Preview QF2: Geelong vs Brisbane, Friday 5th Sept 7:40pm at MCG

[cats_09]

2006 is a year that Geelong fans won't look back upon with fond memories nor one that will be on too many highlight reels - the team was sitting 2nd on the ladder after round 1, top of the ladder after round 2 but 7th by round 5 and no higher than 9th across the remainder of the season. While no doubt the lowlight of the year came in round 10 that year when on our home deck we led the Eagles by 36 points at halftime, stretched that out to 54 points halfway through the 3rd quarter before falling in a heap to lose by 3 to the eventual premiers. As part of the season review it would have been easy to take a path we've seen taken by many other teams over recent years - sack the senior coach, clean out the assistants and sell off some talent to bank draft picks

But that isn't the path this Club took, we backed in the coach, we backed in the players and sure we hit the jackpot at that draft but the players also got real with each other and truths were shared - what looks a disastrous season when reviewed in isolation, was also the turning point in our Clubs history and has led us on the path to where we still find ourselves 19 years later

2007 was a magical season for the GFC where we finally lifted the premiership cup after a 44 year drought but our club wasn't finished there...we were just getting started
Starting with 2007 season, we've:

• Seen September action on 17 occasions, having missed the finals just twice in 2015 & 2023
• Been minor premiers on 4 occasions
• Finished top 4 on 15 occasions (7 of those 2nd)
• And most importantly, lifted the Premiership Cup on 4 occasions

And that's where we find ourselves again heading into September 2025. We've finished 2nd on the ladder, have one of the healthiest lists in the AFL and have been playing with a very settled team across the past month - Chris Scott

Chris Scott

Age

49

Ht

182cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.6

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.4

3star

No current season stats available

D

13.2

4star

K

10.2

4star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.8

5star

G

0.4

3star

& team have done a fantastic job of getting us primed for another shot at September glory

Our run to the last Saturday in September will start on Friday night when we face off against Brisbane - the team that knocked us out of last years finals race in a close fought prelim final that really did go down to the last couple of minutes. And while Brisbane seemingly have the wood on us over recent matches, Friday night is the chance for us to turn that around, go in at close to full strength as we've been all year and hunt down the reigning premiers

While it'll be Smiths first final in the hoops, we've seen before that he's built for September when he helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2021 Grand Final, picking up 8 & 9 votes respectively in the Gary Ayres award in their Semi Final & Prelim Final wins. And having been named the joint winner of the AFLCA Player of the Year on Thursday night, I'm sure he'll be ready to continuing on with the form he's shown to date

Scratcher Neale missed our training run against Richmond due to an interesting MRO decision, and while he showed glimpses of what he can do against Port in last years QF, it's been the back half of his season which seen him become a real focal point up forward - he's no longer just a decoy for Jezza, but becoming a real threat in his own right. While he hasn't enjoyed much success against Brisbane this year with just a solitary goal from 2 outings, his 22 goals from his last 7 matches says he's a player on the rise

And let's not forget our tackling machine Tommy Atkins - this year he broke the all time tackling record with 205 tackles in a season, but he's shown himself to be more than just a hunter with his 19.5 disposals & 5.5 clearances this year being career highs for our former VFL captain

I could go on and name the rest of the players and what their going to bring - whether it's Tommy Stewart who's looked back to his best over the last month, Jack Martin

19

Jack Martin

Age

31

Ht

186cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.2

4star

K

10.0

4star

HB

6.3

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

3.7

5star

G

0.9

4star

D

14.9

4star

K

7.9

3star

HB

7.0

4star

M

4.3

4star

T

3.6

4star

G

1.1

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

4.6

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.0

4star

G

0.6

3star

who's found a home as an attacking player in team or our wrecking ball of a captain up forward who still needs to learn how to kick goals. The reality is that the 23 guys who take to the field on Friday night will know not just their roles, but that they will be playing for each other and for the Hoops

Let's make the MCG our September cauldron, bring the noise and make it a venue that the opposition will fear playing us - and I'll leave the last word to our #17 Lawson Humphries

 

[allrighty]

We could not be in better shape going into this one really. Strength, fitness and class on all parts of the ground, and the best in the business off it. Plus we are playing at the G where our game is designed to shine.

A win on Friday then one hand and a few toes are on the Cup.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

I reckon the team still feels the hurt from last years prelim. That loss stung.

I think we win this just. Maybe a goal or under.

 

[No Quarter]

I'm not sure I'll ever go in to a finals series feeling overly confident about Geelong.. perhaps a little too much PTSD.

But, in my mind, for the Cats, you have to win week 1 to secure that confidence.

Get over the Lions and I'll start to feel pretty bloody good then. As many have said, the winner of this match will be in the box seat for the flag.

Do I think we can do it? I think we're in better shape than we were this time last year.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

This game is essentially the GF because whichever side wins it will make the GF and is in the box seat to win it because the other will have to go the long way to the GF (although the pre finals bye helps).
I just hope we dont start poorly and give up a run of goals. If we are in it at the 3/4 time I think our forward line fire-power will win it.
We are better than brisbane at both ends but their midfield is much more powerful than ours and thats my worry is them dominating midfield with 6-6-6 like they did in the 3rd quarter of the prelim
Our mids just need to stand up and break even. Holmes can't get injured again and must get out the front of stoppages. This stage is made for smith and we need a huge game from him and the second tier mids have to stand up. Stanley needs to physically get into fort-they are both almost cooked and at retirement but we need one huge effort from Rhys.

Neale and moc in for bews and knevitt for mine.
Mullin to tag mcluggage and moc probably gets someone like rayner or Cameron.
Id love to fit Duncan in but I think he will be an emergency.

 

[GlenMiddlemissed]

Brisbane are an obviously good/great side, possibly the best this year. We can’t try to blanket everyone, we have to trust our players to equal or better them, but there are some key players for them that just have to be shut down. If their best are stopped/slowed, then the rest of their team that has been relying on these top players to lift and inspire them may start to have a little seed of doubt, and it could all spiral downhill from there. A bit like Swans and Isaac Heeney

5

Isaac Heeney

Age

29

Ht

185cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.2

5star

K

10.4

4star

HB

7.7

5star

M

4.9

5star

T

4.1

5star

CL

2.2

4star

D

14.3

3star

K

8.8

4star

HB

5.5

3star

M

4.8

4star

T

2.5

3star

CL

0.8

3star

D

10.4

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

2.4

4star

CL

0.8

3star

and Gulden a few weeks ago – they were nearly always the ones to get them over the line but we restricted them to ordinary, and they had no-one else to turn to.

In Brisbane’s case:

McLuggage – forget Neale or anyone else, he is the number 1 key to Brisbane. Oisin just has to be given the blanket job on McL, restrict him and we go a long way to winning. Every time McLuggage gets his hands on the ball, the Irish rocket has to be there to harass, bump and block. Atkins will have the run with role on Neale.

Raynor. Arrogant player, but when he is on, he is Heeney-lite. And we have the antidote to Heeney. MOC matches up well with Raynor, let him reduce Raynor to Heeney level frustration too.

Andrews – how many times have we watched him stop forward thrust after forward thrust. We can’t let him do it again. And CS has been planning for this, why else would he have moved Blicavs to the fwd line a few weeks ago? It will be Blitz’ role to just stay with Andrews and negate his intercept game (he will have to do some ruckwork too). Andrews has had it his own way for far too long.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

This game is essentially the GF because whichever side wins it will make the GF and is in the box seat to win it because the other will have to go the long way to the GF (although the pre finals bye helps).
I just hope we dont start poorly and give up a run of goals. If we are in it at the 3/4 time I think our forward line fire-power will win it.
We are better than brisbane at both ends but their midfield is much more powerful than ours and thats my worry is them dominating midfield with 6-6-6 like they did in the 3rd quarter of the prelim
Our mids just need to stand up and break even. Holmes can't get injured again and must get out the front of stoppages. This stage is made for smith and we need a huge game from him and the second tier mids have to stand up. Stanley needs to physically get into fort-they are both almost cooked and at retirement but we need one huge effort from Rhys.

Neale and moc in for bews and knevitt for mine.
Mullin to tag mcluggage and moc probably gets someone like rayner or Cameron.
Id love to fit Duncan in but I think he will be an emergency.

The “long way” seems a bit easier this year. The loser plays Freo or the GC then pies or crows in the prelim.

Id be confident making the GF that way as well.

I think it’s a cats lions GF no matter who wins this game.

 

[patience]

Psst. Aren't we playing Friday night?

 

[catstorm]

Just saying it is projected to rain on Friday and we are supposedly a better wet weather team then Brisbane.

How Australian Rules football adapts to the weather, and who's best in the wet

Unless you're playing at Docklands, weather is always a feature of games of AFL. Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson take a look at how teams adapt to different conditions, who plays better in the wet, and the growing issue of scheduling and heat.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Pure_Ownage]

The “long way” seems a bit easier this year. The loser plays Freo or the GC then pies or crows in the prelim.

Id be confident making the GF that way as well.

I think it’s a cats lions GF no matter who wins this game.

Oh 100 % we can still make the GF if we lose bc the semi will be soft. But its more it will give brisbane the week off to rest all their banged up guys and get Hipwood back which gives them more chance to beat us in the GF. Which is why I think whoever wins this wins the GF. We can't allow that. Like the 2007 prelim I dont care about the margin so long as we win.

 

[cats_09]

Psst. Aren't we playing Friday night?

 

[Vdubs]

FB: Zorko, Lester, Joyce
HB: Wilmot, Andrews, Starcevich
C: Reville, McCluggage, Berry
HF: Rayner, Ah Chee, Bailey
FF: Cameron, Morris, Lohmann
Mid: Fort, Dunkley, Neale

Int: W. Ashcroft, L. Ashcroft, Day, Fletcher

SUB: Marshall

This is the likely team we play in 6 days.
Formidable. Rested.
Hard to be confident we can do it, but if we do, we would be closest to making and probably winning the 2025 Premiership.

I'd love to see how we match up on them- we are an elite runniong team, but that bench is insanely good.

 

[Cat Woman]

The “long way” seems a bit easier this year. The loser plays Freo or the GC then pies or crows in the prelim.

Id be confident making the GF that way as well.

I think it’s a cats lions GF no matter who wins this game.

The long way possibly means playing the Crows in Adelaide in the preliminary final. That would be tough .

 

[Vdubs]

The long way possibly means playing the Crows in Adelaide in the preliminary final. That would be tough .

We seem to love playing SA teams at the AO.

 

[cats_09]

The long way possibly means playing the Crows in Adelaide in the preliminary final. That would be tough .

It could mean Collingwood at the MCG if the Pies win on Thursday night

 

[geelong_crazy26]

The winner of this will win the flag.. simple

This is the equivalent of the 2022 qualifying final between geelong and collingwood.

 

[standupand]

I'm not sure I'll ever go in to a finals series feeling overly confident about Geelong.. perhaps a little too much PTSD.

But, in my mind, for the Cats, you have to win week 1 to secure that confidence.

Get over the Lions and I'll start to feel pretty bloody good then. As many have said, the winner of this match will be in the box seat for the flag.

Do I think we can do it? I think we're in better shape than we were this time last year.

Speaking of the key matchup. It's happened five times under the current system that teams who met in the QF have met again in the GF. Every time bar once the loser has turned the result around.

Bris over Coll 03
Syd over WC 05
WC over Syd 06
Haw over WC 15

The one exception is WC overcoming Coll twice in 18.

So win or lose, I'm remaining circumspect.

I just hope we put on a better show than we have the last couple of times we've played them.

Go cats!

 

[patience]

I reckon the team still feels the hurt from last years prelim. That loss stung.

I think we win this just. Maybe a goal or under.

Apparently it took Chris a while to come out of the fetal position after that loss.

 

[you pick one]

Apparently it took Chris a while to come out of the fetal position after that loss.

Same me.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

FB: Zorko, Lester, Joyce
HB: Wilmot, Andrews, Starcevich
C: Reville, McCluggage, Berry
HF: Rayner, Ah Chee, Bailey
FF: Cameron, Morris, Lohmann
Mid: Fort, Dunkley, Neale

Int: W. Ashcroft, L. Ashcroft, Day, Fletcher

SUB: Marshall

This is the likely team we play in 6 days.
Formidable. Rested.
Hard to be confident we can do it, but if we do, we would be closest to making and probably winning the 2025 Premiership.

I'd love to see how we match up on them- we are an elite runniong team, but that bench is insanely good.

I doubt Joyce plays. But hes a potato.
And Lester has been a good player but is right at the end. Cameron can exploit him. If we can keep Andrews busy those other tall guys suck.

Day who will play is cooked.
Fort is very average and ordinary lately.

This Is where we can get the advantage with neale and Cameron in good form. Our talls need to stand up and the mids need to break even. It can be done.

 

[standupand]

FB: Zorko, Lester, Joyce
HB: Wilmot, Andrews, Starcevich
C: Reville, McCluggage, Berry
HF: Rayner, Ah Chee, Bailey
FF: Cameron, Morris, Lohmann
Mid: Fort, Dunkley, Neale

Int: W. Ashcroft, L. Ashcroft, Day, Fletcher

SUB: Marshall

This is the likely team we play in 6 days.
Formidable. Rested.
Hard to be confident we can do it, but if we do, we would be closest to making and probably winning the 2025 Premiership.

I'd love to see how we match up on them- we are an elite runniong team, but that bench is insanely good.

I'd say Darcy Gardiner would be a lock for the key back position rather than Joyce.

 

[And_ROOS]

FB: Zorko, Lester, Joyce
HB: Wilmot, Andrews, Starcevich
C: Reville, McCluggage, Berry
HF: Rayner, Ah Chee, Bailey
FF: Cameron, Morris, Lohmann
Mid: Fort, Dunkley, Neale

Int: W. Ashcroft, L. Ashcroft, Day, Fletcher

SUB: Marshall

This is the likely team we play in 6 days.
Formidable. Rested.
Hard to be confident we can do it, but if we do, we would be closest to making and probably winning the 2025 Premiership.

I'd love to see how we match up on them- we are an elite runniong team, but that bench is insanely good.

McInerney played well in the VFL and will be a chance to come back in.

 

[AM]

McInerney played well in the VFL and will be a chance to come back in.

If he’s fit and they are confident he can run out the game, it’s a monty he’ll play.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Sounds simple but if we kick a lot of points we'll lose.

We are poor at allowing the opposition to move out of defence from a kick in and Zorko and Co are far too good by foot.

Kick accurately and we win.

 

[BotsMaster]

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AFL Tables - Geelong v Brisbane Lions - Fri, 20-Jun-2025 7:40 PM - Match Stats