Geelongs window closed?

Definately not closed in terms of the age of the players.

I heard that Geelong's window has just fogged over ....... it's became so steamy down there with Bomber .......

Ricketts said:

Definately not closed in terms of the age of the players.

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Agreed.
They have fielded the youngest team more times than any other club this year.

Their big problem is the forward line.

Oh When the Saints said:

I heard that Geelong's window has just fogged over ....... it's became so steamy down there with Bomber .......

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LMAO.

LongBomb said:

They have fielded the youngest team more times than any other club this year.

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They have

Basically Geelong has to weed out all those characters that are causing this cancer of extremely soft performances - regardless of their current standing in the current side. It will take a change of coaching staff and someone with balls to change it.

Thomo should have been sacked after that debarcle against West Coast. You knew almost immediately that they'd never make the finals, let alone win the premiership with him at the helm. And he'll never get rid of the guys that are holding this team back.

Either way you're looking at at least a few years in the wilderness.

It closed when they lost to the Hawks in Round 3.
They lack a few things: A reliable key forward (Obviously very hard to find, Hawkins could be the answer but he is still 3-4 years off), a player who can finish well in the middle and a coach who can coach.
I believe they should do everything in their power to get Aker. He is exactly what they need.

A good forward and some pace in the middle is what they need.

Falchoon said:

no leadership
limited class
very little hardness

cliche maybe, but too many soft frontrunners

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a week ago this was most peoples view of St Kilda.

Grimreepah said:

They have

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Yes they have.

LongBomb said:

Yes they have.

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I find that very hard to believe. How do you know that? Can you post your stats please.

davey_magik said:

It closed when they lost to the Hawks in Round 3.
They lack a few things: A reliable key forward (Obviously very hard to find, Hawkins could be the answer but he is still 3-4 years off), a player who can finish well in the middle and a coach who can coach.
I believe they should do everything in their power to get Aker. He is exactly what they need.

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No thanks!

ripitup27 said:

That was a very silly comment

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No, it was actually spot on.Geelong have, for as long as I've been around had a very laid back 'yeah that'll do' mentality.Or it has always appeared that way to me.Either that or the club needs a bomb under it.You're own CEO said it when he first arrived, that was what I was getting at.Also, they always seem to drop off the pace when the going gets tough.Two games stick out.Against us when they really had to win, you'd have thought it was the Kangaroos trying to make the 8, and today which was their real last chance IMO.FFS I can go back to '94-5 when the club celebrated making the GF they partied that hard you'd have thought they won it.This attitude still appears to be present and its what needs changing asap.On field the club needs more players with the attitude of Cameron Mooney who at least looks like he gives a sh1t when they lose.

Magpie said:

I believe they need to rebuild for the next 3 years before they can challenge again.

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another year or two i reckon...
but better hurry up.

davey_magik said:

It closed when they lost to the Hawks in Round 3.

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In hindsight that's when it closed but most people would have called that an upset, a hiccup.

I wrote them off for the finals after about Round 8 when it just wasn't working for them. They made a gallant charge over the past 6 weeks though to have a go at making the finals, but the opportunity for the flag well and truly was closed by Round 8, and most likely the window.

Take out Kinglsey and put in Fevola.
Suspect the Cats would fare better if that happened

Write the Cats off at your peril.

They are in at least as good a shape - probably a lot better - as the Pies were at this same stage of last season.

They'll be in there with a show again next year.

mark73 said:

No, it was actually spot on.Geelong have, for as long as I've been around had a very laid back 'yeah that'll do' mentality.Or it has always appeared that way to me.Either that or the club needs a bomb under it.You're own CEO said it when he first arrived, that was what I was getting at.Also, they always seem to drop off the pace when the going gets tough.Two games stick out.Against us when they really had to win, you'd have thought it was the Kangaroos trying to make the 8, and today which was their real last chance IMO.FFS I can go back to '94-5 when the club celebrated making the GF they partied that hard you'd have thought they won it.This attitude still appears to be present and its what needs changing asap.On field the club needs more players with the attitude of Cameron Mooney who at least looks like he gives a sh1t when they lose.

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Now that assessment I 100% agree with. I just didnt understand the bumpkin comment. Its true though, I rekon I could only name Mooney, Chapman, Byrnes, Riccardi and at the moment Mackie that give a sh1t about the club. No one cares and it's sad to see.

The window's not closed - its only just opening. I base this on two factors - list maturity and finals experience.

LIST MATURITY

To win a flag you need strength at three levels within the playing group:

(1) A senior leadership group in the 28yo+ age range and with 180+ games experience

(2) A core group of 24yo-28yo players with 50-200 games experience and who are at their peak, who have been around long enough to know their games - these blokes are the premiership engine room

(3) A handful of young guns who provide a bit of spark and excitement

The Cats in 2004 were strong in (3), but had very little in (1) and (2). That is, they had a good list but were too young and inexperienced. On the other hand, the Roos, Bombers, Lions, Power and Swans all had strength in all three areas when they won their premierships in the last few years.

The current day Crows haven't won a flag yet, but no-one could seriously doubt their capability to do so this year, and a look at their list backs up the point. Before last season I heard repeatedly that they had easily the worst list in the competition, and many picked them for the spoon. Now, with largely the same list, they not only have "talent", they have "depth"! Its basically the same list! The difference is that those blokes have matured. They have a great balance in all three groups:

(1) Experienced club leaders in Ricciuto, Hart, Clarke, McLeod, Edwards, Goodwin are all 29 or older and have played more than 180 games

(2) Blokes like Bassett, Torney, Biglands, Perrie, Bode, Doughty, Massie, Shirley, McGregor, Stevens, Mattner, Johncock are all in the 24-28yo group with more than 100+ games' experience - a lot of these guys weren't rated a few years ago but with some experience, maturity and good coaching have come through and are now seriously good players

(3) Hentschel, Rutten, Reilly, Van Berlo, Porplyzia, Vince, Knights are all young blokes who have played some really good footy

Subject to whatever trading goes on, a close look at the Cats' list shows that they will enter the sweet spot by about 2008, and will be there for probably two or three years.

FINALS EXPERIENCE

The other point, aside from list maturity, is finals experience. A couple of years in the finals does not constitute a 'premiership window', and a bad year this year does not mean it is closed. Every premiership side for a long time now has had to do their finals apprenticeship, some of them for quite a long time - for example, Brisbane had 5 unsuccessful finals campaigns in 6 seasons immediately before taking out three in a row (the year they missed was 1998 and they finished last - that is a much worse year that the Cats have had this year). That means that they made the finals 9 seasons out of 10 from 1995-2004, making the GF only in the LAST FOUR of those. Their window certainly wasn't closed after 2-3 years in the finals and then a last placing.

The Bombers after winning in 93 made the finals in 94, 95, 96 and 98 (they slumped to 14th in 97), before being a true power in 1999-2001 and arguably the most unbeatable side we have seen in the modern era in 2000. Their window wasn't closed because they missed the GF by a Tony Lockett point in 96 and then f***ed up badly in 97 - it was just opening.

Back to the current day Crows and why they are cherry ripe from this perspective too. They made the finals in 2001, 2002 (semi), 2003 (prelim) and 2005 (prelim again), while falling to 12th with only 8 wins in 2004. Was their window closed at the end of 2004? Lots of people said yes, but I doubt they're still saying it now, because it simply wasn't true. With the maturity of their list and the experience of four unsuccessful finals campaigns under their belts, they look ready to me.

I think Geelong right now looks remarkably like Brisbane, Essendon and Adelaide did in the lead up to becoming the real competition heavyweights - young lists, a few years' finals experience, even the bad year in the middle as a kick up the pants. And subject to injuries, won't lose any players to retirement for a good three years (other than Riccardi).

I'm not suggesting that the Cats will definitely win three of the next five flags, or any of the next five for that matter. Good coaching, a good run with injuries, passion, commitment, mental strength, etc, etc all need to be there, so Geelong needs to get those right as well. But I am saying that in terms of where they're at with the playing list, their real chance, their 'premiership window', is more likely to be 2008-10 than 2004-6.

Does not matter a stuff whether there is a window or how wide it is open.....or how old young or talented..... unless Cats get someone (few) who can consistently kick straight and consistently get decent bags of goals then .. they will continue to be the comps window cleaners

celtic_pride said:

Take out Kinglsey and put in Fevola.
Suspect the Cats would fare better if that happened

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Spot on Pride.

Catnip said:

Spot on Pride.

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No sh*t, Sherlock

Grimreepah said:

I find that very hard to believe. How do you know that? Can you post your stats please.

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This is a couple of rounds old, but you get the idea:

Lowest age of list per round.

R 1 Ge 23.99
R 2 WC 23.91
R 3 Ge 24.00
R 4 Ge 23.69
R 5 Ge 23.86
R 6 Ri 24.01
R 7 Ri 23.27
R 8 Ri 23.64
R 9 Es 23.41
R10 Ha 23.79
R11 Ge 23.72
R12 Ha 23.06
R13 Ca 23.40
R14 Ca 23.50

Each club's average age.
Does not include rookie-listed players unless they have played a senior game in 2006. 3rd & 4th columns are players <25 and players 30+.

Ha 23.20 32 3
Ri 23.59 28 4
Ge 23.67 30 1
Ca 23.72 26 3
Co 23.82 26 3
Es 23.87 23 3
WB 23.97 29 6
WC 23.97 23 2
Br 24.00 26 7
Sy 24.06 22 1
Ka 24.20 25 3
PA 24.32 24 6
Me 24.45 20 2
Fr 24.47 24 4
St 24.56 24 4
Ad 24.73 22 3


Average age per player in 2006:

Ha 24.06
Ca 24.17
Ri 24.26
Ge 24.31
WC 24.40
Es 24.40
Br 24.46
PA 24.97
Me 25.07
Fr 25.17
Co 25.42
Ka 25.44
St 25.56
WB 25.58
Sy 25.69
Ad 25.99

Our window is closed because so many players on our list are retiring in the next two years...