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Official Geelong Player Review

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Shannon Byrnes

Played 10 games this season and was given a two year contract.

Best game was against Brisbane where he jumped over Jonathan Brown and treated Chris Johnson like a ragdoll. Other than that, there were a couple of fair games.

But there was more of the usual. Plenty of pace and poor delivery. One sided. Very small.

I was fairly surprised he was given a new contract as I would have thought he would be trade bait. He appears to be very popular amongst team mates and coaches. That being said, I'm happy to keep him, but can't see him being any more than a bit part player and useful for the grand final sprint.
 
Will Slade #37
Height: 182cm
Weight: 83kg
Recruited From: Scotch College/Oakleigh U18
Date of Birth: 24 October 1983

Draft history
·[FONT=&quot] Selected by Geelong in 2001 rookie draft[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] Rookie elevation by Geelong 2002[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] Rookie elevation by Geelong 2003[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] Selected by Geelong with 28th pick in 205 rookie draft after being delisted[/FONT]

Will’s Journey
In round 19, 2002, Will debuted for the Geelong Football Club. Although he had a promising start as a defender in Geelong’s backline, he struggled to gain a spot in the senior team and managed only 11 games between 2002 and 2005. In 2004, Will’s football career was put on hold after being diagnosed with the dreaded osteitis pubis. Because of this his season was basically a write-off. When many would have easily given up Will decided to keep trying to keep his football career alive. The GFC made the tough decision to delist him at the end of 2005 but was happy to reselect him with pick 28 in the 2006 rookie draft. Will has been lucky enough to play in 3 grand finals, 2 VFL (2002 and 2006) and 1 NAB Cup (2006) and he’s only 23.

Sladey’s 2006
VFL -14 games
AFL -6 games
NAB Cup -4 games

For Will, 2006 was about staying injury free, being consistent and proving that he deserves a spot in the senior team. Slade took part in all four games of the NAB Cup (including the grand final). While he impressed me, some Geelong fans were not convinced as he continued to give away many free kicks.

With many senior players still recovering from injuries and Nick Batchelor (the nominated rookie) being put on the extended injury list, Will was given the opportunity to play in the senior team. He played in the first 6 matches of the season and during this time he managed an average of 10.5 possessions a game and scored 1 goal and 1 behind. He settled into the team well, adapted to the pace of the game and showed he is capable of reaching the level AFL requires. His games were sometimes a bit patchy, one minute he would do a really good mark but then couldn’t finish it off with a direct kick. With Tom Harley back from injury Will’s time was up and there was no room for him. He was demoted to the VFL for what ended up to be the rest of the season. Will’s hard work was evident throughout all these games and the rest of the season.

Will improved immensely over the last few months of the VFL. He was named in the best for the Bendigo Bank Cats in Round 20, the Preliminary Final and the Grand Final. Will’s efforts on the ground are often nothing short of courageous as he goes hard at the ball and his opponents.

Slade (and his fans) face a nervous summer waiting to find out if he will be delisted or promoted to the senior list. If he is given the opportunity to play on with the Cats he will have plenty of proving to do to be given a permanent spot in the senior team.
 

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Steve Johnson (#20)
Born: July 4, 1983, Age: 23
Origin: Wangaratta/Murray Bushrangers
Height: 189cm, Weight: 89kg
Games: 67

Position: Half-forward

2006 Statistics (Total, Average)
Games: 15 (Rounds 2-4, 7-11, 16-22)
Disposals: 199, 13.3
Kicks: 139, 9.3
Handballs: 60, 4.0
Marks: 70, 4.7
Goals: 30, 2.0
Behinds: 13, 0.9
Tackles: 22, 1.5
Hitouts: 0, 0
Frees For: 16, 1.1
Frees Against: 12, 0.8

Steve Johnson (n.) - 1. A player who can change a game in a matter of a few deft touches. (GFC Website Profile)
2. Mercurial, freakish, has talent to burn. (Fans in the outer, after a win)
3. Inconsistent, unreliable, stupid. (Fans in the outer, after a loss)

After another pre-season battling chronic ankle problems, Steve Johnson was named as an emergency for the Round 1 game against Brisbane, before replacing the omitted Andrew Mackie to take on the Kangaroos in Round 2. He was quiet but serviceable in a 69-point win, with 10 disposals and two goals.

The next fortnight was somewhat of a nightmare for the football club and by Round 5 Johnson was back into the VFL side. He was perhaps an easy scape-goat after Geelong's abysmal effort against Hawthorn (where he gained 18 possessions and kicked 2.3) and thrilling loss to the Bulldogs (15, 0.1), as Geelong tried to find new avenues to goal.

Johnson showed in two matches in the VFL side that he was a class above the secondary level, kicking two bags of five goals, and was promptly included into the Round 7 side to face St. Kilda in a must-win game at the Telstra Dome, replacing the suspended Cameron Mooney in the forward line. On the biggest stage in football (Friday night), where Geelong concentrated on shutting down the Saints rather than being constructive themselves, Johnson was a rare shining light in a very unattractive game, finishing the night with three goals out of the Cats' 12 (and a bruise the size of a dinner plate, courtesy Aaron Hamill) in an 18-point win.

A strong argument could be made that Rounds 8 to 10 of Geelong's 2006 were three of the darkest in recent memory for all connected to the club. The biggest loss in years (102 points) was recorded on a dewy Saturday night at the MCG against a flying Collingwood side, followed by the first loss to Richmond at home in over a decade and a half, and iced by blowing a 54-point lead against West Coast at the same venue seven days later. In these games Johnson was relatively quiet (though by no means Geelongs' worst), with four goals in a horror three weeks.

Round 11 saw Geelong feature in one of 2006's many Friday night 'Mockbusters', against lowly Essendon at the Telstra Dome. Here, Johnson was at his mercurial best, with three goals in a comfortable, but in no means convincing, win which saw Geelong turn for home at four wins and seven losses. A memorable goal was kicked with a banana from 50m on the run. Although he played out the game, Johnson suffered a knee injury which was expected to see him miss a month due to minor surgery.

The extent of the injury was quite not as bad as the inital prognosis had indicated and Johnson recovered for three weeks (including the split round) before making two more apperances in the VFL. Here he wasn't as explosive as he was in his earlier VFL stint, this time with three goals followed by zero. However, Mooney was once again told by the Tribunal to take some time off, and Johnson was back to face the Bulldogs in Round 16.

Geelong struggled early before eventually clawing there way back into the game and clinging on to win by a whisker, reversing the one-point margin against the same side earlier in the year. Johnson received mixed reviews for his performance due to some unexplainable, but oh-so-characteristic, mistakes. However, the statistics speak for themselves - he had a season-high 20 disposals, kicked two early goals to arguably keep Geelong in with a chance, and took some crucial contested marks late in the game.

The Round 17 match against the Kangaroos in the nation's capital was one of the most heartless displays by any side this season. The match started badly with both Ablett and Ling gone after five minutes, and got worse. Johnson copped some significant criticism from the Channel 9 commentary team and fans alike for his seemingly too-casual attitude and because he failed to trouble the scorers, however he was far from Geelong's worst. On a day where two major ball-winners were out of action, true midfielders such as Joel Corey (13 disposals), James Kelly (15) and David Wojcinski (19) simply didn't step up, yet they seemed to escape blame while the half-forward (16 possessions) copped it.

It was as if the previous week's criticism sparked Johnson into action at the 'Gabba on a sunny Sunday in early August. Geelong was in control all day in an attractive game of football, and Johnson made the most of his opportunities, kicking four brilliant goals, one of them breathtaking from the forward pocket on the left foot.

Once again, Geelong undid its good work from the previous round, when it lost to St. Kilda by four goals in Round 19. In classic erratic-Johnson fashion, he showed everyone both ends of his spectrum, such as taking a brilliant one-handed mark and converting, but later playing on close to goal leading to error. He finished with two majors.

In back-to-back games at Skilled Stadium in Rounds 20 and 21, Geelong took care of a below-par Sydney then came back from 38-points down to draw with Melbourne, to officially end its 2006 finals campaign before it began. In these games, Johnson was again a lively contributer, kicking 2.1 and 4.1 respectively. Finally, Hawthorn put Geelong out of the misery it itself had begun in Round 3 by flogging Geelong in the ultimate game of the season. In the final game of a nightmare season, Johnson yet again kicked a brace of goals.

In summary, when Steve Johnson has been on the park, he has had a good season. In 15 games he kicked 30 goals (ranked #3 at the club) for an average of two per game (#1). An important feature of his goalkicking is his accuracy (only 13 behinds were recorded against his name), which is rare at the football club.

The to-do list is simple for Johnson. Get a full pre-season into himself, if possible, and try to get onto the park for every match next season (ankles-willing). He appears to be casual or lazy, but this is only an appearance - he simply doesn't look like a League footballer on the outside. Yet this man has talent. Real talent. He can kick goals from positions where perhaps less than a handful of other players could do the same. An All-Australian at Under 18 level, he should be encouraged to improvise as much as possible, while trying to cut down on unnecessary mistakes. Some 'bad' must be taken with the 'very good'. Another part of his game that could improve is his defensive pressure - too often he tries to apply a heavy bump rather than laying a tackle. He is an opportunist - a good one - and the ones that are remembered are those who have two sides to their game. If he can mould his defensive game more on those of Gary Ablett or Aaron Davey, then that may be a step in the direction of becoming an elite player in this great game.
 
Great summary on SJ, especially the noun definition. You're pretty spot on. We have to take the good with the bad - because when he's good there;s hardly anyone better to watch.
 
winty said:
I'm aiming to get mine done by the end of the week :)

Let me rephrase that....I'll get mine done as soon as my laptop comes back from the repairers. Don't have enough time to get it done at work unfortunately.
 
Kent Kingsley

Nearly as unpopular as a red-headed step child round these parts, Kent started in a blaze of glory against Carlton way back in round 1 of the wizard cup, slotting 9 goals. Ask anyone if he would end up on the scarphead after that night and most would have laughed at you. I wouldve spat at you and punched you.

A scare in the hammy looked gone when he dazzled us again in round 2 against the Kangaroos, slotting a career high 8 goals (the highest by any Geelong player, since his 7 against Essendon...) and the sky was the limit.

But then ********** went down which would probably make a good telemovie, and he could end up at Richmond. :(

Vale Kent, I will miss you!
 

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