Preview 2019 Prelim Final - Tigers v Cats @ Punt Rd Oval, Fri 7:50pm

[Kingsfoil]

Henderson hasn't played as a forward in a very long time. The timing of the 'leak' makes me skeptical too, the club wouldn't be volunteering info this early without a reason. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the team sheet tomorrow night is a bit different to the 'good oil' we're hearing this evening.

 

[Strange Cat]

I’ll still be expecting a late change tbh

 

[cats_09]

Hendo gets a lot of criticism here, but I think he has been unlucky to not be in our 22. If Taylor retires, he'll play 22 games next year IMO. I'm really pleased to hear he's coming in. He has the experience and his intercept marking could be very, very important. I'm very comfortable with him in this team.

Totally agree

It's not like he's done anything wrong this season or that his form hasn't been good, instead it's a case of others being better

I think Henderson would be aware of where he sits in the pecking order & that if recalled for this week what is expected of him.

If Taylor retirees, I hope we re-sign Henderson

 

[Boxhead_31]

I don't think so, because we haven't played that way all season. Too drastic a change for everyone

They'll need to, and should be able to. There's no shortage of pace in the side, at least on paper. Hell, even Guthrie had the jets on last weekend.

Much better to bring in a player who hasn't kicked a goal since the last time he was tried as a forward in the 2017 PF you reckon?

 

[Munich]

Henderson is our best option.

He can lock down defence and intercept.
Taylor can go forward create a contest and hopefully clunks his average of 5-6 marks.

And kick behinds.

 

[Live in hope]

Brilliant, brilliant effort last Friday night. Aside from great intensity, manic tackling and gut running, there were three tactics that I noticed on Friday that would position us really well to beat the Tigers -

- lose ball clearance work was flipped around, quick handed first option but almost always forwards, not sideways to flanks or backwards meaning the direction was straight down the ground , with some occasional well executed kicks into the corridor
- direct, low and hard kicks to forward 25 metres making it easier for Sav, etc to judge and less time for intercept markers to get across.
- fantastic forward separation and blocking. Tigers will not let this happen and I’m sure the umps will intervene more than they did last Friday. Nonetheless should persist, perhaps mix it up with lowering eyes to combat the Tigers counter tactics. If not working without Hawk I think the odd crazy ball kick would help to avoid Tigers intercept markers getting into their rhythm.

 

[Cataholic]

I’ll still be expecting a late change tbh

I'm thinking the exact same

 

[maryjames]

I’m expecting a huge win

 

[Munich]

I’m expecting a huge win

Why/how?

 

[steady2]

I haven’t read the entire thread yet, but just a few thoughts of mine... Silly silly Hawkins, it’s a huge out in terms of our forward structure. He and Sav together kept West Coast’s defenders accountable on Friday night and they kicked about half of our total score between them. He’s a reliable kick and terrific in the one on one contests, not to mention his work in the ruck contests at F50 stoppages and his ability to set up goals and bring his teammates into the game. There’s no one player that we can bring in to cover for everything that he does and his amount of finals experience. Very frustrating.

What we don’t want to do is rob Peter to pay Paul and unsettle the rest of the lineup who got us into this position. I’m not a big fan of Taylor forward, not only do I think he is more valuable down back on either Riewoldt or Lynch, but he’s just not a natural forward and of all the times we’ve attempted the Taylor experiment, it’s failed way more than it has succeeded. He hasn’t got great speed or brute strength and he’s not a great goal kicker most of the time. I love Harry, and he is a strong overhead mark to be fair, but he’s not the one I’d want kicking for goal after the siren to win us the game. I know our options are limited but plonking Harry forward has been tried and tested countless times over the last couple of years and it didn’t work out. It’s easy to look back with rose coloured glasses and say at least he has experience as a forward, he had a handful of good games etc, but I’m sure most of us were very frustrated supporters during that period of time and were calling for him to be moved back to defence. He’s a backman, and a damn serviceable one. Reflecting on the year, our backline has been at its best with the likes of Taylor and Blicavs in there. I’d love to see us acknowledge that by running with it in this do or die game, because we need to be at our peak defensively if we are to have any chance of winning.

I don’t mind Rohan back in on the proviso that he can impact the contests and will himself into the game. He needs to have no doubt about what his role is. We’re all aware of his hot and cold form, what his strengths are and his apparent mental fragility when the heat is on. When he was lining up for his second goal in the first qtr against Collingwood it looked like might be in for a big night, until he shanked it out on the full and was then unsighted until his injury. If he can get on the board early and get his confidence up I think he can produce for us. I know it’s not all about goal kicking with him, and we admire his pace and pressure, but a goal or two early would hopefully have him feeling up and about. Ablett needs to be delivering the ball inside 50 as much as possible. That has been his most valuable role this year IMO and will be instrumental in our chances of victory. Rohan isn’t going to look very good if we are quickly bombing the ball high I50 with all of Richmond’s defence in position. We need the class of guys like Ablett to take the extra half a second to lower the eyes and either place the ball to allow Rohan to use his pace and lead at it, or to kick it to his advantage in a one on one. As long as it’s slightly to his advantage he will do well.

I am also praying that we don’t see any last minute shenanigans from Scott and co RE: personnel. We actually looked settled and balanced on Friday night, but it’s horrifying to know that Scott struggles to keep his hands still with this stuff. I swear he shuffles things around just for the sake of it sometimes, or because he thinks playing unproven players out of position is a genius tactical move that will outsmart the opposition players and coach. Danger forward, Tuohy forward, Taylor forward, Blicavs in the ruck; we are all aware of these “aces up the sleeve” and not only does it not constitute an actual plan B, it fails more often than it works out. For better or worse we want Stanley in the ruck for the rest of the year, whether that is 1 game or 2. Leave Blicavs out of there, even if it’s pouring rain (which was a transparent excuse to begin with).
It’s reasonable to think that Danger might spend some time forward, but don’t park him in the forwardline while we are getting molested in the middle and wait until we’re 5 goals down before moving him back because Scott is too stubborn to adjust his pre-game strategy. If he needs to throw the magnets around, how about putting Selwood on the ball again instead of having him flail around out on the wing having no impact. Wasn’t part of the reason for having Joel on the wing this season in hopes of increasing his longevity as a player? Well we have a maximum of 2 games left for the year and then he can have months to rest up. That is one positional change that is made periodically that actually seems to have a high strike rate in terms of success. This is the proud captain of our club and he will do everything in his power to drag us over the line on Friday. He has shown that he’s still capable of having an impact and can attack the ball as well as ever, get him around the ball and into the game. He won’t die wondering.

You have put forward many negatives, against a number of options, but have not suggested any alternatives.

Hawkins is out, what do we do?

We cannot expect Sav to carry the entire forward line, he cannot be expected to be the only big marking forward there. We need someone who can provide another marking target, take Richmond defenders away from Sav and Rohan(if he plays) and if they don't mark then bring it to the ground. Clearly Taylor is the best option we have available.

The remainder of your post is a factually incorrect attack on the coach. I guess you did not see last Friday's game, Danger was not parked on the forward line for any significant time and Selwood did not play on the wing, he was in the centre.

 

[steady2]

Lachie is the obvious choice for mine and has been very good in the games he has played; the stats back that up. He will be played down back as a third tall.

For some reason, Simpson last week in the pre-game interview, was of the opinion that Taylor was going to go forward but obviously that never happened and he ended up doing a great defensive job on Kennedy to keep him to the solitary goal. Perhaps it was some sort of ruse where Taylor was seen with the forwards during a mid-week practice session, who knows.

In any case, HarryT is the right match-up for Lynch as Blicavs will most probably have another role(s) to fulfill. Henry has played forward this year, albeit with limited success however he seems the more likely candidate to go forward.

If Hendo plays, it won't be forward.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

If Hendo plays, it won't be forward.

Agree.

 

[CatRiot]

Henderson hasn't played as a forward in a very long time. The timing of the 'leak' makes me skeptical too, the club wouldn't be volunteering info this early without a reason. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the team sheet tomorrow night is a bit different to the 'good oil' we're hearing this evening.

He won't be going Forward, rather they play him in defence, and Taylor goes Forward.

 

[Munich]

Taylor fwd does not work.

 

[CatRiot]

I’m expecting a huge win

If so, so will I on betting lol, 5.4-1, along with my Premiership bets.

 

[CatRiot]

Taylor fwd does not work.

Why not?
Takes out Grimes.
SavRat one out with Astbury.
Plenty of smalls to create havoc.

Smells like Miers and GAJ 4 each

 

[Munich]

Why not?
Takes out Grimes.
SavRat one out with Astbury.
Plenty of smalls to create havoc.

Smells like Miers and GAJ 4 each

I hope so for our sake.

 

[steady2]

Richmond lost the prelim last year expecting to go on to back-to-back premierships. They are angry. This year for them, has been something similar to our 2009, they are grim and committed to doing what they thought they deserved last year. They have had injuries but still managed to win and squeeze into the top 4 as raging premiership favorites. Most of their players are available, they are rested and ready. They will have 80,000 screaming one-sided morons there. We have no Hawkins, it will be as tough a game as this club has ever played.

If Rohan is fit, he must come in. Another goal option and reinforced forward pressure, we need him to play 4 quarters of his best. For Ablett, this is the game he knows all about, if his body is up to it, we need him to play equal to his best effort this year.

We showed last week that we have a game plan that can change according to the conditions in the game, we can take control of the play, slow it down and speed it up according to our momentum. I do not think Richmond can do that as well as we can.

To win, we will have to play as best as we have all year, I'm sure the players know this.

It has been suggested to bring Henderson in, which would allow more flexibility in defense, I like that idea, but to bring in both Rohan and Henderson means dropping someone else. I can't think who.

It was suggested Blicavs play hard tag on Martin all day. I like this idea, I still think Blitz is our best match-up for Lynch though.

Getting a headache from all the possibilities. We will probably need a little of Lady Luck to prevail, hopefully she accommodates.

 

[CatRiot]

I hope so for our sake.

To win, we would need to restrict Lynch, Riewoldt and Dusty... And Danger and Sav would need at least 3 each.
It is a bit of an ask tbh...
But let's see.
I think we will either win in a close game, or they'll blow us off the pitch.

 

[Munich]

Takes some luck to win a flag.

Fingers crossed!

 

[GeelongFTW]

Taylor fwd does not work.

We're not asking for him to be the vocal point- SavRat will be (A fact some people seem to have forgetton for some reason.)

Just need him to hold the Richmond defense accountable which he is more than capable imo. If I was a Richmond defender (gross ) I'd much rather go up against an inexperienced Fort/Buzza than an AA calibre KPP.

 

[winty]

Do we bring in scooter to tag dusty?

Need someone who can negate Dusty, but is also bold enough to run off him and burn him going the other way. Let's face it, the tattooed flog with the s**t haircut is pretty much allergic to tackling or applying defensive pressure of any kind. We need to capitalise on that.

 

[Munich]

Saw him today actually, geez he's a bogan.

 

[CatRiot]

Richmond lost the prelim last year expecting to go on to back-to-back premierships. They are angry. This year for them, has been something similar to our 2009, they are grim and committed to doing what they thought they deserved last year. They have had injuries but still managed to win and squeeze into the top 4 as raging premiership favorites. Most of their players are available, they are rested and ready. They will have 80,000 screaming one-sided morons there. We have no Hawkins, it will be as tough a game as this club has ever played.

If Rohan is fit, he must come in. Another goal option and reinforced forward pressure, we need him to play 4 quarters of his best. For Ablett, this is the game he knows all about, if his body is up to it, we need him to play equal to his best effort this year.

We showed last week that we have a game plan that can change according to the conditions in the game, we can take control of the play, slow it down and speed it up according to our momentum. I do not think Richmond can do that as well as we can.

To win, we will have to play as best as we have all year, I'm sure the players know this.

It has been suggested to bring Henderson in, which would allow more flexibility in defense, I like that idea, but to bring in both Rohan and Henderson means dropping someone else. I can't think who.

It was suggested Blicavs play hard tag on Martin all day. I like this idea, I still think Blitz is our best match-up for Lynch though.

Getting a headache from all the possibilities. We will probably need a little of Lady Luck to prevail, hopefully she accommodates.

Rohan's not fit.
But if he is, and they want Taylor Forward with Rohan, then I can only point to one of Narkle or Parfitt missing out. Out of those two, I'd probably take Narkle out. Even still, I think I'd gamble on Narkle being in the team over Rohan.

 

[CatRiot]

Need someone who can negate Dusty, but is also bold enough to run off him and burn him going the other way. Let's face it, the tattooed flog with the s**t haircut is pretty much allergic to tackling or applying defensive pressure of any kind. We need to capitalise on that.

Guthrie when in the middle.
When deep in attack, put Bews or O'Connor.