-
LIVE: Richmond v Melbourne - 7:25PM Wed
Squiggle tips Demons at 77% chance -- What's your tip? -- Team line-ups »
Certified Legendary Thread Willo's Friday Inquisitions - Seasons 1 & 2
- Thread starter Willo_
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Willo_
Trust the Process
- Apr 27, 2010
- 35,237
- 62,327
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- 76ers, Melbourne Roys
- Thread starter
- #602
Good Evening fellow Cats fans and opposition lurkers,
Tonight we have a very special interview from one of the better posters on this board, potentially a biased opinion as I also think he is a ripping bloke that I could talk footy with all day long.
Tonights guest is none other than The rabbi
So sit down, get a refreshing beverage and enjoy
Tonight we have a very special interview from one of the better posters on this board, potentially a biased opinion as I also think he is a ripping bloke that I could talk footy with all day long.
Tonights guest is none other than The rabbi
So sit down, get a refreshing beverage and enjoy
- Feb 11, 2009
- 28,079
- 35,083
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- #rompingwins
Willo_
Trust the Process
- Apr 27, 2010
- 35,237
- 62,327
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- 76ers, Melbourne Roys
- Thread starter
- #604
I'll start with the standard 1st one... what got you following footy and the Cats?
As a kid I was fascinated with footy well before I was even physically able to kick one. My oldest brother used to take me along to watch him play in the late 60's and the early 70's to watch him play for his local team St. Albans (not to be confused with the suburb west of Melbourne) in the East of Geelong.
Being born and bred in Geelong, and all the kids at school followed the Cats, it never really entered my head to support any team other than Geelong. Dad originally from Brunswick, followed Carlton but switched to the Cats when he moved to Geelong to pursue work after the war.
I can clearly remember my father taking me along to my first Geelong game at Kardinia Park (in 1969 iirc) where Geelong, who was a top 4 team played North Melbourne. North Melbourne at that stage had not won a Premiership and were a mediocre team. I was filled with excitement in anticipation of a Geelong win only to be horribly disappointed in my first taste of what was then VFL football. We lost to North by 8 points.
My second Geelong game that year also looked like being a disaster until the last 1/4 when the Cats hit the front and went onto to win by a couple of goals over Hawthorn. There was no turning back from that point. No other game captivated me like VFL football.
And when you got bitten by the bug was it the Cats or the game itself that really captured you?
Being born and bred in Geelong it seems to me a natural thing to follow the Cats. Geelong is my home town and I have lived here all of my life. I cannot help but identify with Geelong because it is very much a part of me.
And although the game of AFL is a great game it seems to me that it would be a rather soul-less game without the passion that comes from identifying with a particular team.
Rivalry adds passion to the game. Even watching games where your team is not involved, such as the games between Essendon and the Weagles with the jumper waving. I used to love the old Carlton V Collingwood games of the late 60's and 70's. But for me nothing matches the passion of a game between Geelong and Hawthorn. A win against the Hawks is so much more satisfying and the pain of a loss is so much more acute.
So it is difficult to separate the love of the game from the love of my team. But if, in the unlikely event that Geelong was removed from the league, or rebadged and sent to Canberra as the Canberra Cats, I doubt that I would follow the game other than watch the odd game on TV.
Do you like the modern game?
Yes, I do like the modern game but there are aspects of the game that annoy me.
Probably the most annoying part of the game today is the tactic of flooding. It just makes for very ugly football when there is 36 players crowded into one half of the ground. It reminds me of under 10's footy where the kids cannot resist the urge to just run up the ground and get a kick.
The flooding also contributes to rugby like scrums at the stoppages. The ball just gets held up with so many players around a contest and it (to my mind) creates ugly football.
I have toyed in my mind with the idea of a rule where a number of players must be on the defensive side of the center at all times to try and beat the ugly flood. Would it work? I don't know but the AFL have never been shy about changing rules.
The other annoying thing is not really part of the game. It is the inconsistency of the MRP rulings. I find it difficult to see how one player can escape being penalised for an offense and yet another gets weeks for what looks to me the same thing. I also get frustrated with what I would consider are citable offenses that do not even get looked at.
On the positive side, I do like seeing high marking and contested marks. I find it the most exciting aspect of the game.
Jamie Elliott's mark over Jimmy Bartel at the MCG and his pack mark from the back of the pack against Port Adelaide was a ripper. Not bad for a kid who is of the comparable proportions to Lincoln McCarthy.
Should I mention that I actually liked the idea of the
Hands in the Backrule?
But overall I think that the game is in a fairly healthy state, even though attendances dropped off last year. Some of that may have been due to the cost of going to the footy. Some of it was no doubt due to the scheduling of games at inconvenient times and days. I.e Thursday or Monday nights.
You mentioned young McCarthy.... you have long been a vocal supporter of him, what is it that you like or see in him?
I remember going down to K-Park to watch the VFL and it was the first game that I saw McCarthy play. He absolutely dominated the first 1 or 2 quarters and was in everything. I saw Chris Scott motion to Max Rooke to come and watch him. Scotty seemed very excited by his play. His marking above his head was very good and he was setting up other players as well as kicking a goal or two. He ran out of gas and was hardly visible in the second half.
You could see that the kid has talent but he clearly lacked the fitness to play out a full game. Unfortunately later in the year he suffered a navicular stress fracture that ended that season as well as the next.
This year I met dazbroncos at K'Park and we watched the game together and had a few beers. There was a stage for about a 1/4 or more where everything that happened for Geelong happened around McCarthy. He was either directly involved in the goals or involved in the setting up of them.
I also thought that McCarthy looked better when he was in the middle of the ground rather than just sitting in the forward pocket. He just seemed to find it easier to get into the game as a mid than as a deep small forward. Keep in mind that I am talking about his games at VFL level.
I am hopeful that he will have an injury free year so that he can get a good run of games. He has had navicular, calf (?) and back injury during his time at the Cats.
Unfortunately, what I have seen in the VFL has not translated into his AFL games. I think that it does take most players a while to adjust to the rigors and pace of AFL footy. I believe that he has the tools but I would like to see him start hitting the scoreboard. I think getting a few goals on the board will be good for his confidence.
What do you think the future holds with Linc now after his latest setback?
Yep, thanks for that question mate. Why don't you just knee my in the testicles while you’re here. ;-)
Look, it is no secret on the Cats portal that I am something of a fan of Lincoln McCarthy. I have seen him dominate large patches of VFL footy when he has been able to get on the park. And in my opinion the talent is there, but he has not had a decent run at it due to injury. I know that he has not been able to translate this form into AFL form and so some may think that there is no great loss. But from the small sample that I have seen in the VFL he looked a better prospect than Cowan imho.
So I fear for the kid's career as I also fear for Dan Menzel's career. I really don't like his chances now. Even after signing an extended contract. I would love to be proven wrong, but I am not at all confident that these two talented kids will be able to able to stand the rigors of AFL footy with their ongoing injury concerns.
You're part of the furniture round here, what got you to BigFooty?
I acquired a computer that could actually go on line. My first computer was an old 286 that I have had since about 1992. I think that I finally went on line in about 2006.
With this new high tech 2nd hand $100 computer that I bought from a work mate I was able to search the Internet and check out all sorts of topics.
I found BigFooty in 2006 while searching all sorts of footy topics. I then joined up after just reading posts for a short while. I think that my original user name was something like "The Mad Rabbi" but when my hard drive died, I lost my original username due to not being smart enough to write my log in details down. I tried to rejoin asThe Mad Rabbibut someone had previously taken that user name.
I am a bit of a Techno-moron.
In all honesty, I would have to admit that BigFooty is probably as much a social thing as a place to find information about the Geelong Football Club. You can talk to people about the Cats and some posts are interesting, some trite, some humorous. And sometimes some of the posts in a thread can get quite heated, and especially so after a loss.
But Big Footy is also a good place to meet other Cats supporters. I catch up with a number of people through BF and some of them that I have had a few beers with come from far and wide.
One of the regulars, Budda230, travels every week to Geelong or Melbourne from Warragul. And I have caught up with dazbroncos on a couple of occasions when he has made the long trek from L.A., as well as Strangled Cat, who has tripped over from Adelaide and caught up with the BF mob. And there are a number of others who you are more or less likely to bump into from BF in the pub prior to a game.
The Meetup Maiden, (Shell) arranges a crew to meet through the "Meet Up" thread and those who are interested generally catch up at theLord of the Isles Hotelbefore the Geelong home game. Some of us old soaks also trek along for a few beers after the game and get home at all hours of the morning. But Parko, we won't be mentioning any names so as to protect the guilty. With games at the MCG or Jihad we will meet at a particular pub or Bar/Restaurant in Melbourne where we have booked a table and have a meal and a few drinks before the game. Nixons is generally the go for games at Jihad Stadium as you only have to stagger a short distance across the road before the game. I think that I may have strayed a bit from the original question.
I certainly got home at all hours after the Lions game last year.... oh yeah we aren't mentioning names...
Do you enjoy the social side of the site the most?
To be honest, I think that even the discussions that I get involved in, or read in BF, that deal with footy are really more about social interaction than footy discussions. Certainly for me, that is the case at this time of year.
When the GFC starts putting teams on the ground, even for NAB cup Pre-season type games, then I think we can have a real discussion about player performances and who is worthy to gain a position in the best 22.
But personally for me, I think that it is a waste of time talking about best 22. I am not saying that we should not discuss it. BF is a footy forum and and people will want to discuss these things. But I want to see some sort of preseason form before I draw any conclusions on who should or should not be in the team. I know, I am a boring old fart.
I will also be a regular cruiser of BF around draft time just to get a fix on who are the likely kids that Geelong may draft. I always find draft time interesting even if I personally know jack about the kids in the draft. I take particular note of blokes like Jester and Pivotonian and also Turbo, PureOwnage, YOTC and others.
During the footy season I may have a chat with Budda230 as he goes to the Champs and watches the kids play. He seems to have a good handle on the kids but does not post on BF these days.
I am more at home with watching the VFL and keeping an eye on the AFL/Rookie listed kids. I have travelled to a few away games to watch the VFL but I am more likely to be found at K'Park watching a VFL home game. So I will be following the progress of our new and 2nd year/older year recruits hoping that they will put considerable pressure on the established AFL players. And to be honest, I would be quite happy to see some of these kids push one or two players out of the team.
But getting back to your question, yes I enjoy the social side. The first people that I connected with were blokes like Ninty, Budda230, Krisholio (formally Diablo ???). I have had some very good footy discussions with these blokes as well as celebrating the 2011 premiership with a number of the people mentioned here.
We would meet at Y& J's or Nixons, depending on where the game was staged. The social network expanded to include people that we very seldom or never hear from now, like Stripey, BigDropPunt and FoxC.
But of recent times people like Dazbroncos, Son Of God, yourself , Shell, Botsmaster, Budda230 and friend, Ninty, StrangleCat, Kitty, Walker80(?) and the German whom I met in 2008, but did not know his username. And there are a few others who I cannot recall at the moment but have caught up with for a pregame (and some post game drinks) meal, footy talk and drinks.
You mentioned best 22 discussions.... Do you see any dramatic changes to our best 22 for 2015?
I certainly hope to see some changes, dramatic or not. I think that if we do not see a number of young players push through and play a substantial amount of AFL games this year, then I find it hard to see a future where the Cats will be competitive in a few years time.
Late last year we saw a number of young players who had been on the list for quite some time end up being delisted by the club. Joel Hamling who was our first pick in the 2011 draft was delisted and picked up by the Dogs. He was our first selection, although admittedly he was a second round pick.
We also had our first and second round picks fail in the 2008 National Draft. I am speaking of our two KP draft picks in Tom Gillies and Mitch Brown. Only Steve Motlop remains at the club from that draft.
2009 was good talent wise but only Mitch Duncan (100 games) has been able to avoid the injury curse. And from that draft we lost a young experienced 65 game mid in Christensen this year too.
From the 2007 draft only Harry Taylor and Dawson Simpson remain on the list and in that time Dawson has only been able to manage 24 games.
Geelong are short on players in the 25-28 age bracket (Selwood-Hawkins age group) and it appears to me that the failure of a number of our early picks as well as injuries to young players are the cause of the gap in between the young players and the veterans.
So I am hoping that we can see a number of young kids from the last few drafts start to establish themselves as regular AFL players.
I would really like to see some of the strong bodied players push through. Geelong's midfield was know for it's strong bodied players in the past. I am a little concerned that the clubs that play a very physical style of footy will push a number of our players off the footy with ease.
So I am hoping that kids like Jansen (192/93kg), Bews (184/88) and Hartman develop into consistent AFL players. I also like the drafting of a kid like Gore, who already is of similar proportions to Selwood. Gore is known for being strong in the contests. He could turn out to be a handy mid or smaller defender.
One of the reasons that I like Walker is that he does not mind it when the footy gets physical. He is very hard at the footy (a few times in the VFL I would accuse him of being recklessly hard at the footy) and he is strong and has good endurance. Where he fits in with the recruiting this year I am not sure. But even though I think he is a forward (so was Lonergan) I would like to see how he performed in defense for an extended period. How will the club do that without a serious KPD injury? I don't know.
I think that we do have some talent waiting in the fringes. I like Thurlow. He is a nice size at 190cm and has good kicking skills. He needed to thicken up a bit and he may have done so over the preseason. He tries to keep the ball low when he passes it but it does not always come off. Hopefully he will clean that up when he returns from injury.
Kolojashnij is what I would call a tidy looking taller defender. He has a nice kick and is keen not to turn the ball over. He would rather kick short to a team mate than blaze away with a long kick out of defense. He does not seem to panic when he is under pressure in defense.
Kersten has come under some criticism for his performances in the AFL last year. I suspect that he was troubled with his knee injury for some time before he had to have surgery late in the season. I have not written him off as a regular AFL player. He has a great long range boot.
I expect that both Cockatoo and Lang will be AFL players and I hope that they can manage a few games next year. Cockatoo's fending off of tackle attempts reminded me of the way Ablett disposes of attempted tackles.
I have not mentioned players like McCarthy , whom my expectations of him have been tempered by his recent injury since I discussed him above. Also Cowan and Menzel are players that I don't expect much from in 2015 given their history with injury. And I am really not sure what to think of Smedts at the moment.
And what do you make of the tall timber we traded in (plus Blease)
For me there is no doubting Clark's ability. I remember when Melbourne played Geelong down at K\Park and I was very impressed with how well Mitch Clark moved. I checked my footy record to see how tall he was and I was a bit shocked that he was 200cms and 100+ kgs.
I never dreamed that he could possibly end up at the Cats. But I remain cautious despite his ability if fit. He has had a serious ankle injury in the past and he may well be completely over it. I don't know.
But I am also concerned about his former battles with depression. Are those issues now completely in the past? And does he have competent people around him to help him stay in a healthy state of mind? I would like to think that the club was professional enough to have checks and balances in place in regard to Clark's depression. But if all is well with Mitch in mind and body he could be a very exciting addition to the forward line.
Rys Stanley is an interesting one. He is, like Clark, an athletic tall at 200cm and 96 kg.
He seems a competent overhead contested mark and is a reasonably good kick of the footy. He is probably faster than Blicavs over a sprint. Although I expect Blitz to have greater endurance.
I don't doubt that Stanley has some very good tools for AFL footy but the big criticism of him is that he does not perform consistently. He has only just turned 24 and so he is still relatively young for a genuine tall player. So I will be watching him with interest but I don't have any big expectations on him. I just hope that he surprises me.
Blease has good pace and was an early draft pick (#17 I think), but it must be remembered that he was also delisted from a club that has been one of the worst performed clubs, if not the worst, for the last 10 years.
So I "expect" him to play the vast majority, if not all of his footy in the VFL.
I will keep and eye on Lucey and Read in the VFL but I would not expect much. And I am not exactly full of confidence that we will see anything of Delaney this year given his toe problems.
How many games would you go to a season, and how long has this been the case?
I have had a Home 11 membership since 2005 which includes a reserved seat at Jihad and the MCG. I am getting to old to stand up all day.
But I have been going to almost all of the away games played in Melbourne.
Initially I had not planned to go to all the away games. I would just book a reserved seat for the odd game as I would often work overtime on Saturdays when the company offered it.
But these days OT is very rare. So now I have the time but I also have to contend with having a lot less spare money than in the past.
It is also become something of a tradition for my older brother and I to go to the Hawthorn Geelong game at the MCG together. If it is a home game I then give my membership to my mate and purchase a ticket so that big brother and I can sit together. So far, the Cats V Hawks games that we have attended together have all been Geelong wins.
I never miss an allocated home game unless I am ill. I normally miss at least one game through influenza or a bad chest infection every year. In 2014 I never missed a game nor a day of work through sickness.
So while I had initially planned not to go to away games, the lure of the social interaction with other Cats supporters (while drinking a few beers with a meal) saw me turn up to nearly all the games in Melbourne. I have yet to go on an interstate footy trip but that "may" change this year.
With the Melbourne away games, rather than book a seat, I would just purchase a general admission ticket and sit with those who were at the bar with me and who also had GA's. Whether that will continue this year will be up to finances........ and my ability to resist going to the game despite my finances.
And how do you find going the footy in this day and age compared to years ago.. In particular the changes to Kardinia Park
I think that it is considerably better than it was in the old days as far as the comforts go.
It is a lot easier to gain access to the ground. You can turn up just before the start of the game and scan in and you are in.
In the old days of purchasing tickets at the gate I can remember some lines of people that stretched from the ticket box to near under the railway bridge.
I am seated in the Hickey stand and all the facilities are close to me. My one complaint would be that the toilets are smaller than I would have expected them to be.
There are steps and concreted paths throughout most K'Park unlike the old days. Can you recall the old days of the hills at each end of the ground and when it was raining you could easily slip over trying to walk up or down them?
I am getting a bit long in the fang to stand up all day so I appreciate the seating. The one problem that I see with the modern ground, in comparison to the old days when most of the spectators stood, is the lack of atmosphere at K'Park these days.
I have thought that the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd could be due to the relaxed state of sitting. I don't know. I also think that the control of the amount of grog that can be purchased may have something to do with a more relaxed audience. Although I think that the restrictions on alchohol was a positive thing personally. I seldom see any real dramas at the footy these days.
I like the idea of "The Hoops Bar" where I can have a few post game beers and catch up with a few mates before going to the Lord of the Isles for a few more. I was concerned that there would be no replacement for Lamby's Tent when the Players Stand was constructed.
The Gaming room can be handy for a few beers away from the weather and a place to watch games that are still going after the Cats game. There are also ramps and elevators for wheelchair access to the Hickey and Premiership stands.
So yes, I am fairly happy with the place. It has come a long way from the old footy ground. When I was a young fella it consisted of the old wooden Brownlow, Ross-Drew and the little Past Players stand (now at St.Mary's), and what at the time, I considered the modern Social Club Stand on the western side of the park.
The eastern side consisted of just a dirt mound that you stood on with a few wooden leaning posts and the scoreboard in the south eastern corner. Also there was two rows of wooden seats with no back rests near the fence on the eastern side. IIRC there were old concrete toilet blocks on the north, south and western sides of the ground along the fence line. The old toilets had glass embedded on the top of the walls to stop kids climbing up the wall to enter the ground. And I recall the constant stench of urine.
So I don't think that there is a lot to complain about today.
Sometimes kids had to improvise to see the game, especially when we drew big crowds against Collinwood, Carlton and Essendon.
Moorabool Street Wing.
and which players have given you the most enjoyment over the journey?
Well the first player that comes to mind is Gary Ablett Sr.
People can argue amongst themselves as to who was the better Full Forward out of Ablett, Lockett and Dunstall. They were all great players. But for me Gary was the most exhilarating player that I have ever seen.
I always felt that I got my money's worth when watching Geelong games in the Ablett Sr era.
I recall standing at the city end of K'Park in the latter half of the 80's and watching the crowd reaction when Gazza did something special. It was kind of weird.
One example, and it often happened, is when the ball was kicked long into the forward line and Gary would be double teamed by the opposition and he would still beat them. I remember him being scragged by two players and one of them would lock up an arm but Gary would just use his body strength to hold his ground and mark the ball with his one free hand.
The amusing thing was that the response of blokes behind the goals who witnessed these sorts of feats would just burst out laughing. I think that they found it amusing that one bloke could be so much better than his opposition that he could make them look silly by appearing beat multiple opponents with ease.
Some of Gazza's marks were exhilarating. I recall being behind the goals at the city end when Gazza took a high mark over the top of Ross Glendenning and Mark Jackson back in 1985. It was a ripper and it happened right in front of me. I made a visit to the Geelong Addy on the Monday and purchased a large photograph of that mark.
And I had the privilege of being at the Prelim in '89 to watch Gary destroy Essendon. He was fantastic a week later with 9 goals in the Grand Final but it was not enough to get us over the line.
The thing with Gary was that he had all the skills and he let us see them. He could take unbelievable high pack marks. He could kick goals from outside 50 with no problem. He could run. And he could hit you with a hip and shoulder that could almost send you to the promised land. In my opinion Gary Ablett Sr was the best player, in terms of pleasure to watch, that I have ever seen.
I also loved watching Garry Hocking. I thought that he was the boiler room at Geelong, even when Couch and Bairstow were at the Cats. He was a talented and very hard player who was very physical at the footy too.
Of the old time players my favorite player when I was a kid was Bill Ryan.http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/favourite-geelong-player.907080/
You can see one of his marks here.
As I kid I thought that Bill was a giant. He used to play CHF/Ruck and wore the No 26. Something that appears to be a tradition for our big KP players.
Today Billy would only be flanker at 188cm and 87Kg. He had a big barrel chest and was big for that era. Keep in mind that the great John Nicholls was only 189cm and 105kg. Such has the game changed.
Bill was a great mark but could be an unreliable kick of the footy. He played in the '67 Grand Final and was forced to give up VFL football in 1972 (as it was then known) and move to a warmer climate because his daughter suffered from asthma. That is how I recall it anyway.
Check this out for a mark by Billy Ryan.
I was so upset at Billy's retirement that it brought me to tears. The '72 season also saw the Cats lose the great Doug Wade to North through the 10 year rule. Losing those two players in the same season seemed to me like the begining of the end for Geelong. The 1970's was a fairly dismal decade for the Geelong Football Club.
Of the modern players, I will limit it to three for sake of space. Steve Johnson has been a great player who can both exhilarate and frustrate. Sometimes all within a few seconds. But he has given me great pleasure.
His performance in the 2011 Grand Final after the knee injury will always stay with me. And who can forget the lead up to the 2007 season when Steve was exiled and almost traded off to the Pies. He took his medicine and and a disciplined Steve Johnson became an All Australian, AFL premiership player and Norm Smith medalist in the same year.
Jimmy Bartel has to be on my short list. A local kid who I hope retires as a one club player. He has been a very reliable player and it will be sad to see him finally retire.
One of my enduring memories of Jimmy was when he kicked a goal the 2007 finals and he grabbed his jumped and kissed the Geelong Football Club emblem. You knew that representing the footy club meant so much to him. It was more than just a well paid job.
The final player of the three recent players would have to be Paul Chapman. Chapman struck me as a player who gave everything that he had.
Chappy was a consistent big game performer. He had a strong body, a very reliable kick and pretty good hands for a smaller player. I know that there are mixed feelings about him on this board, but if I ever bumped into him in a pub I would buy him a beer without thinking about it.
Chappy's 251 AFL Geelong games and 336 goals, as well as 3 AFL premierships and a Norm Smith medal, force me to consider him one of the Geelong greats of my time. For me personally, he is certainly one of the Geelong greats of the modern "AFL" era.
As a kid I was fascinated with footy well before I was even physically able to kick one. My oldest brother used to take me along to watch him play in the late 60's and the early 70's to watch him play for his local team St. Albans (not to be confused with the suburb west of Melbourne) in the East of Geelong.
Being born and bred in Geelong, and all the kids at school followed the Cats, it never really entered my head to support any team other than Geelong. Dad originally from Brunswick, followed Carlton but switched to the Cats when he moved to Geelong to pursue work after the war.
I can clearly remember my father taking me along to my first Geelong game at Kardinia Park (in 1969 iirc) where Geelong, who was a top 4 team played North Melbourne. North Melbourne at that stage had not won a Premiership and were a mediocre team. I was filled with excitement in anticipation of a Geelong win only to be horribly disappointed in my first taste of what was then VFL football. We lost to North by 8 points.
My second Geelong game that year also looked like being a disaster until the last 1/4 when the Cats hit the front and went onto to win by a couple of goals over Hawthorn. There was no turning back from that point. No other game captivated me like VFL football.
And when you got bitten by the bug was it the Cats or the game itself that really captured you?
Being born and bred in Geelong it seems to me a natural thing to follow the Cats. Geelong is my home town and I have lived here all of my life. I cannot help but identify with Geelong because it is very much a part of me.
And although the game of AFL is a great game it seems to me that it would be a rather soul-less game without the passion that comes from identifying with a particular team.
Rivalry adds passion to the game. Even watching games where your team is not involved, such as the games between Essendon and the Weagles with the jumper waving. I used to love the old Carlton V Collingwood games of the late 60's and 70's. But for me nothing matches the passion of a game between Geelong and Hawthorn. A win against the Hawks is so much more satisfying and the pain of a loss is so much more acute.
So it is difficult to separate the love of the game from the love of my team. But if, in the unlikely event that Geelong was removed from the league, or rebadged and sent to Canberra as the Canberra Cats, I doubt that I would follow the game other than watch the odd game on TV.
Do you like the modern game?
Yes, I do like the modern game but there are aspects of the game that annoy me.
Probably the most annoying part of the game today is the tactic of flooding. It just makes for very ugly football when there is 36 players crowded into one half of the ground. It reminds me of under 10's footy where the kids cannot resist the urge to just run up the ground and get a kick.
The flooding also contributes to rugby like scrums at the stoppages. The ball just gets held up with so many players around a contest and it (to my mind) creates ugly football.
I have toyed in my mind with the idea of a rule where a number of players must be on the defensive side of the center at all times to try and beat the ugly flood. Would it work? I don't know but the AFL have never been shy about changing rules.
The other annoying thing is not really part of the game. It is the inconsistency of the MRP rulings. I find it difficult to see how one player can escape being penalised for an offense and yet another gets weeks for what looks to me the same thing. I also get frustrated with what I would consider are citable offenses that do not even get looked at.
On the positive side, I do like seeing high marking and contested marks. I find it the most exciting aspect of the game.
Jamie Elliott's mark over Jimmy Bartel at the MCG and his pack mark from the back of the pack against Port Adelaide was a ripper. Not bad for a kid who is of the comparable proportions to Lincoln McCarthy.
Should I mention that I actually liked the idea of the
Hands in the Backrule?
But overall I think that the game is in a fairly healthy state, even though attendances dropped off last year. Some of that may have been due to the cost of going to the footy. Some of it was no doubt due to the scheduling of games at inconvenient times and days. I.e Thursday or Monday nights.
You mentioned young McCarthy.... you have long been a vocal supporter of him, what is it that you like or see in him?
I remember going down to K-Park to watch the VFL and it was the first game that I saw McCarthy play. He absolutely dominated the first 1 or 2 quarters and was in everything. I saw Chris Scott motion to Max Rooke to come and watch him. Scotty seemed very excited by his play. His marking above his head was very good and he was setting up other players as well as kicking a goal or two. He ran out of gas and was hardly visible in the second half.
You could see that the kid has talent but he clearly lacked the fitness to play out a full game. Unfortunately later in the year he suffered a navicular stress fracture that ended that season as well as the next.
This year I met dazbroncos at K'Park and we watched the game together and had a few beers. There was a stage for about a 1/4 or more where everything that happened for Geelong happened around McCarthy. He was either directly involved in the goals or involved in the setting up of them.
I also thought that McCarthy looked better when he was in the middle of the ground rather than just sitting in the forward pocket. He just seemed to find it easier to get into the game as a mid than as a deep small forward. Keep in mind that I am talking about his games at VFL level.
I am hopeful that he will have an injury free year so that he can get a good run of games. He has had navicular, calf (?) and back injury during his time at the Cats.
Unfortunately, what I have seen in the VFL has not translated into his AFL games. I think that it does take most players a while to adjust to the rigors and pace of AFL footy. I believe that he has the tools but I would like to see him start hitting the scoreboard. I think getting a few goals on the board will be good for his confidence.
What do you think the future holds with Linc now after his latest setback?
Yep, thanks for that question mate. Why don't you just knee my in the testicles while you’re here. ;-)
Look, it is no secret on the Cats portal that I am something of a fan of Lincoln McCarthy. I have seen him dominate large patches of VFL footy when he has been able to get on the park. And in my opinion the talent is there, but he has not had a decent run at it due to injury. I know that he has not been able to translate this form into AFL form and so some may think that there is no great loss. But from the small sample that I have seen in the VFL he looked a better prospect than Cowan imho.
So I fear for the kid's career as I also fear for Dan Menzel's career. I really don't like his chances now. Even after signing an extended contract. I would love to be proven wrong, but I am not at all confident that these two talented kids will be able to able to stand the rigors of AFL footy with their ongoing injury concerns.
You're part of the furniture round here, what got you to BigFooty?
I acquired a computer that could actually go on line. My first computer was an old 286 that I have had since about 1992. I think that I finally went on line in about 2006.
With this new high tech 2nd hand $100 computer that I bought from a work mate I was able to search the Internet and check out all sorts of topics.
I found BigFooty in 2006 while searching all sorts of footy topics. I then joined up after just reading posts for a short while. I think that my original user name was something like "The Mad Rabbi" but when my hard drive died, I lost my original username due to not being smart enough to write my log in details down. I tried to rejoin asThe Mad Rabbibut someone had previously taken that user name.
I am a bit of a Techno-moron.
In all honesty, I would have to admit that BigFooty is probably as much a social thing as a place to find information about the Geelong Football Club. You can talk to people about the Cats and some posts are interesting, some trite, some humorous. And sometimes some of the posts in a thread can get quite heated, and especially so after a loss.
But Big Footy is also a good place to meet other Cats supporters. I catch up with a number of people through BF and some of them that I have had a few beers with come from far and wide.
One of the regulars, Budda230, travels every week to Geelong or Melbourne from Warragul. And I have caught up with dazbroncos on a couple of occasions when he has made the long trek from L.A., as well as Strangled Cat, who has tripped over from Adelaide and caught up with the BF mob. And there are a number of others who you are more or less likely to bump into from BF in the pub prior to a game.
The Meetup Maiden, (Shell) arranges a crew to meet through the "Meet Up" thread and those who are interested generally catch up at theLord of the Isles Hotelbefore the Geelong home game. Some of us old soaks also trek along for a few beers after the game and get home at all hours of the morning. But Parko, we won't be mentioning any names so as to protect the guilty. With games at the MCG or Jihad we will meet at a particular pub or Bar/Restaurant in Melbourne where we have booked a table and have a meal and a few drinks before the game. Nixons is generally the go for games at Jihad Stadium as you only have to stagger a short distance across the road before the game. I think that I may have strayed a bit from the original question.
I certainly got home at all hours after the Lions game last year.... oh yeah we aren't mentioning names...
Do you enjoy the social side of the site the most?
To be honest, I think that even the discussions that I get involved in, or read in BF, that deal with footy are really more about social interaction than footy discussions. Certainly for me, that is the case at this time of year.
When the GFC starts putting teams on the ground, even for NAB cup Pre-season type games, then I think we can have a real discussion about player performances and who is worthy to gain a position in the best 22.
But personally for me, I think that it is a waste of time talking about best 22. I am not saying that we should not discuss it. BF is a footy forum and and people will want to discuss these things. But I want to see some sort of preseason form before I draw any conclusions on who should or should not be in the team. I know, I am a boring old fart.
I will also be a regular cruiser of BF around draft time just to get a fix on who are the likely kids that Geelong may draft. I always find draft time interesting even if I personally know jack about the kids in the draft. I take particular note of blokes like Jester and Pivotonian and also Turbo, PureOwnage, YOTC and others.
During the footy season I may have a chat with Budda230 as he goes to the Champs and watches the kids play. He seems to have a good handle on the kids but does not post on BF these days.
I am more at home with watching the VFL and keeping an eye on the AFL/Rookie listed kids. I have travelled to a few away games to watch the VFL but I am more likely to be found at K'Park watching a VFL home game. So I will be following the progress of our new and 2nd year/older year recruits hoping that they will put considerable pressure on the established AFL players. And to be honest, I would be quite happy to see some of these kids push one or two players out of the team.
But getting back to your question, yes I enjoy the social side. The first people that I connected with were blokes like Ninty, Budda230, Krisholio (formally Diablo ???). I have had some very good footy discussions with these blokes as well as celebrating the 2011 premiership with a number of the people mentioned here.
We would meet at Y& J's or Nixons, depending on where the game was staged. The social network expanded to include people that we very seldom or never hear from now, like Stripey, BigDropPunt and FoxC.
But of recent times people like Dazbroncos, Son Of God, yourself , Shell, Botsmaster, Budda230 and friend, Ninty, StrangleCat, Kitty, Walker80(?) and the German whom I met in 2008, but did not know his username. And there are a few others who I cannot recall at the moment but have caught up with for a pregame (and some post game drinks) meal, footy talk and drinks.
You mentioned best 22 discussions.... Do you see any dramatic changes to our best 22 for 2015?
I certainly hope to see some changes, dramatic or not. I think that if we do not see a number of young players push through and play a substantial amount of AFL games this year, then I find it hard to see a future where the Cats will be competitive in a few years time.
Late last year we saw a number of young players who had been on the list for quite some time end up being delisted by the club. Joel Hamling who was our first pick in the 2011 draft was delisted and picked up by the Dogs. He was our first selection, although admittedly he was a second round pick.
We also had our first and second round picks fail in the 2008 National Draft. I am speaking of our two KP draft picks in Tom Gillies and Mitch Brown. Only Steve Motlop remains at the club from that draft.
2009 was good talent wise but only Mitch Duncan (100 games) has been able to avoid the injury curse. And from that draft we lost a young experienced 65 game mid in Christensen this year too.
From the 2007 draft only Harry Taylor and Dawson Simpson remain on the list and in that time Dawson has only been able to manage 24 games.
Geelong are short on players in the 25-28 age bracket (Selwood-Hawkins age group) and it appears to me that the failure of a number of our early picks as well as injuries to young players are the cause of the gap in between the young players and the veterans.
So I am hoping that we can see a number of young kids from the last few drafts start to establish themselves as regular AFL players.
I would really like to see some of the strong bodied players push through. Geelong's midfield was know for it's strong bodied players in the past. I am a little concerned that the clubs that play a very physical style of footy will push a number of our players off the footy with ease.
So I am hoping that kids like Jansen (192/93kg), Bews (184/88) and Hartman develop into consistent AFL players. I also like the drafting of a kid like Gore, who already is of similar proportions to Selwood. Gore is known for being strong in the contests. He could turn out to be a handy mid or smaller defender.
One of the reasons that I like Walker is that he does not mind it when the footy gets physical. He is very hard at the footy (a few times in the VFL I would accuse him of being recklessly hard at the footy) and he is strong and has good endurance. Where he fits in with the recruiting this year I am not sure. But even though I think he is a forward (so was Lonergan) I would like to see how he performed in defense for an extended period. How will the club do that without a serious KPD injury? I don't know.
I think that we do have some talent waiting in the fringes. I like Thurlow. He is a nice size at 190cm and has good kicking skills. He needed to thicken up a bit and he may have done so over the preseason. He tries to keep the ball low when he passes it but it does not always come off. Hopefully he will clean that up when he returns from injury.
Kolojashnij is what I would call a tidy looking taller defender. He has a nice kick and is keen not to turn the ball over. He would rather kick short to a team mate than blaze away with a long kick out of defense. He does not seem to panic when he is under pressure in defense.
Kersten has come under some criticism for his performances in the AFL last year. I suspect that he was troubled with his knee injury for some time before he had to have surgery late in the season. I have not written him off as a regular AFL player. He has a great long range boot.
I expect that both Cockatoo and Lang will be AFL players and I hope that they can manage a few games next year. Cockatoo's fending off of tackle attempts reminded me of the way Ablett disposes of attempted tackles.
I have not mentioned players like McCarthy , whom my expectations of him have been tempered by his recent injury since I discussed him above. Also Cowan and Menzel are players that I don't expect much from in 2015 given their history with injury. And I am really not sure what to think of Smedts at the moment.
And what do you make of the tall timber we traded in (plus Blease)
For me there is no doubting Clark's ability. I remember when Melbourne played Geelong down at K\Park and I was very impressed with how well Mitch Clark moved. I checked my footy record to see how tall he was and I was a bit shocked that he was 200cms and 100+ kgs.
I never dreamed that he could possibly end up at the Cats. But I remain cautious despite his ability if fit. He has had a serious ankle injury in the past and he may well be completely over it. I don't know.
But I am also concerned about his former battles with depression. Are those issues now completely in the past? And does he have competent people around him to help him stay in a healthy state of mind? I would like to think that the club was professional enough to have checks and balances in place in regard to Clark's depression. But if all is well with Mitch in mind and body he could be a very exciting addition to the forward line.
Rys Stanley is an interesting one. He is, like Clark, an athletic tall at 200cm and 96 kg.
He seems a competent overhead contested mark and is a reasonably good kick of the footy. He is probably faster than Blicavs over a sprint. Although I expect Blitz to have greater endurance.
I don't doubt that Stanley has some very good tools for AFL footy but the big criticism of him is that he does not perform consistently. He has only just turned 24 and so he is still relatively young for a genuine tall player. So I will be watching him with interest but I don't have any big expectations on him. I just hope that he surprises me.
Blease has good pace and was an early draft pick (#17 I think), but it must be remembered that he was also delisted from a club that has been one of the worst performed clubs, if not the worst, for the last 10 years.
So I "expect" him to play the vast majority, if not all of his footy in the VFL.
I will keep and eye on Lucey and Read in the VFL but I would not expect much. And I am not exactly full of confidence that we will see anything of Delaney this year given his toe problems.
How many games would you go to a season, and how long has this been the case?
I have had a Home 11 membership since 2005 which includes a reserved seat at Jihad and the MCG. I am getting to old to stand up all day.
But I have been going to almost all of the away games played in Melbourne.
Initially I had not planned to go to all the away games. I would just book a reserved seat for the odd game as I would often work overtime on Saturdays when the company offered it.
But these days OT is very rare. So now I have the time but I also have to contend with having a lot less spare money than in the past.
It is also become something of a tradition for my older brother and I to go to the Hawthorn Geelong game at the MCG together. If it is a home game I then give my membership to my mate and purchase a ticket so that big brother and I can sit together. So far, the Cats V Hawks games that we have attended together have all been Geelong wins.
I never miss an allocated home game unless I am ill. I normally miss at least one game through influenza or a bad chest infection every year. In 2014 I never missed a game nor a day of work through sickness.
So while I had initially planned not to go to away games, the lure of the social interaction with other Cats supporters (while drinking a few beers with a meal) saw me turn up to nearly all the games in Melbourne. I have yet to go on an interstate footy trip but that "may" change this year.
With the Melbourne away games, rather than book a seat, I would just purchase a general admission ticket and sit with those who were at the bar with me and who also had GA's. Whether that will continue this year will be up to finances........ and my ability to resist going to the game despite my finances.
And how do you find going the footy in this day and age compared to years ago.. In particular the changes to Kardinia Park
I think that it is considerably better than it was in the old days as far as the comforts go.
It is a lot easier to gain access to the ground. You can turn up just before the start of the game and scan in and you are in.
In the old days of purchasing tickets at the gate I can remember some lines of people that stretched from the ticket box to near under the railway bridge.
I am seated in the Hickey stand and all the facilities are close to me. My one complaint would be that the toilets are smaller than I would have expected them to be.
There are steps and concreted paths throughout most K'Park unlike the old days. Can you recall the old days of the hills at each end of the ground and when it was raining you could easily slip over trying to walk up or down them?
I am getting a bit long in the fang to stand up all day so I appreciate the seating. The one problem that I see with the modern ground, in comparison to the old days when most of the spectators stood, is the lack of atmosphere at K'Park these days.
I have thought that the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd could be due to the relaxed state of sitting. I don't know. I also think that the control of the amount of grog that can be purchased may have something to do with a more relaxed audience. Although I think that the restrictions on alchohol was a positive thing personally. I seldom see any real dramas at the footy these days.
I like the idea of "The Hoops Bar" where I can have a few post game beers and catch up with a few mates before going to the Lord of the Isles for a few more. I was concerned that there would be no replacement for Lamby's Tent when the Players Stand was constructed.
The Gaming room can be handy for a few beers away from the weather and a place to watch games that are still going after the Cats game. There are also ramps and elevators for wheelchair access to the Hickey and Premiership stands.
So yes, I am fairly happy with the place. It has come a long way from the old footy ground. When I was a young fella it consisted of the old wooden Brownlow, Ross-Drew and the little Past Players stand (now at St.Mary's), and what at the time, I considered the modern Social Club Stand on the western side of the park.
The eastern side consisted of just a dirt mound that you stood on with a few wooden leaning posts and the scoreboard in the south eastern corner. Also there was two rows of wooden seats with no back rests near the fence on the eastern side. IIRC there were old concrete toilet blocks on the north, south and western sides of the ground along the fence line. The old toilets had glass embedded on the top of the walls to stop kids climbing up the wall to enter the ground. And I recall the constant stench of urine.
So I don't think that there is a lot to complain about today.
Sometimes kids had to improvise to see the game, especially when we drew big crowds against Collinwood, Carlton and Essendon.
Moorabool Street Wing.
and which players have given you the most enjoyment over the journey?
Well the first player that comes to mind is Gary Ablett Sr.
People can argue amongst themselves as to who was the better Full Forward out of Ablett, Lockett and Dunstall. They were all great players. But for me Gary was the most exhilarating player that I have ever seen.
I always felt that I got my money's worth when watching Geelong games in the Ablett Sr era.
I recall standing at the city end of K'Park in the latter half of the 80's and watching the crowd reaction when Gazza did something special. It was kind of weird.
One example, and it often happened, is when the ball was kicked long into the forward line and Gary would be double teamed by the opposition and he would still beat them. I remember him being scragged by two players and one of them would lock up an arm but Gary would just use his body strength to hold his ground and mark the ball with his one free hand.
The amusing thing was that the response of blokes behind the goals who witnessed these sorts of feats would just burst out laughing. I think that they found it amusing that one bloke could be so much better than his opposition that he could make them look silly by appearing beat multiple opponents with ease.
Some of Gazza's marks were exhilarating. I recall being behind the goals at the city end when Gazza took a high mark over the top of Ross Glendenning and Mark Jackson back in 1985. It was a ripper and it happened right in front of me. I made a visit to the Geelong Addy on the Monday and purchased a large photograph of that mark.
And I had the privilege of being at the Prelim in '89 to watch Gary destroy Essendon. He was fantastic a week later with 9 goals in the Grand Final but it was not enough to get us over the line.
The thing with Gary was that he had all the skills and he let us see them. He could take unbelievable high pack marks. He could kick goals from outside 50 with no problem. He could run. And he could hit you with a hip and shoulder that could almost send you to the promised land. In my opinion Gary Ablett Sr was the best player, in terms of pleasure to watch, that I have ever seen.
I also loved watching Garry Hocking. I thought that he was the boiler room at Geelong, even when Couch and Bairstow were at the Cats. He was a talented and very hard player who was very physical at the footy too.
Of the old time players my favorite player when I was a kid was Bill Ryan.http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/favourite-geelong-player.907080/
You can see one of his marks here.
As I kid I thought that Bill was a giant. He used to play CHF/Ruck and wore the No 26. Something that appears to be a tradition for our big KP players.
Today Billy would only be flanker at 188cm and 87Kg. He had a big barrel chest and was big for that era. Keep in mind that the great John Nicholls was only 189cm and 105kg. Such has the game changed.
Bill was a great mark but could be an unreliable kick of the footy. He played in the '67 Grand Final and was forced to give up VFL football in 1972 (as it was then known) and move to a warmer climate because his daughter suffered from asthma. That is how I recall it anyway.
Check this out for a mark by Billy Ryan.
I was so upset at Billy's retirement that it brought me to tears. The '72 season also saw the Cats lose the great Doug Wade to North through the 10 year rule. Losing those two players in the same season seemed to me like the begining of the end for Geelong. The 1970's was a fairly dismal decade for the Geelong Football Club.
Of the modern players, I will limit it to three for sake of space. Steve Johnson has been a great player who can both exhilarate and frustrate. Sometimes all within a few seconds. But he has given me great pleasure.
His performance in the 2011 Grand Final after the knee injury will always stay with me. And who can forget the lead up to the 2007 season when Steve was exiled and almost traded off to the Pies. He took his medicine and and a disciplined Steve Johnson became an All Australian, AFL premiership player and Norm Smith medalist in the same year.
Jimmy Bartel has to be on my short list. A local kid who I hope retires as a one club player. He has been a very reliable player and it will be sad to see him finally retire.
One of my enduring memories of Jimmy was when he kicked a goal the 2007 finals and he grabbed his jumped and kissed the Geelong Football Club emblem. You knew that representing the footy club meant so much to him. It was more than just a well paid job.
The final player of the three recent players would have to be Paul Chapman. Chapman struck me as a player who gave everything that he had.
Chappy was a consistent big game performer. He had a strong body, a very reliable kick and pretty good hands for a smaller player. I know that there are mixed feelings about him on this board, but if I ever bumped into him in a pub I would buy him a beer without thinking about it.
Chappy's 251 AFL Geelong games and 336 goals, as well as 3 AFL premierships and a Norm Smith medal, force me to consider him one of the Geelong greats of my time. For me personally, he is certainly one of the Geelong greats of the modern "AFL" era.
Willo_
Trust the Process
- Apr 27, 2010
- 35,237
- 62,327
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- 76ers, Melbourne Roys
- Thread starter
- #605
And just on Chappy did the club make the right call letting him go how and when they did?
Geez, are you trying to get me hung here Willo?
Personally, I would have liked to have seen Chapman, like all our premiership greats, retire as a one club player. I also regret that fact that we could not pay our respects to him as a Norm Smith Medalist and triple Premiership player as we could do with Scarlett, Milburn and Mooney.
Did they make the right call to let him go?
Given Scott's mantra in the first couple of years that the club has to develop young players, I can to a degree, understand where he was coming from. Scott had been saying that it was important to get games into the kids because clubs like Gold Coast had no choice but to play a bunch of kids and develop them.
His fear was that the development of the new teams would be such that Geelong would be left in their wake if they did not do likewise. As Chapman himself said:
“Scotty has this thing about the Gold Coast and how there young boys will very soon have been playing for four, five and six years and how they are going to be a force."
“He needs his young blokes to do the same thing like we did 10 years ago."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...long-still-hurts/story-fni5f6kv-1226748488855
Chapman also claimed that the club misdiagnosed his hamstring injury and that also contributed to the decision of the club to delist him.
Now as far as I am concerned, Scott has to be true to his plan to develop the kids. I "expect" Chris Scott to introduce to AFL young recruits like Jansen and Kolodjashnij and maybe someone like Cocky as well. And we need to see the continued development of the likes of Thurlow, Lang, Hartman and Walker.
In 2012 Scott blooded 10 debutantes, second in number only to GWS. We certainly don't want to go down the path that St.Kilda have in failing to develop kids in an attempt to keep the window open. And do we also want to go down the path of the Lions by failing to play the youth during a successful era?
So whether it was the right or wrong decision, I don't know. But if Scott fails to deliver on his plan of developing youth and getting them up to that 50 to the 100 game mark, it will appear, at least to some, that he had failed on two fronts.
And finally what do you expect from season 2015
At the very least, I expect Geelong to play in the finals. I think that I predicted the Cats to finish 6th earlier in the year. Although, if the Cats performed above expectation and won the Premiership I doubt that I would slash my wrists in disappointment.
I would like to think that we could win, at the very least, one finals game and make two appearances. It would be good experience for the youth of the team to:
1) experience a finals game.
2) to actually learn how to win a tough pressure finals game.
I think that there is a lot to be gained from playing finals in front of the big crowds with all the pressure and physicality that comes with finals football.
But there is something to be said for learning how to win the big finals too.
All the great sides that I can recall have had games where they struggled against opponents but where good enough to have that something extra that enabled them to win finals from positions that they probably should not have. The Hawthorn V Geelong Prelim of 2013 or the Swans V Cats of 2005 springs to mind. (yep, I would rather forget them too)
In any event, the 2015 season holds a lot of interest for me. I look forward to seeing the development of young kids like Koldjashnij, Brad Hartman, Jed Bews, JJ Jansen, KD Lang, Shane Kersten, Thurlow, Walker (yes, remember he is a young kid too), the big rookie kids Toohey, Lucey and Read, (who I suspect has ability greater than his rookie status. His illness is the worry) and the new kids Cocky and Gore (who looks a tough compact kid) as well as young quick kids Gregson and Cunico.
And hopefully we will see a sustained length of games from Luxford and "The Little Master". (do I need to explain it?).
So yes, I look forward to the 2015 AFL season with a sense of excitement and anticipation.
As big John McCarthy (no relation to Lincoln) would say: "Are you ready?
Are you ready?
Then let's get it on!"
Thanks for your time mate
Might catch you are the 2nd NAB game
Geez, are you trying to get me hung here Willo?
Personally, I would have liked to have seen Chapman, like all our premiership greats, retire as a one club player. I also regret that fact that we could not pay our respects to him as a Norm Smith Medalist and triple Premiership player as we could do with Scarlett, Milburn and Mooney.
Did they make the right call to let him go?
Given Scott's mantra in the first couple of years that the club has to develop young players, I can to a degree, understand where he was coming from. Scott had been saying that it was important to get games into the kids because clubs like Gold Coast had no choice but to play a bunch of kids and develop them.
His fear was that the development of the new teams would be such that Geelong would be left in their wake if they did not do likewise. As Chapman himself said:
“Scotty has this thing about the Gold Coast and how there young boys will very soon have been playing for four, five and six years and how they are going to be a force."
“He needs his young blokes to do the same thing like we did 10 years ago."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...long-still-hurts/story-fni5f6kv-1226748488855
Chapman also claimed that the club misdiagnosed his hamstring injury and that also contributed to the decision of the club to delist him.
Now as far as I am concerned, Scott has to be true to his plan to develop the kids. I "expect" Chris Scott to introduce to AFL young recruits like Jansen and Kolodjashnij and maybe someone like Cocky as well. And we need to see the continued development of the likes of Thurlow, Lang, Hartman and Walker.
In 2012 Scott blooded 10 debutantes, second in number only to GWS. We certainly don't want to go down the path that St.Kilda have in failing to develop kids in an attempt to keep the window open. And do we also want to go down the path of the Lions by failing to play the youth during a successful era?
So whether it was the right or wrong decision, I don't know. But if Scott fails to deliver on his plan of developing youth and getting them up to that 50 to the 100 game mark, it will appear, at least to some, that he had failed on two fronts.
And finally what do you expect from season 2015
At the very least, I expect Geelong to play in the finals. I think that I predicted the Cats to finish 6th earlier in the year. Although, if the Cats performed above expectation and won the Premiership I doubt that I would slash my wrists in disappointment.
I would like to think that we could win, at the very least, one finals game and make two appearances. It would be good experience for the youth of the team to:
1) experience a finals game.
2) to actually learn how to win a tough pressure finals game.
I think that there is a lot to be gained from playing finals in front of the big crowds with all the pressure and physicality that comes with finals football.
But there is something to be said for learning how to win the big finals too.
All the great sides that I can recall have had games where they struggled against opponents but where good enough to have that something extra that enabled them to win finals from positions that they probably should not have. The Hawthorn V Geelong Prelim of 2013 or the Swans V Cats of 2005 springs to mind. (yep, I would rather forget them too)
In any event, the 2015 season holds a lot of interest for me. I look forward to seeing the development of young kids like Koldjashnij, Brad Hartman, Jed Bews, JJ Jansen, KD Lang, Shane Kersten, Thurlow, Walker (yes, remember he is a young kid too), the big rookie kids Toohey, Lucey and Read, (who I suspect has ability greater than his rookie status. His illness is the worry) and the new kids Cocky and Gore (who looks a tough compact kid) as well as young quick kids Gregson and Cunico.
And hopefully we will see a sustained length of games from Luxford and "The Little Master". (do I need to explain it?).
So yes, I look forward to the 2015 AFL season with a sense of excitement and anticipation.
As big John McCarthy (no relation to Lincoln) would say: "Are you ready?
Are you ready?
Then let's get it on!"
Thanks for your time mate
Might catch you are the 2nd NAB game
Very enjoyable read The rabbi . The 85 game , I must have been injured or something , Im sure I can remember that GA Ablett Mark. That was around the time Jackson got injured , and Ablett sent him Get Well Soon Card... with the words like get well soon cause I need ya back ( as in his back was good to jump on)
Nice stroll down Memory Lane....
Ryan was just to long ago for me , if I saw him it was to early in my football recognition , but as you can...care to comment on Dennis Marshall . All I have heard say he was one of the best , but left to earn money in RealEstate back in Perth. Wouldn't happen these days.
Funny thing , most do not recall the 80's with much enthusiasm. Yet we finished top in 80 , what years was that game V North when nearly all the ground left by half time? Mark Bos , second best HBF we have had? Jumpin Jack my favourite from around that era.
Nice stroll down Memory Lane....
Ryan was just to long ago for me , if I saw him it was to early in my football recognition , but as you can...care to comment on Dennis Marshall . All I have heard say he was one of the best , but left to earn money in RealEstate back in Perth. Wouldn't happen these days.
Funny thing , most do not recall the 80's with much enthusiasm. Yet we finished top in 80 , what years was that game V North when nearly all the ground left by half time? Mark Bos , second best HBF we have had? Jumpin Jack my favourite from around that era.
- Sep 22, 2000
- 62,351
- 41,697
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- Ford
Do Rabbi's drink grog ?
Good one, Rabboni.
Nice job.. , one down......
The rabbi
Brownlow Medallist
- May 13, 2007
- 12,857
- 15,788
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- St.Albans (Geelong Football League)
To be honest Turbo, I have trouble recalling many of those old players. I would have only seen someone like Marshall on TV replays as he left Geelong the year before I attended my first game. Keep in mind that it is just a few years shy of 50 years ago that he finished at Geelong.
Players that hung around a bit longer like Goggin and David (Darky) Harris are easier to recall. And they also went on and played at Geelong West (VFA) after their VFL careers.
I remember 1980 reasonably well. I remember the game against Richmond at the MCG and Mick Turner going for a run on the Members wing and kicking the goal of the year. It was a great game and we won that one. We had an excellent back line but lacked a good key forward. Old Sam Newman came out of retirement and played forward. I remember him kicking 6 goals against North at Arden St. in 1980.
We finished on top by replacing Richmond in the last round of the season. I was at VFL park and we were beating Footscray fairly comfortably and we all kept an eye on the scoreboard as South Melbourne were well in front of Richmond at the Lake oval. South won easy and we finished top with Carlton second and Richmond third.
The semi final we come undone with no one standing up for us up forward and at the other end Bartlett kicked 8 goals straight. Then the Pies got us by a kick in the prelim.
I went to the Richmond Collingwood Grand Final in 1980. It was my first Grand Final. The only good outcome was we won the reserves Grand Final. And Collingwood lost another Grand Final.
Yep, I recall that day. I had to leave as I was on the Eastern side of the ground and there was no shelter from the freezing, driving rain. It was bitterly cold and I walked home soaking wet. I think that it took a few days for 'em to drop again it was that cold.
North did not hit the scoreboard at all after half time.
Last edited:
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
Great read.
Rabbi has always been a favourite .
Not hurt by the mental image I have of him as an Uncle Fester look-alike, according to his self-description.
His memories are so spot-on, we are of similar vintage, give or take 6-10 years
Rabbi has always been a favourite .
Not hurt by the mental image I have of him as an Uncle Fester look-alike, according to his self-description.
His memories are so spot-on, we are of similar vintage, give or take 6-10 years
Last edited:
The rabbi
Brownlow Medallist
- May 13, 2007
- 12,857
- 15,788
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- St.Albans (Geelong Football League)
Good read The rabbi
I certainly enjoyed having many a beer with you last year, as well as attending the North final together (despite the result) and I find that you're one of the more level headed supporters.
And I find you one of the better judges of character on this forum.
I thought so. I think that the Turtles gave me a clue but I cannot recall why.
Last edited:
The rabbi
Brownlow Medallist
- May 13, 2007
- 12,857
- 15,788
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- St.Albans (Geelong Football League)
Really! Are you 6-10 years older than I?
Thanks for that Rabbi, grateful especially for the thoughts on McCarthy.
Special player, hope so much he can come good.
Special player, hope so much he can come good.
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
I can legitimately say next year I'll be 60! At some stage, usually near GF day.
I figure you're 6-10 yrs off that. but could be wrong.
Your first game in 69, mine was 63.
The rabbi
Brownlow Medallist
- May 13, 2007
- 12,857
- 15,788
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- St.Albans (Geelong Football League)
57 in December.
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
2 yrs < me and 2 yrs > my brother.
The rabbi
Brownlow Medallist
- May 13, 2007
- 12,857
- 15,788
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- St.Albans (Geelong Football League)
Yep, I was just trying to extract a bit of urine out of you when I said that you may be 10 years older.
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
There are quite a few of us 55+ now.Yep, I was just trying to extract a bit of urine out of you when I said that you may be 10 years older.
Do you reckon going to the footy back in the 60's at age 7, with absolutely no seats in sight, was a bit of child cruelty? Never saw much of the game back then. Highlight was standing next to the players race on the wing there watching our linimented heroes jog out and in. As you said, changes at our ground are probably for the better, certainly the toilets are.
Strong memories of Pies games down at KP back then where many fans peed into their beer cans.
The rabbi
Brownlow Medallist
- May 13, 2007
- 12,857
- 15,788
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- St.Albans (Geelong Football League)
In my first and second game that dad took me to I had the privilege of sitting in the seats of what was then the high tech Social Club Stand.
I remember the crowd at K'Park in 1980 for the Geelong V Collingwood game that was in excess of 42,000. I had to keep walking along the Eastern wing until I could find a place in the crowd where I could actually see the game. One of the problems of being a short arse. The atmosphere was enormous.
And to think how much the township had grown since those days but the crowds for big games were ground capacity. Even to think that they had over 49,000 at K'park in 1952.
The names from that era were Rod Blake who was best on ground that day and was 3rd in the Brownlow of 1980. John Mossop a traditional Geelong Redhead, Bruce and Ian Nankervis, Terry Bright, Stephen Lunn, Gary Malarkey, Micheal Turner, Neville Bruns, Tom Floyd, Ray Card, Peter Featherby, David Clarke, Peter Johnston, Murray Whitcombe, Sam Newman.
Others from that era in 1980 were Mark Bos, Robert (Scratcher) Neal, Jack Hawkins (dad of Tom), Mark Yeates, Larry Donahue, Kevin Sheehan (shifter), Paul Jeffereys, (whom I was in the same grade at primary school with at Tate Street in Thomson in the East side of Geelong), Malcom Reed (who won the equivalent of the Liston trophy in 1980 IIRC), Andy (Gutsy) Preston, Kelvin Mattews (brother of Leigh), Jeff Cassidy, Richard Murrie, Glenn Middlemiss, Zane Taylor, Mario Bortolotto, Dale Smyth, Jan Smith, Maurice O'Keefe and Paul Sarah.
Others on the list included: Darren Morgan (Mad Dog), Craig Dowsett (a form lower than me at East Tech). Those names should jog a few memories of the old blokes on this forum.
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
We were a very good team back then.
I can recall every one of those players, they were the days.
I was a big fan of Paul Jefferies back then, and I know Goggin really rated him.
Blakey was awesome that year.
Butch Cassidy was a talent that seemed to cop too many injuries.
No mention of Kevin Higgins- was he already gone by then?
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
