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Cats coaches votes: running tally and analysis

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Thoughts:

-Cameron has emerged with Thilthorpe as the dominant forward regarding coaches votes. When he picks them up, he goes big too. I wonder if that translates into Brownlow night, where they tend to be a bit more stingy with forwards. In any case, Max and Baz are finding BOGs tricky with Jezza in this form!

-Neale continues to impress and consistency-wise is tracking with Miers and Atkins during this run, which is a credit to him. Hawkins turned 23 in 2011 and Neale might be breaking out at the same age before our eyes. I can say with reasonable certainty that we haven't had a young key forward (23 y.o or younger) pick up coaches votes 5+ times in a season since Hawkins. Until now.

-Our starting midfield trio have 27 coaches votes appearances and 157 votes total. Last year we most commonly had a rotating 4 of Dangerfield, Atkins, Bruhn and Bowes - they combined for 13 coaches votes appearances and 66 votes total after the entire season + finals. Some people will still pretend our core midfield group has barely improved. It lacks depth, but those 3 starters are putting together great seasons.

-Miers moves into the 5 most commonly featured general forwards: along with Keays, Dangerfield, Greene and Elliot. If we can even call him a forward these days!
 
catempire said:
Harshly marked: Cameron, Miers, Atkins, Guthrie, Jack Henry, Dempsey, Humphries (not a single vote!!!), Stanley (no votes), Close (no votes)
Teacher's pets: Danger, De Koning
Click to expand...
Teacher's pet Dangerfield is 34 votes off being the second ever player to clear 1000 coaches votes. Ablett so far sits alone on 1010.
 

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catempire said:
Harshly marked: Cameron, Miers, Atkins, Guthrie, Jack Henry, Dempsey, Humphries (not a single vote!!!), Stanley (no votes), Close (no votes)
Teacher's pets: Danger, De Koning
Click to expand...

Dangerfield's votes have been warranted - 31 of his 32 votes came in the first 8 rounds when he was in blistering form and a 9th AA blazer was being spoken about. He had kicked 16 goals through his first 8 games, including dominant performances against Melbourne & Collingwood where he picked up maximum votes

Only a solitary vote since then is also reflective of how his season has gone since his return from injury

De Koning tells a similar story - 4 votes against Fremantle in round 1 when few he finished with 25 disposals (2nd to only Smith for us) 18 hitouts & a goal in his best performance for us in the ruck. That Freo game is also interesting in terms of votes as only Smith and one of J. Henry. Holmes & SDK received votes from both coaches, with 6 players receiving votes from only 1 coach

He then picked up 2 votes against Melbourne in his first real KPD game this season with Stanley playing his first senior match for the year - he received plenty of positive comments following the game & how he's best suited to stay back


Then comparing the coaches votes with the board votes and they do match up more often than not, especially for these two - Dangerfield getting the 3 votes from us when he's got the 10 from the coaches, SDK the 2 votes in round 1 when the coaches had him in the votes etc


They're def earned votes for those 2 guys this year but it also reflects how their seasons have played out that with Dangerfield last receiving a vote from the coaches in round 14 & SDK round 4
 
cats_09 said:
Dangerfield's votes have been warranted - 31 of his 32 votes came in the first 8 rounds when he was in blistering form and a 9th AA blazer was being spoken about. He had kicked 16 goals through his first 8 games, including dominant performances against Melbourne & Collingwood where he picked up maximum votes

Only a solitary vote since then is also reflective of how his season has gone since his return from injury

De Koning tells a similar story - 4 votes against Fremantle in round 1 when few he finished with 25 disposals (2nd to only Smith for us) 18 hitouts & a goal in his best performance for us in the ruck. That Freo game is also interesting in terms of votes as only Smith and one of J. Henry. Holmes & SDK received votes from both coaches, with 6 players receiving votes from only 1 coach

He then picked up 2 votes against Melbourne in his first real KPD game this season with Stanley playing his first senior match for the year - he received plenty of positive comments following the game & how he's best suited to stay back


Then comparing the coaches votes with the board votes and they do match up more often than not, especially for these two - Dangerfield getting the 3 votes from us when he's got the 10 from the coaches, SDK the 2 votes in round 1 when the coaches had him in the votes etc


They're def earned votes for those 2 guys this year but it also reflects how their seasons have played out that with Dangerfield last receiving a vote from the coaches in round 14 & SDK round 4
Click to expand...
Agreed.

I also think it's been overstated how bad Dangerfield has been since returning from injury - just because he hasn't any longer been in AA-level form doesn't mean he's not providing significant value. The main thing that has changed is that unfortunately his goalkicking accuracy has dropped off a fair bit. That shouldn't be dismissed as it is one of the key components of a forward being effective, but my point is that in general play and influence he's still mostly been contributing. Two shockers - against GWS and Brisbane - standout. But he wasn't alone there.

It bears noting that general forwards find it tricky to get coaches votes. A midfielder can have a decent game and has a good chance of featuring. A small or medium forward has to really stand out. The amount of good games Miers has without featuring is significant.
 
catempire said:
Harshly marked: Cameron, Miers, Atkins, Guthrie, Jack Henry, Dempsey, Humphries (not a single vote!!!), Stanley (no votes), Close (no votes)
Teacher's pets: Danger, De Koning
Click to expand...
Is it though?

Danger's votes were while he was on fire before his injury.
SDK only has 6 votes and all his votes were by the end of Round 4. Has only polled in two games.

Meanwhile I can't think of a game where Close, Stanley or Humphries were in our best 4-5 players.

Cameron has polled in 7 games since Round 10, we aren't going to poll in handsome defeats to BL and GWS, and there's a bye in there. In line with when he went from good form to dominant form I'd say.
 
I didnt know where to put this comment, I decided to put it here. I'm going to stick my neck out here and say this (some or all of you may disagree):

Right now in this season, Jeremy Cameron IS the best player in the AFL. I know most Collingwood supporters will probably disagree and say Nick Daicos and that's a valid and fair suggestion too.

My reasoning for Cameron is this:

1. He is the best player in Geelong's team.

2. He is the most valuable player in Geelong's team. If he were to go down with an injury and be ruled out for the rest of the season, Geelong's Premiership chances would hang by a thread.

3. He has presence, he is a talented forward.

4. He is kicking big bags of goals too and therefore shutting the opposition out completely.

Eleven (11) times this season so far, he has kicked 4 goals or more. Six (6) times this season so far, he has kicked 5 goals or more. Four (4) times this season so far, he has kicked 6 goals or more.

In fact, such dominance that he has shown this season, he should be a top 10 chance (yes i said it) for the Brownlow medal (Sportsbet: $501) and he should be top 5 for AFL Coaches award and AFLMVP. Not sure how many votes he has for both awards.

Seriously he is having an absolute outstanding season and yes I believe he is having as good a season (so far) or even better season as Nick Daicos.
 
Last edited:
Lunchtime said:
I didnt know where to put this comment, I decided to put it here. I'm going to stick my neck out here and say this (some or all of you may disagree):

Right now in this season, Jeremy Cameron IS the best player in the AFL. I know most Collingwood supporters will probably disagree and say Nick Daicos and that's a valid and fair suggestion too.

My reasoning for Cameron is this:

1. He is the best player in Geelong's team.

2. He is the most valuable player in Geelong's team. If he were to go down with an injury and be ruled out for the rest of the season, Geelong's Premiership chances would hang by a thread.
Click to expand...
No, they wouldn't.

They would literally cease to exist.
 
Lunchtime said:
I didnt know where to put this comment, I decided to put it here. I'm going to stick my neck out here and say this (some or all of you may disagree):

Right now in this season, Jeremy Cameron IS the best player in the AFL. I know most Collingwood supporters will probably disagree and say Nick Daicos and that's a valid and fair suggestion too.

My reasoning for Cameron is this:

1. He is the best player in Geelong's team.

2. He is the most valuable player in Geelong's team. If he were to go down with an injury and be ruled out for the rest of the season, Geelong's Premiership chances would hang by a thread.

3. He has presence, he is a talented forward.

4. He is kicking big bags of goals too and therefore shutting the opposition out completely.

Eleven (11) times this season so far, he has kicked 4 goals or more. Six (6) times this season so far, he has kicked 5 goals or more. Four (4) times this season so far, he has kicked 6 goals or more.

In fact, such dominance that he has shown this season, he should be a top 10 chance (yes i said it) for the Brownlow medal (Sportsbet: $501) and he should be top 5 for AFL Coches award and AFLMVP. Not sure how many votes he has for both awards.

Seriously he is having an absolute outstanding season and yes I believe he is having as good a season (so far) or even better season as Nick Daicos.
Click to expand...
If you take Daicos out of Coll they still make finals but can't win it.

If you take Cameron out of Geelong i doubt we make finals.

If you swap Daicos and Cameron Coll win the flag and Geelong maybe make a prelim.
 
End of H&A season update:

Here is the leaderboard for number of times listed in the coaches votes:

1. Bailey Smith (15)

2. Max Holmes (14)

3. Jeremy Cameron (10)

4. Gryan Miers (8)
4. Shannon Neale (8)

6. Tom Atkins (7)

7. Patrick Dangerfield (6)

8. Shaun Mannagh (5)

9. Mark Blicavs (4)

10. Zach Guthrie (3)
10. Tom Stewart (3)
10. Connor O'Sullivan (3)
10. Mark O'Connor (3)

14. Tyson Stengle (2)
14. Sam De Koning (2)
14. Jack Henry (2)
14. Oliver Dempsey (2)
14. Oisin Mullin (2)

19. Jack Martin (1)



Total votes:

1. Bailey Smith (103)

2. Max Holmes (84)

3. Jeremy Cameron (59)

4. Patrick Dangerfield (32)
4. Shaun Mannagh (32)

6. Gryan Miers (28)

7. Tom Atkins (23)

8. Shannon Neale (22)

9. Zach Guthrie (14)

10. Tom Stewart (13)

11. Mark Blicavs (11)

12. Connor O'Sullivan (10)
12. Tyson Stengle (10)

14. Mark O'Connor (9)

15. Sam De Koning (6)

16. Jack Henry (5)
16. Oliver Dempsey (5)
16. Oisin Mullin (5)

19. Jack Martin (1)
 
Thoughts:

-New recruit Bailey Smith ties for 1st in the AFLCA, in the process becoming the first Geelong player to crack 100+ votes since Patrick Dangerfield in 2017. Immense work, beyond anything we would have dreamed coming back from an ACL and in a new team.

-Max Holmes puts in a very commendable 80+ votes as a youngster playing his first season as a full time midfielder. Unlucky to miss out on All Australian selection for the 2nd year running, but we all know how important he is to this team. Holmes and Smith form our best midfield duo since Selwood and Dangerfield in 2016 IMO. They have a bunch of years left at their peak to keep us contending if we get the rest of the list turnover right.

-Jeremy Cameron finishes 2nd of all forwards in the AFL for coaches votes, after being 1st in 2022 and 2024. A remarkable specimen, there really isn't much more to say than that.

-The surprise of the year, without a doubt, was Shannon Neale. 8 times in the coaches votes as a young key forward! Equal 4th most frequent from our entire team. I remember some conversations I had with posters early in the season about him and boy they've had to change their tune. Young key forwards do take time. People will learn eventually. We have found a gem.

-Mannagh's votes and stat sheet reflect one of the most dynamic forward-mids in the comp for 2025. I still think he can get better too, despite his "mature baby" status. One could call him the best young player in the competition, and technically they would be right. ;) Another who at times copped criticism and it just blew my mind. Anyway, a fantastic effort for a player with only 30 odd AFL games in total under his belt. Nobody does mature age recruits like Geelong.

-Atkins seems to get snubbed for things like coaches and Brownlow votes, but his work did start to get noticed as the year wore on. For the 7 games he featured in, you could easily find another 8 games of similar output. Workhorse. Also a big improver year-on-year, especially with his ball use.

-COS and Mullin showed some great signs in very different roles and it was nice to see them get some recognition too. The future looks bright enough to me.
 

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Kobe Gryant said:
Loved the little double entendre from the Cats media team. Probably wasn't even intentional, but comes across as a subtle shot at Bevo.

"Find yourself someone who celebrates you the same way Chris does"
Click to expand...
Not sure why they would care about a player who wouldn't crack their midfield
 
Kobe Gryant said:
Loved the little double entendre from the Cats media team. Probably wasn't even intentional, but comes across as a subtle shot at Bevo.

"Find yourself someone who celebrates you the same way Chris does"
Click to expand...
There is absolutely no way that this wording wasn't intentional.

#delicious
 

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dudusmaximus said:
It's easier to win all of (AFLCA, All-Australian, Brownlow & the Norm Smith) than it is to crack into the famed WB midfield.

Am I doing it right, Bulldog Fans?
Click to expand...
There is something seriously wrong at that club. There's someone in a position of power somewhere in the chain with warped ideals and sycophantic worshippers under him.

Losing someone of Smith's calibre is horrific list management.

Smith pretty humble with his reasoning - 'just needed a change of scenery'. But that's basically just him not throwing the Bulldogs completely under the bus.
 
dudusmaximus said:
It's easier to win all of (AFLCA, All-Australian, Brownlow & the Norm Smith) than it is to crack into the famed WB midfield.

Am I doing it right, Bulldog Fans?
Click to expand...
After a glance at their board, their mantra now seems to be "These awards are all fake, rigged, unreliable, mean nothing, and we don't care about them

(And we're going to spend 10 pages telling you how much we don't care about them......)"
 
Hmm someone who is less lazy then me want to calculate the average votes per game from our players and compare them to the top 5 or so from each club?

Or if that is to much work just do the average of our club.
 
Update before preliminary final:

Here is the leaderboard for number of times listed in the coaches votes:

1. Bailey Smith (15)

2. Max Holmes (15)

3. Jeremy Cameron (10)

4. Gryan Miers (8)
4. Tom Atkins (8)
4. Shannon Neale (8)

7. Patrick Dangerfield (6)

8. Shaun Mannagh (5)
8. Mark Blicavs (5)

10. Tom Stewart (4)

11. Oliver Dempsey (3)
11. Zach Guthrie (3)
11. Connor O'Sullivan (3)
11. Mark O'Connor (3)

15. Tyson Stengle (2)
15. Sam De Koning (2)
15. Jack Henry (2)
15. Oisin Mullin (2)

19. Jack Martin (1)



Total votes:

1. Bailey Smith (103)

2. Max Holmes (88)

3. Jeremy Cameron (59)

4. Patrick Dangerfield (32)
4. Shaun Mannagh (32)

6. Gryan Miers (28)

7. Tom Atkins (27)

8. Shannon Neale (22)

9. Tom Stewart (20)

10. Mark Blicavs (16)

11. Oliver Dempsey (14)
11. Zach Guthrie (14)

13. Connor O'Sullivan (10)
13. Tyson Stengle (10)

15. Mark O'Connor (9)

16. Sam De Koning (6)

17. Jack Henry (5)
17. Oisin Mullin (5)

19. Jack Martin (1)
 
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Cats coaches votes: running tally and analysis

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