Pure_Ownage
TheBrownDog
AFL Premiership Round 9
Western Bulldogs V Geelong
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Friday 25 May
Etihad Stadium 7:50 PM (Local Time)
Melbourne Forecast Melbourne Radar
Western Bulldogs V Geelong
________________________________________________________
Friday 25 May
Etihad Stadium 7:50 PM (Local Time)
Melbourne Forecast Melbourne Radar
4-5. The sight of that win-loss record would be galling to Geelong supporters, used to following a team entrenched in the top two on the ladder by this stage of proceedings. And while the Cats will enter the game on Friday night as warm favourites, the Dogs have recent form on their side and an ability to win the contested ball that will make Chris Scott wary.
Three losses in a row. You have to travel all the way back to 2006 for the last time it happened to the Cats in the AFL. It’s never even been seriously threatened, with the rare occasions in recent times that Geelong has found itself on a two-game losing streak being punctuated by a comfortable dispatching of an overmatched opponent to get the Cats back on track.
While the Bulldogs have the recent form on their side, a tougher-than-expected game against the Suns and a six day turnaround on the trip back from Darwin can be expected to impact their preparation for the Friday night battle. The Dogs have usually backed up their matches at TIO Stadium reasonably well, but that is usually with the benefit of eight days and it is a science experiment to give them just six.
LAST TIME: A walk in the park for the Cats at Skilled. Ottens booted five in a best-afield display, Stevie J was everywhere, Scarlett was at his taking-the-piss best in the backline and the old firm of Bartel and Corey racked them up with a minimum of fuss. For the Dogs, Gia kicked five, but despite Lake kicking three junk-time goals, the game may be best remembered as the most worrying ‘What the hell happened to that guy?’ display until Shane Warne stepped out in public a few months later. Needless to say, both have bounced back in a big way. Chances are the Cats will be missing 7-8 players from the team that played that game, less than twelve months ago: Cowan, Ling, Menzel, Ottens, Scarlett, Varcoe, Vardy, Wojcinski
LAST TIME (AT THIS GROUND): Like the same walk in the park, only if Geelong had access to a golf buggy and the Bulldogs were senior citizens who’d left their asthma pumps at home. Famous for Tim Lane’s ‘days of dominance are over’ statement (quickly followed by fourteen unanswered Geelong goals). Stevie J was again rampant, Podsiadly was marking everything and finishing his good work, Enright did whatever he felt like and Ablett and Selwood combined for a lazy 74 possessions and five goals. Menzel made his debut and signalled that he had a big future at the Cattery. Again Giansiracusa was a major target up forward (three goals) for the Dogs and Boyd was their best with 35 disposals and eight clearances.
AT SELECTION: Scarlett and Gillies are the only injured Geelong players who are expected to come under consideration for Friday night from the injured players, with Scarlett currently rated a 50-50 chance to be recovered from his ankle injury, while Gillies’ knee complaint is being continually assessed through the week. It is a shame that Gillies is unlikely to push in at this stage (presuming both are fit), as the Bulldogs would be a good team for him to test his negating ability against, freeing up Harry Taylor to be a sweeper.
At VFL level, George Horlin-Smith is probably the only recognised AFL player who has done enough to put his name up, while Dawson Simpson’s return has been met with sighs of relief from the Geelong faithful, after watching the AFL side running on the smell of an oily rag for the best part of half a season. If anyone knows the whereabouts of Mitch Brown and Simon Hogan, please feel free to contact MC Extra Dollop, c/o the Geelong Football Club. Just want to know they’re ok.
Jesse Stringer was quite prominent after coming on as the sub, but the man he passed the vest to, Billie Smedts, was quiet and may be under pressure. Josh Hunt has been the hot topic on many AFL-commentators’ minds this week, after a couple of brain farts against Collingwood. But despite keen minds, such as Matthew ‘Essendon are no chance against Carlton and should rest half their side’ Lloyd and Shane ‘This is the first year I think Hawthorn can win the flag since 2008’ Crawford ruling a line through Hunt’s name, Chris Scott has come out in defence of his nuggety back pocket. If Scarlett or Gillies is to come back in, Scott will not want to fuel speculation that Hunt has been dropped, so expect Taylor, Lonergan, Enright or Mackie to get an RDO. This writer believes Orren ‘The Jinx’ Stephenson (relax, I’m joking) was better on the night than West, so if a ruckman is to be rested, it will be West. However it is likely that both will be retained to put the acid on a young and unproven Bulldogs tall man brigade, which has more question marks than The Riddler’s outfit.
For the Bulldogs, Cooney is expected to be fit and if so, he will automatically come in. Addison has been suspended, so he is an out. The query is whether the Bulldogs make any more changes to a winning lineup. Veszpremi and Djerrkura would be others who will be knocking on the door if they pull up from groin and quad injuries respectively, while Zeph Skinner may be the unfortunate one to make way, after not doing too much wrong as the sub. Djerrkura could play a role off half back if required (i.e. if Veszpremi is unavailable). Christian Howard is also an option off half back.
TEAMS
Western Bulldogs
B: Hargrave, Lake, Veszpremi
HB: Murphy, Austin, Sherman
C: Cross, Boyd, Liberatore
HF: Giansiracusa, Jones, Dahlhaus
F: Cooney, Cordy, Grant
R: Minson, Griffen, Picken
I/C: Dickson, Wallis, Higgins, Djerrkura
OUT: Addison, Skinner, Smith
IN: Cooney, Veszpremi, Djerrkura
Geelong
B: Enright, Lonergan, J. Hunt
HB: Mackie, Taylor, Guthrie
C: Duncan, Selwood, T. Hunt
HF: Chapman, Hawkins, Johnson
F: Stokes, Podsiadly, Motlop
R: Stephenson, Bartel, Kelly
I/C: West, Stringer, Horlin-Smith, Corey
OUT: Smedts
IN: Horlin-Smith
MATCH-UPS: In the Geelong backline, the likely assignments will be Taylor to Jones and Lonergan to Cordy/Minson. Enright will probably go to Dickson and Mackie to Grant. This leaves Josh Hunt and Cam Guthrie to debate over Gia/Higgins/Cooney, with both being ok match-ups for the Doggies’ small forwards. Gia needs significant attention; he has kicked eight goals in the past two games against Geelong, despite his side being obliterated. Of course, Scarlett is every chance to come in for someone suffering a phantom injury, in which case he can play on pretty much any of the above.
In the midfield, the first question is whom the taggers go to. From a Bulldogs’ perspective, the answer is obvious: Picken will be inside Selwood’s jumper from the first bounce, daring the rest of the Cats’ midfield to step up. It is not only a case of Corey, Bartel, Duncan and Chapman needing to lift their possession counts, but to hammer Picken fairly every chance they get, like the good old days when a tagger was locking on to Ablett. For Poodle, the options are plentiful. The obvious choice would probably be Griffen, though Hunt’s early-season form suggests his skill-set is currently best suited for the in-and-under types like Boyd and Cross. It says here that he goes to Boyd. Dahlhaus and the junior Libba and Wallis are young guns in good form and need to be treated with the respect afforded to the more well-known Bulldogs mids.
In Geelong’s attacking zone, it will be interesting to see which key forward Lake goes to. While Hawkins hasn’t continued his hot goalkicking form from early on in the season, he is still presenting and taking marks and he will require close attention. Lake should go to him early, with Austin to Podsiadly and see how this is progressing throughout the night. This time last year, we would have been reasonably happy with a four goal, ten mark, 22 possession night from our two big forwards, but it wasn’t so much the numbers from last Friday night that frustrated; it was the fact that they had already gone into their shells in the first quarter, handpassing off (often to stationary targets) inside the forward 50, rather than taking the responsibility of banging the goal home. One of Pods’ first ‘silence the critics’ games was when he pulled Lake’s pants down in the 100+ point demolition of 2010 at this venue and conditions could not be better suited for at least one of our big forwards to have a massive night. Hargrave and Murphy will probably go to Johnson and Chapman, respectively, when they are playing in the Cats’ forward line. Addison’s suspension robs them of a lock-down defender, which should give Stokes and Motlop plenty of opportunities to put some goals on the board.
VERDICT: It was a greatly improved Geelong last Friday; some silly little mistakes, sure, but you couldn’t question their aptitude for the contest. They’re going to need to improve to knock off the up-and-about Bulldogs, who would love nothing more than to get three wins on the trot, go to 5-4 and put their name up as a genuine September chance. With an undermanned backline (missing Morris, Markovic, Addison and perhaps Gilbee out of their first 22) and an inconsistent tall forward brigade, coming off a game in Darwin and a day less rest, I can’t see them getting over the line. Cats to get back on the winners list, with a confidence-boosting 38-point win.
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