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Preview Prelim Final 25 - Geelong V Hawthorn Fri 19th Sept 2025 740pm @ MCG

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Team selection day. Will be interesting to see if Scotty gives anything away at his presser re: Stanley’s availability.

Surely the only possible change is Stanley for Clark?
I'm looking fwd to Scotty's presser. With what was reported a week ago and the pile on from the media. I hope i see a prickley but positive response from CS. I've loved how it's been about the hawk's this week with snippets from gryan and Atkins from the cats pov.
 
Hok Hopium update
1. Winning it for Breust (Nick Watson)
2. Players have been shown the 2013 Prelim (Sam Mitchell)
3. Injuries don't matter when you've got a final to play, and "Gunners" hardly trains anyway (Sam Mitchell)
4. update We are battle-hardened. (Sam Mitchell)
5. update Giath took an amazing mark during match simulation yesterday, a sign he is finding a way past his poor form (Herald Sun)

Suggested Cat response:
1. We're winning it for Trevor Poole
2. Players have been shown the team photo of 1963 premiers with "unknown player standing in for J Sharrock" and to visualise it is them.
3. Checkmate - we're going to name Toby Conway
4. We've played "Battle Hardened" on PS4
5. We've got an Amaze in Barrabool - can he find his way out of that?
 
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Team selection day. Will be interesting to see if Scotty gives anything away at his presser re: Stanley’s availability.

Surely the only possible change is Stanley for Clark?

I could see Knevitt for Clark if Scott & Co want to rotate sub options and give a 24th player a run this finals series

But otherwise I don't see any changes
 
I could see Knevitt for Clark if Scott & Co want to rotate sub options and give a 24th player a run this finals series

But otherwise I don't see any changes
Neither do I; I may be in the minority but I always think we look better when injury prevents CS from selecting the overly tall side he seems enamoured with. Clark may still be finding his feet, but iirc he's done some handy things coming on as a sub rather than starting.

I am sure our improvement over the back end of the year has been due to two main factors:
  • a completely different midfield plan (more players involved, tagging)
  • selecting a more mobile team.
 

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I think Bews for Clark gives us a few more options.

Bews can sub, handy option to lock it down in final quarter. Nightmare scenario for such an inexperienced player to be thrown into that pressure.
If you go back and look at the pattern of sub players selected by Geelong I think it's unlikely that they'd go with Bews in a Prelim. If he plays (which I doubt) he'll start on the ground. He offers very little in the way of flexibility if we did have a player that needed subbing out. He can really only play in defence and in a lockdown role on a small forward.

Based on recent history I think the sub would more likely be a player that can add something to our midfield rotation or play in a few different roles. So I think it's more likely to be Knevitt / Clark / Bowes types.
 
Neither do I; I may be in the minority but I always think we look better when injury prevents CS from selecting the overly tall side he seems enamoured with. Clark may still be finding his feet, but iirc he's done some handy things coming on as a sub rather than starting.

I am sure our improvement over the back end of the year has been due to two main factors:
  • a completely different midfield plan (more players involved, tagging)
  • selecting a more mobile team.
Scott hasn't picked overly tall sides since about 2019-2020. Back then we'd run with Taylor, Henderson, Kolo and Henry in defence and then Hawkins, Esava and Rohan up forward. Blicavs and Menegola (who played tall) often on the wings.

Our best 22 the last few years consists of less talls.
 
If we can beat Lions, and then Hawks with Blic/DeK as rucks, much as I love Stanley, would we need him in a GF v Pies or Lions?
The benefit of Stanley is not so much in the ruck, but in giving us the flexibility to use Blicavs in other roles, and, specifically for those 2 teams, in negating the influence of Andrews or Moore, the role which he was 'training' in until Stanley went down.
 
If you go back and look at the pattern of sub players selected by Geelong I think it's unlikely that they'd go with Bews in a Prelim. If he plays (which I doubt) he'll start on the ground. He offers very little in the way of flexibility if we did have a player that needed subbing out. He can really only play in defence and in a lockdown role on a small forward.

Based on recent history I think the sub would more likely be a player that can add something to our midfield rotation or play in a few different roles. So I think it's more likely to be Knevitt / Clark / Bowes types.

If Bews is selected it'll be because that have a set role in line for him

From there I think Humphries almost becomes the favourite for the sub role, especially if we've also got a defensive run with role lined up for O'Connor

Looking at our QF team, we ran with a defensive unit of: SDK, O'Sullivan, Henry, Stewart, O'Connor, Guthrie & Humphries, with Holmes & Martin in particular dropping back at times also,

If Bews comes in, are we then one defender too heavy without one of them being the sub? We'll already likely be rotating one of the bench, if Holmes starts behind the ball then it's one into the wing etc

A selection of Bews feels like we are almost forcing the sub to come from that group and Humphries is the most flexible of them
 
If we can beat Lions, and then Hawks with Blic/DeK as rucks, much as I love Stanley, would we need him in a GF v Pies or Lions?
IF we happen to win, and IF the lions also win I would definitely be playing Stanley. Frees Blicavs up to be a nuisance for Andrews. I wouldn’t want to rely on Neale getting the job done alone on the big stage.
 
Buddy Franklin on his podcast 'no pressure on hawthorn' 'free hit' interesting....

They are sooo desperate to play the underdog.

Like, no! You're Hawthorn, you win a Premiership every decade. You don't get to use that card, especially in a Prelim lol
 

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And was a brilliant, very clever player.
I do some work for a team in a different code, and Mitchell spent time doing "work experience", observing how the coaches and high performance team function, and gotta say he was a great bloke- friendly, good sense of humour, polite, engaging, and genuinely interested in how it all worked. James Rahilly also did this, and he was very similar.

That really shows the perils of judging a person from afar. Conversely, I did some work for our Club, and over time found one ex player to be an unlikeable character, to say the least. No Club is spared one, maybe we just evaluate players footy.
 
There's no way they're all fit. Soft tissue doesn't recover in a week when you get to Gunston's age.

But I do hope we treat them like a fully fit side.

You just know what the media message will be if we win. "Hawks were really brave, played above themselves, but injuries got them at the wrong time, still a fantastic season, beat the minor premiers, etc etc"
There is more chance of me being the sub than the team not treating them like a fully fit side.:) Kill them.
 
There's no way they're all fit. Soft tissue doesn't recover in a week when you get to Gunston's age.

But I do hope we treat them like a fully fit side.

You just know what the media message will be if we win. "Hawks were really brave, played above themselves, but injuries got them at the wrong time, still a fantastic season, beat the minor premiers, etc etc"

I don't give a hoot what they say.

We'll be in the granny.
 
Literally bumped into Dipper walking out of a lift last night...

Not sure if it's a good or bad omen..?
 

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doesn't matter how often we play them, nothing quite like that 24 hours leading into a prelim, that unnerving mixture of excitement, fear, pride, hope, anxiety. Feels like its even more pronounced this year simply by virtue of who our opponent is; the mere thought of losing to them in another knock out final is enough to make me uncontrollably shake.
I know we are the better team this year and if we play our way we should win well, but Prelims are strange beasts as we all know too well.
Godspeed my fellow Cats brothers and sisters, we'll see you on the other side (hopefully in another GF!)
 
I'm pretty sure we've got better places for political based discussion than our prelim final thread...


Back on topic yeah - or is post deletion required to help with that?
 
For fellow train folk like me

V/Line Providing Extra Services for Fans Heading to Geelong's Preliminary Final​

Fans travelling on the Geelong Line to the Geelong and Hawthorn preliminary final at the MCG on Friday night will have access to seven additional services
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Fans travelling on the Geelong Line to the Geelong and Hawthorn preliminary final at the MCG on Friday night will have access to seven additional services.

Before the game, an additional service will depart Waurn Ponds 3.50pm, while additional services will depart Wyndham Vale at 5.19pm and 5.46pm to further boost capacity along the line.

In addition, two services that normally originate at South Geelong will start from Waurn Ponds at 3.20pm and 3.41pm, giving passengers more options.

After the game, there will be four additional services to Waurn Ponds, departing Southern Cross at 11.12pm, 11.21pm, 11.45pm and 12.03am. Another three services will run with extra carriages.

These extra services are in addition to trains running approximately every 20 minutes on the Geelong Line throughout the day seven days a week.

Passengers can travel between Southern Cross Station and the MCG on a Metro Trains service to either Jolimont or Richmond stations.

V/Line Executive Director Operations Sussanah Osborne: “There are plenty of options to get fans to and from the footy in Melbourne on Friday and Saturday, with extra services before and after the game.”

“Services will be popular as fans head to these matches so we encourage passengers to check the V/Line website and plan their travel in advance.”


The regional fare cap means passengers will pay only $11 full fare and $5.50 concession to get to the MCG and home again on Friday for same day travel.

Weekend fares are even lower with passengers paying $7.60 full fare and $3.80 concession.

Passengers are encouraged to plan ahead by visiting the footy page of the V/Line website for a full list of service times and travel information.

Fans may also consider altering their travel times by making the most of pre and post match activities in the city.

Check out Geelong's Finals Hub for more information.

Geelong Services

Before the game:

The 3.30pm South Geelong to Southern Cross service is altered to originate from Waurn Ponds at 3.20pm. This train will stop at Marshall, South Geelong, Geelong, North Geelong, North Shore, Lara, Little River, Wyndham Vale, Tarneit, Deer Park, Sunshine, Footscray, arriving at Southern Cross at 4.40pm.

Additional train departs Waurn Ponds at 3.50pm. This train will stop at Marshall, South Geelong, Geelong, North Geelong, North Shore, Corio, Lara, Little River, Wyndham Vale, Tarneit, Deer Park, Ardeer, Sunshine, Footscray, arriving at Southern Cross at 5.05pm.

The 4.10pm South Geelong to Southern Cross service is altered to originate from Waurn Ponds at 4.00pm. This train will stop at Marshall, South Geelong, Geelong, North Geelong, North Shore, Lara Little River, Wyndham Vale, Tarneit, Deer Park, Sunshine, Footscray, arriving at Southern Cross at 5.20pm.

Additional train departs Wyndham Vale at 5.20pm. This train will stop at Tarneit, arriving at Southern Cross at 5.48pm.

Additional train departs Wyndham Vale at 5.46pm. This train will stop at Tarneit, arriving at Southern Cross at 6.23pm.

After the game:
Additional train departs Southern Cross at 11.12pm. This train will stop at Tarneit, Wyndham Vale, Little River, Lara, Corio, North Shore, North Geelong, Geelong, South Geelong, Marshall, arriving at Waurn Ponds at 12.33am.

Additional train departs Southern Cross at 11.21pm. This train will stop at Tarneit, Wyndham Vale, Little River, Lara, Corio, North Shore, North Geelong, Geelong, South Geelong, Marshall, arriving at Waurn Ponds at 12.41am.

Additional train departs Southern Cross at 11.45pm. This train will stop at Tarneit, Wyndham Vale, Little River, Lara, Corio, North Shore, North Geelong, Geelong, South Geelong, Marshall, arriving at Waurn Ponds at 1.02am.

Additional train departs Southern Cross at 12.03am. This train will stop at Tarneit, Wyndham Vale, Little River, Lara, Corio, North Shore, North Geelong, Geelong, South Geelong, Marshall, arriving at Waurn Ponds at 1.24am.



 
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