel, simpson, vardy

too many spud regis's
stringer, sheringham, smedts, ...varcoe

i can see us relying on the older brigade yet again next year
 
Nov 7, 2010
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we bat poorly dont we


i can see us relying on the older brigade yet again next year
We do and we will,it will be interesting to see if the club has the same attitude this year as it did last year for Pods,Chapman and Hunt or if it retreats from that stance and hold on to all the vets.Unless some one wants to finish they all get another year if it was me.
 

_Me_

Cancelled
Jul 31, 2010
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We overachieved this year, however the talent pool for a number of teams has been compromised with gws and gc.

the hawthorn list is nowhere near the 2008 list for example

we were found out for a lack of genuine mid and rucks to support selwood

defence was ok, lonners and rivers had great years, taylor was up and down, Kelly had some great games and some shockers

forward line had issue because of mc, needed a second big bloke to help Hawkins, and walker was ok from limited game time, needed to see Hawkins, walker, kersten play

however we were compromised because of our mids

our year was limited because bundy and menzel didn't survive the year without injury - had the miracle happened outcomes would have been different
 
That process is well under way.

There's nothing positive about finishing top 4 (deservedly) and bombing out in straight sets.
Tell that Richmond, Carlton, Melbourne, Doggy and St Kilda supporters. Im sure they'd be happy to swap places in a heartbeat.

Of course, the spoilt little kids here will whine as to be expected.

We didn't finish it off. There is not disputing that. And that is disappointing. Bad time to play bad footy. Our best was good enough and didn't play it. Simple.

We got more games into Duncan (whom I feel is really close to taking the next step up) Guthrie who showed he can play MF and BP.
Bews showed he will make it. Thurlow showed poise beyond his games.
We saw Hartman and Lang give evidence that no matter which end of the draft Wells picks you, you can impact games at AFL level.
Some bloke named Kersten showed he has the tools to play at the the top level.

Im not happy with the way it ended. Im a Geelong supporter and want success just like the next bloke… or chick, but the reality is there are a few measures that have been installed by the powers that be that are designed to prevent us doing exactly what we are doing. And whether we like it or not, they are taking effect.

We are trying to counteract them and will continue to do so and I will continue to support the club in their endeavors.

It won't be easy and there will be trials and tribulations and failures. I predicted top 6 at best. We finished 3rd. Ill call that a success.

Im excited about what comes next. We will have to make some hard choices and soon without compromising what makes us Geelong.

Im looking forward to it.

Go Catters
 
Sep 9, 2009
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I'll start off with a basic statistical overview of our H&A season.

Our final ladder position was 3rd, yet in terms of percentage, we were ranked 8th. This gives some sort of indication of us being very lucky to secure such a high ladder position while not being one of the top teams in the league.
On reflection I suppose that is one area of Chris Scott's performance in 2014 that I was annoyed with, where he was giving off the vibe at times that we had something up our sleeve, the "supreme confidence" thing. I'd almost rather them play the glass half empty card, and in a sense have our spokesman agree with what the media were saying, that we were lucky to be so high on the ladder.

It felt like as a club we were saying "No no we really are that good, just wait and see".....and the 'big statement' performance never came, as it didn't last year either. Injuries played a part of course but you don't want to give the opposition anything it that regard.

Talk is cheap of course but I'd rather not be setting us up to be knocked down. We do know that people love to smash a tall poppy. Clarkson played it quite well when we beat them earlier in the year and talked about how much work the Hawks had to do. Put it this way if Scott was doing the positive spin stuff for player motivational purposes it didn't work. And for the fans it just means you cop a bit of extra rubbish that you'd prefer not to get.

So next year more of "We're a really developing group, we'll take any wins as a bonus and see where we can get to" rather than "The media write a lot of rubbish" etc etc. That sort of stuff doesn't seem to help.

Also from the media angle, a little more honesty about injuries would be good. if they are serious then just say so. Sore knees (multiple players), sore backs (multiple players), sore feet etc, being coy about that stuff doesn't work either. I wonder how they'd review their management of fitness & injuries this year e.g. should we have rested McIntosh for more games, was 19 too many after not playing for over a year & a history of knee issues?

Anyway here's hoping for a better run at it next year.
 

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