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Review Cats bake Pies by 54 points

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Cursed Cat said:
Those who wrote Brad Close off a couple of weeks ago: any retractions?

I held my fire; he'd been poor but I'm loathe to write off players who have given good service.

Good last week, even better this week; another player who was constructive in the 1st half when we looked a bit off our game.
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Both things can be true right?

Athlete form can dip, it’s trying to not make those dips so noticeable where they impede the form of the team.

His form was woeful a few weeks ago. Not just for a game, but to many in a row.

That’s the truth.

Last two weeks he’s been great, where the noticeable change of interaction and involvement has been a welcome change.

The difference is if detractors keep on going when he’s been good. I don’t think you’ll find that anywhere.
 
Mr Meow said:
The ones who mocked the conditioning excuse and refused to believe it have been awfully quiet lately.

Close was clearly cooked for those first 2 games. Was moving terribly. Then we know (or should know) that he's rarely performed well in his first game back. It seems like his body is now treating him well and he's built some confidence/match fitness from more time out there - would love to see his recent GPS numbers compared to those quiet games. The West Coast game was good and the last 2 have been as well. If his fitness is all good, hopefully we don't have to manage him and break his momentum this time.
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Watched him carefully, and found him moving much better to space (and closing up space on oppo) wily defensive moves, which has always been his strength. To be fair, I did think he's not running at top speed as we know it from him. He'll get that back eventually and nice that we've stopped hounding him.
 
Good win in the end, the stats were pretty even but we were extremely clinical when going inside 50, our forward link up clicked tonight. Smashing the pies is always good.

Massive test next week in the GF rematch, we’ll see what demons linger there.
 
thegerman said:
Both things can be true right?

Athlete form can dip, it’s trying to not make those dips so noticeable where they impede the form of the team.

His form was woeful a few weeks ago. Not just for a game, but to many in a row.

That’s the truth.

Last two weeks he’s been great, where the noticeable change of interaction and involvement has been a welcome change.

The difference is if detractors keep on going when he’s been good. I don’t think you’ll find that anywhere.
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Very fair comment.

I personally thought some of this board's commentary was bordering on disrespectful though (not naming any names, mainly because I genuinely can't remember who posted what) - yes, he was looking down on form for sure.

As for detractors going on when a player has been good - I've seen that a million times on this board!
There was that Cam Guthrie hater, there was that Jed Bews hater, there was that Jordan Murdoch hater (he might have had a point...)
 

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Wish Wellingtons said:
Was a shocking game for Ax but I think he has a few credits in the bank still. He has had an awful year though.
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What concerns me is what we're seeing across the competition. The one paced inside mids who can't play elsewhere are going the way of the dodo. You certainly can't play too many of them, and Atkins is showing those same worrying signs as a few others in the AFL.

It is also why calls for Stevens to come in leave me skeptical.
 
Cursed Cat said:
His disposal has just been so crisp over that period too (as reflected in the ''effective'' bit) - I'd been more than happy with his progress, but Oisin is really raising his own bar week by week.
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Yep, his kicking is a genuine weapon now - right and left foot. He just stabs it so low and straight, it's beautiful to watch and you can tell his teammates are happy to feed the pill to him now.

Just to expand on his disposal - turnovers over the past 4 weeks:

Mullin: 10
Bont, Butters, Sheezel & N. Daicos: 20

He rarely wastes it, but he certainly makes it hard for the blokes he is running with.
 
thegerman said:
Both things can be true right?

Athlete form can dip, it’s trying to not make those dips so noticeable where they impede the form of the team.

His form was woeful a few weeks ago. Not just for a game, but to many in a row.

That’s the truth.

Last two weeks he’s been great, where the noticeable change of interaction and involvement has been a welcome change.

The difference is if detractors keep on going when he’s been good. I don’t think you’ll find that anywhere.
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I love Brad Close, but he was down on form and needed a spell in the magoos.
He is a talented small player, and players often lose form but not talent.
He is back, and I think that the much maligned Ollie Henry may also be back.
 
Waiting for the Oishin Mullin pockets meme:

Phone
Keys
Wallet
Nick D

OR

Mullin carrying Nick D as a baby

Both equally acceptable!
 

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DangerHere said:
Yes he is, talked to him briefly at a cafe in Highton preseason and he was very polite and softly spoken.

A very respectful polite young man
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Drafting for character hasn't often steered Geelong wrong.

Glad to hear, but not surprised, to hear he's like that.
 
TheWoodenSlug said:
Only last week's VFL game and he looked really good. Can't comment on any of his other games this year, but you were definitely one of the posters saying he couldn't even manage 2 games in a row last year due to his age/body so tbh I don't really trust your judgement.
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I still stand by what I said I dont think he can really manage more than 2 games in a row and play at a high level. We probably aren't going to be able to prove it one way or the other because I suspect that we will only play him sparingly when Edwards needs a spell. But I havent changed my opinion off the back of a week.
 
The rabbi said:
I love Brad Close, but he was down on form and needed a spell in the magoos
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Just isn't true Rabs.

His competition ATM is Wiltshire who we're making a mistake giving another year and some wanted him replaced with Jhye Clark of all bloody people.

A player who is close to the worst draft bust in clubs history. Shocking midfielder and even worse small forward.
 

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Play it Sam said:
How good is our little goal sneak Shaunie Mannagh?
Kudos to the patient grasshoppers, who don't panic at a blip game or two.
Now to extend that to Atkins, if you please.
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Mannagh has actually now had 4 great games and 1 good game in 2026. He's stood up multiple times with Stengle and/or Miers missing. It sucked that he had a few quiet games but someone actually said "time for VFL" when his replacement would have been Clark. Staggering stuff that you read on here at times. Luckily our coaches are the ones making decisions and are very good at what they do.
 
Mr Meow said:
Mannagh has actually now had 4 great games and 1 good game in 2026. He's stood up multiple times with Stengle and/or Miers missing. It sucked that he had a few quiet games but someone actually said "time for VFL" when his replacement would have been Clark. Staggering stuff that you read on here at times. Luckily our coaches are the ones making decisions and are very good at what they do.
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Delusional, we'd have half the team out.
Labouring under the fanatics impossible belief that men are machines, week after week.
Scott is the master, because he accepts the imperfect early, brings it all together for the finale.
 
Humphries to me this season looks like he has the yips the deeper in defence he is. When he's between half back and half forward he is providing effective run and link up play (mostly). 9 score involvements tonight and when the game opened up he helped several counter attacks.

Where we don't want him is near our defensive goal line, cramped up and with less great options to kick to. It's making him panic a bit.

As a high half back/wingmen he is offering us plenty so I hope we keep encouraging that more advanced positioning. Get him attacking rather than safeguarding the last 25 metres to goal.
 
That was a pretty convincing win. We were clearly the better team and the longer the game went on the more the the gap in talent opened. Umps had a shocker; they wouldn't ping the Pies HTB no matter how obvious and let them crib the mark all night. We'd have won anyway, but what turned it from a win into a thrashing was a simple adjustment in the coaching box- rather than kicking long down the line where they were outmarking us regularly we started scalpel handballing through congestion and opening up the game like it was 2007-2009 all over again. Collingwood's midfielders are either eight hundred years old, complete duds, or downhill skiiers who don't chase so they couldn't adjust. The unfortunate concussion to Moore was a turning point too, and I hope he recovers well. In a parallel universe it's Mullin who comes off 2nd best in that head clash and we lament Nick Daicos's match-winning second half.

1. Rhys Stanley - A welcome inclusion into the team. The longer the game went on the better he got, as it was Collingwood's two ruckmen who ended up gassed; the pre-Cambrian fossil we dug up for tonight was fitter and faster. While Edwards is the future, right now Rhys wins more footy and has over 200 games of shrewdness to call on. I'm looking forward to those two playing in alternate weeks or in tandem for the rest of the year. I love that he's loving his footy right now. He deserves it. That little sidestep in the last quarter made me very happy.

3. Bailey Smith - Another lazy 40-possession game, although "lazy" is not the right word. He works very hard to both chase and present, but the way he accumulates touches can be inconspicuous. Sixteen in the last quarter alone, and although I realised he'd had a big final term it didn't register just how big. There have been years recently when we've won most of our games handsomely with nobody getting more than 25; although I applaud the efficiency it did make us vulnerable to the chaos ball territory scrap of Richmond's glory years. That works less well when you have a genuine inside-outside mid winning thirty or forty touches most weeks.

4. Tanner Bruhn - Probably the most anonymous he's been all year. He started pretty well but faded as the rest of the team took over, which hints at some kind of Chris Scott positional chessmaster stuff but I wasn't able to figure it out watching on the telly.

5. Jeremy Cameron - We had him roaming all over the park tonight, which given the large size of the MCG and Collingwood's slowness was the right call. His creativity was useful to us. His goalkicking radar was a bit off; he should have finished with three or four.

7. Shaun Mannagh - After a very quiet first quarter he had an excellent game, including the best goal of the game in the last quarter. He's definitely gotten over whatever funk he was in earlier in the year. A firing Mannagh, who tackles and pulls fluke goals out of a hat is a big tactical advantage for us.

8. Jake Kolodjashnij - Interesting game. There were a few times tonight when he read the ball magnificently in the air and beat two opponents, and other times when he got outbodied and shoved around a bit. I think he's maybe not a genuine tall and can get exposed when JHenry is out and SDK is rucking. I'm inclined to give him a pass mark though. He won more than he lost.

9. Max Holmes - When the Maxlenka duo gets 73 touches between them you know you're going to dominate. Which we did. Somehow, though, I thought his 33 touches were a bit subdued. He got a lot of the footy but somehow the dashing runs weren't there. Collingwood did a good job shutting those down, and he got only 375 metres gained for the night. Still, when you've got the footy your opponent doesn't so that's still a win. I was a bit unimpressed by his occasional unwillingness to tackle.

12. Jack Bowes - The last three weeks he's provided an entire blooper reel of weird and stupid events. It's the sort of thing that happens when you take the game on while lacking half a yard of pace and just a bit of sheer upper body strength, and without Martin's magical ability to pick the ball up cleanly at pace. I don't mind that he attacks the footy though, he tends to keep it in front of him at least, and I really liked the buzzer beater goal.

14. Connor O'Sullivan - Yeah, not the best game he's ever played. He tends to overcook handballs a little bit. This week he won a lot less of his own ball than usual, but I thought the mark he took in the 1st quarter, basically the first touch we had for the night, set the tone for us. He tackles well too.

16. Sam De Koning - I don't like that we have to ruck him so much right now. In the past switching between ruck and key back has made him hesitant and messed with his continuity. I'm glad he's worked past that, but I just reckon Kolo and Humphries are better with him down back full time. I absolutely can't fault his attack on the footy the last few weeks.

17. Lawson Humphries - His first half was a bit weak, too many turnovers. But when we switched to the handball-heavy game ironically his accurate kicking around half back re-emerged. Humphries is not having as easy a time of it now that other teams are putting work into stopping his drive off half back but he got his mojo back in the 2nd half.

19. Jack Martin - With Stengle out he's really shown what he can do. Last year we had him roam all over the ground because he was too good to omit, but he didn't really have a position to play. This year he's been doing what he's always done best, kick goals and give oppo defenders headaches. How he picks the ball up so cleanly is a marvel to me.

28. Ollie Dempsey - After a quiet first half he dominated the second. Switching to the 2008-era kamikaze handball game plan suited him. He likes being around packs but not buried underneath them. We give him grief sometimes for avoiding physical contact, but not enough credit for being willing to run from the wing to the forward pocket and back a dozen times a game often without reward. It does exhaust his minder though.

29. James Worpel - This was probably his best game in the hoops. The clean, crisp handballs out of congestion are finally starting to happen. I've noticed he tends to start quarters on the bech- part of this is maybe that he does well once the pace is out of the game but more than that I reckon he's the kind of guy who benefits from watching the game unfold from a distance and then going from there.

30. Tom Atkins - Pretty quiet game. He hardly got any touches and laid only 2 tackles, which is pretty un Axe-like. He's been in a bit of a flat patch all year. But I back him to get out of it and back to his best pretty quickly.

33. Shannon Neale - Tonight really gave him a chance to show off his versatility as tall forward, ruck, and even sidling up into the midfield. We got good use out of his pace and unselfishness. Keep saying it, but he's got one of the best set shot kicking actions I've ever seen. Even the ones that miss- and they don't miss by much- look really nice off the boot.

34. Oisin Mullin - Career best game. Not only did he keep Naicos pretty quiet he gave us a lot of good value running forward. His field kicking has improved out of sight: he can get a lot of distance these days and his passes are flat and accurate. While Naicos won the possession count 29-21, Mullin hit the target more often. He's quick enough to make up ground to affect his opponent's kick even if they started with some space between them, which makes him a very different proposition as a tagger.

35. Patrick Dangerfield - A few weeks ago I said that if he couldn't find a way to get involved now that he's not taking many midfield contests anymore it might be curtains. But I think he got it done tonight. Cameron and Neale clearing out of F50, and Collingwood's lack of pace in the midfield, suited him. The longer the game went on, the more he flourished. Best he's played all year.

36. Ollie Henry - Excellent return to form. I was very impressed with his willingness to run hard, contest at ground level, and his set shot kicking technique is nice to watch. Sometimes I think he runs under the ball a bit. Medium forwards opposed to genuine talls often do that because getting a metre of separation from your opponent is the only way you'll outmark him.

39. Zach Guthrie - When Zuth plays well I find it difficult to write much about him because it's all so workmanlike and unflamboyant. We look a much better team though when he is winning a lot of the ball. He was good in the air, quick to adjust to the changing game plan, and handy when he pushed up into the midfield.

42. Mark O'Connor - One utterly horrendous stuffup aside, he had another very solid game. Defending, he was scrupulously hard-working and didn't give an inch, even in aerial battles against taller opponents. Pushiong up the ground his kicks inside 50 were magnificent. When we get Blitz and JHenry back hopefully we'll see him roam up to the wing a bit more because that's where I think he's most damaging.

44. Tom Stewart - Pretty OK game in match number 200. I did not like the hungus moment though. He was pretty dependable down back and his ability to judge the flight of the ball off the boot remains impressive.

45. Brad Close - It's so nice to see him back in form. The stat sheet won't show that he got a lot of touches, but he worked tirelessly and mostly without personal reward to arrange the forward line to our benefit. He was a headache for Collingwood's defenders all night.
 

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