2009 GFC Crystal Ball

[The Hulkster]

Thought it might be a good time to make some predictions for the Cats next season. Feel free to post your own using this format.

Ladder Position - 1st

Will we play in the Grand Final - Yes

If yes against who - St Kilda

Best and Fairest winner - Gary Ablett Jr

Leading Goalkicker - Cameron Mooney

Reserves Best and Fairest - David Johnson

Break Out Player of the Year - Simon Hogan

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Scott Simpson

Fall from grace player in 09 - Travis Varcoe

Most Improved - Ryan Gamble

Headline of the Year - "Cats make amends in Grand Final"

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - No


Feel free to add more if you like.

 

[yardenlavy]

WHY NOT

if yes against who- hawthorn
headline of the year- hawks first team to go back 2 back since brisbane

 

[Turbocat]

Ladder Position - 4th

Will we play in the Grand Final - No

If yes against who - ***

Best and Fairest winner - J.Bartel

Leading Goalkicker - S.J

Reserves Best and Fairest - Ranga

Break Out Player of the Year - Simon Hogan

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Tom Gillies

Fall from grace player in 09 - Josh Hunt

Most Improved - Ryan Gamble

Headline of the Year - "Franklin Springs , Scarlett sees red , Both out for 4"

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - No

 

[Catdog]

Ladder Position - 2nd

Will we play in the Grand Final - Yes

If yes against who - Doggies

Best and Fairest winner - Joel Selwood

Leading Goalkicker - Tommahawk

Reserves Best and Fairest - Nathan Djerrkurra

Break Out Player of the Year - Nathan Djerrkurra

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Nathan Djerrkurra

Fall from grace player in 09 -Mathew Stokes

Most Improved - Mark Blake

Headline of the Year - "Cats tear hawks a new one"

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - Yes

 

[Big Nasty]

Ladder Position - 1st

Will we play in the Grand Final - Yes

If yes against who - Hawthorn

Best and Fairest winner - Gary Ablett Jr

Leading Goalkicker - Tom Hawkins

Reserves Best and Fairest - ???

Break Out Player of the Year - Tom Hawkins

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Scott Simpson

Fall from grace player in 09 - Tom Lonergan

Most Improved - Travis Varcoe

Headline of the Year - 'Geelong annihilate feral Hawks in GF'

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - No

 

[kicksome]

Ladder Position - 2nd

Will we play in the Grand Final - Yes

If yes against who - Hawthorn

Best and Fairest winner - jimmy

Leading Goalkicker - Tom Hawkins

Reserves Best and Fairest - dj

Break Out Player of the Year - Tom Hawkins/ryan gamble

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Scott Simpson

Fall from grace player in 09 - Tom Lonergan

Most Improved - ryan gamble

Headline of the Year - 'Cat attack is back!' 'Cats are Purring'

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - No

 

[Redemptionin09]

Ladder Position - 1st

Will we play in the Grand Final - Yes

If yes against who - Hawthorn

Best and Fairest winner - Gazza

Leading Goalkicker - Steve Johnson

Reserves Best and Fairest - Simon Hogan/Ranga Ediriwickrama

Break Out Player of the Year - Tom Hawkins/Ryan Gamble

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Nathan Djerkura

Fall from grace player in 09 - Tom Lonergan

Most Improved - Ryan Gamble/Tom Hawkins

Headline of the Year - 'Cats Gain Redemption', 'Revenge Is Sweet', 'The Ablett Factor'

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - No

 

[costanza23]

I know everyone wants him to be a star, but why is everyone saying that Hawkins will be the leading goalkicker? He's had another injury-interupted pre-season and surely Johnno or Moons will kick over 45 goals each. It will be a huge achievement if Hawkins kicks 45. It would be great if he played a similar 3rd year as Nablett's - play nearly the whole season and kick 35 goals.

 

[krisholio14]

Ladder Position - I can see us blowing up and missing the finals to be honest.

Will we play in the Grand Final - No

If yes against who -

Best and Fairest winner - Gary Ablett Jr

Leading Goalkicker - Steve Johnson

Reserves Best and Fairest - David Johnson

Break Out Player of the Year - Ryan Gamble

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Scott Simpson

Fall from grace player in 09 - Travis Varcoe

Most Improved - Ryan Gamble

Headline of the Year - "What's Wrong Pussycats?"

Will Matthew Egan play again - Yes

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - No

 

[Redemptionin09]

Ladder Position - I can see us blowing up and missing the finals to be honest.

Will we play in the Grand Final - No

If yes against who -

Best and Fairest winner - Gary Ablett Jr

Leading Goalkicker - Steve Johnson

Reserves Best and Fairest - David Johnson

Break Out Player of the Year - Ryan Gamble

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Scott Simpson

Fall from grace player in 09 - Travis Varcoe

Most Improved - Ryan Gamble

Headline of the Year - "What's Wrong Pussycats?"

Will Matthew Egan play again - Yes

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - No

How and Why?

 

[krisholio14]

How and Why?

I saw the return of the 2006 Geelong in the last two weeks of 2008, which is why those brown and gold assholes are over the moon right now and we are still licking our wounds (well I am).

I did not see anything in the Post Mortem to suggest that anyone in the inner sanctum noticed this.

It's never been a question of talent with this group of players, it's all been up stairs.

Think about it this way. We need to respond strongly, and silence the critics, and the only way we can do that is by winning the 2009 flag. How many times in your time of following Geelong have they responded strongly when they have been challenged, especially when there is something significant on the line?

We've been clearly dominant for two years, and have one flag to show for it. Thats Geelong for you.

Having said all this, I hope and pray with every inch of my soul that I am more wrong than I've ever been about anything in my life. In fact, I hope you bookmark this, and bring it up in late September to point out how ****in wrong I was

 

[witsend]

I saw the return of the 2006 Geelong in the last two weeks of 2008, which is why those brown and gold assholes are over the moon right now and we are still licking our wounds (well I am).

I did not see anything in the Post Mortem to suggest that anyone in the inner sanctum noticed this.

It's never been a question of talent with this group of players, it's all been up stairs.

Think about it this way. We need to respond strongly, and silence the critics, and the only way we can do that is by winning the 2009 flag. How many times in your time of following Geelong have they responded strongly when they have been challenged, especially when there is something significant on the line?

We've been clearly dominant for two years, and have one flag to show for it. Thats Geelong for you.

Having said all this, I hope and pray with every inch of my soul that I am more wrong than I've ever been about anything in my life. In fact, I hope you bookmark this, and bring it up in late September to point out how ****in wrong I was

Diablo...don't get sucked in by all the doom and gloom and trolls from Haks fans.
This is a team that has responded exceptionally well to adversity in the last 2 years. The penny has dropped as to what is required to achieve success. But they are not machines and will make errors occasionally. Sadly the 2008 GF was one of them.
They have lost 3 games in nearly 2 seasons of football!! That is no accident.
There is no reason whatsoever to suggest they will fall over next year. No more than there is to suggest Hawthorn will have a Premiership hangover.
They re still far and away the best list in the AFL. A slight restructure of our forward line is all it will take and natural improvement.
Only Hawthorn have the structure to challenge us and there is more chance of their backline taking a backwards step next year with Croad in BIG trouble even if he comes back than our forward line not improving.
Our midfield is just entering it's peak and is without peer.
Our backline, although ageing is led by Scarlett and Harley who are still playing as well as they ever have, with guys like Talor and even Lonergan to
mature and improve. Hell, Taylor demolished Riewoldt in the Semis!
All our hot prospects are forwards...last piece of the puzzle!!!
Bring on 2009!!!

 

[winty]

I saw the return of the 2006 Geelong in the last two weeks of 2008, which is why those brown and gold assholes are over the moon right now and we are still licking our wounds (well I am).

I did not see anything in the Post Mortem to suggest that anyone in the inner sanctum noticed this.

It's never been a question of talent with this group of players, it's all been up stairs.

Think about it this way. We need to respond strongly, and silence the critics, and the only way we can do that is by winning the 2009 flag. How many times in your time of following Geelong have they responded strongly when they have been challenged, especially when there is something significant on the line?

We've been clearly dominant for two years, and have one flag to show for it. Thats Geelong for you.

Having said all this, I hope and pray with every inch of my soul that I am more wrong than I've ever been about anything in my life. In fact, I hope you bookmark this, and bring it up in late September to point out how ****in wrong I was

In regards to the bolded part, the aftermath to Round 5, 2007 springs to mind. We are 42-3 since then.

Back on topic...

Ladder Position - 1st

Will we play in the Grand Final - Yes

If yes against who - Hawthorn

Best and Fairest winner - Gary Ablett Jr

Leading Goalkicker - Cameron Mooney

Reserves Best and Fairest - Shannon Byrnes (which hopefully means he's nowhere near the senior side)

Break Out Player of the Year - Ryan Gamble

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Nathan Djerrkura

Fall from grace player in 09 - Tom Lonergan

Most Improved - Ryan Gamble

Headline of the Year - "Revenge is Sweet as Cats maul Hawks"

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - No

 

[krisholio14]

Diablo...don't get sucked in by all the doom and gloom and trolls from Haks fans.
This is a team that has responded exceptionally well to adversity in the last 2 years. The penny has dropped as to what is required to achieve success. But they are not machines and will make errors occasionally. Sadly the 2008 GF was one of them.
They have lost 3 games in nearly 2 seasons of football!! That is no accident.
There is no reason whatsoever to suggest they will fall over next year. No more than there is to suggest Hawthorn will have a Premiership hangover.
They re still far and away the best list in the AFL. A slight restructure of our forward line is all it will take and natural improvement.
Only Hawthorn have the structure to challenge us and there is more chance of their backline taking a backwards step next year with Croad in BIG trouble even if he comes back than our forward line not improving.
Our midfield is just entering it's peak and is without peer.
Our backline, although ageing is led by Scarlett and Harley who are still playing as well as they ever have, with guys like Talor and even Lonergan to
mature and improve. Hell, Taylor demolished Riewoldt in the Semis!
All our hot prospects are forwards...last piece of the puzzle!!!
Bring on 2009!!!

Hawthorn trolls have nothing to do with it. I've been following this footy club for 30 years, and I've seen em do it all before.

If it was on talent alone, we would have beaten Hawthorn by 15 goals last year. We'd be a monty for the flag again this year. Unfortunately, talent is only a small part of it.

I've been to 90% of the games this list have played at senior level, so I know when these blokes are on the same page and when they aren't. 2007 was an unbelievable year, but it's gone. Great teams of the modern era like Carlton, Essendon and Hawthorn won 4 or 5 flags when they had the dominant teams. All of them went back to back at some stage.

It seemed pretty clear to me that the same fire, passion and hunger that was there in 2007 wasn't there in 2008. OK, we had a better record overall in terms of wins and losses, but the players didn't seem to be enjoying their footy. It looked like a chore, rather than fun.

Some fans I know said we were going through the motions, or 'not switched on'. I don't think that was the case, but there was something very robotic, even clinical in the way we went about it, and I think it was part of why we didn't get up in the end.

The wheels fell off during the Footscray final. Too many willing to leave it to too few. Too many looking to do the fancy things and not the hard things. There also seemed to me to be a bit of tension among the boys too, and that really came out in the second half of the GF.

Let me give you an example of what I mean.

I'm sure you remember Harry Taylor's fumble which was picked up by Stewie Dew and snapped for a goal from 50 out. It was the back breaker really so I expect we all recall the moment. It happened right in front of where I was sitting. Now people were quick to blame Harry for stuffing up, but you know what? It wasn't his fault.

When we are all working as one, players are where they are meant to be. How many times, in exactly the same situation during the season, did Harry get the ball, look up and put a long kick into space because he could see the players working hard to run into that space? When he got that ball and looked up, the two players who should have been in the space, were dragging the chain and were beaten to the spot by a Hawthorn player who was working a hell of a lot harder than our blokes. Hence why Harry held up the kick, and eventually dropped the pill because suddenly he was under the pump. Sure he could have just thrown it on the boot, but it would have gone straight into the lap of a Hawthorn player anyway, and they had blokes out the back as well. Had he kicked it or dropped it and got tackled, they were still going to score.

The thing that pissed me off more than anything on the day was this. I watched the Footscray final, and the round 17 Hawthorn game 3 or 4 times each before the GF. Not only that, but I said to several of my friends and family (and I may have even said it on a thread in here) after the Dogs game, that if we play like that against Hawthorn they will flog us.

So what did we do? We played exactly the same as we did against Footscray, and got flogged. I identified at least 4 things we needed to do to combat Hawthorn in the game, and not a single one of them was observed by the coaches. Shit, I'm just a bloke who watches the games and pores over the tapes, the blokes that get paid to sort this shit out were clueless. What pissed me off even more was that the areas I identified that needed adjusting were the exact areas where Hawthorn smacked us.

None of the above has been mentioned by anyone from the club since the GF debacle, which screams out to me that we think we are better than we actually are. It's not all that surprising, this group of players (with the exceptions of Harry and Joel) have been guilty of it in the past, and they were guilty of it again in September. I've seen nothing to suggest that things are any different.

Hopefully now the players stop getting their heads in the media talking about how ****in great we are, and get back to doing what matters, and thats focusing long enough to ensure the silverware ends up in our cabinet, not some other bastards.

This is what hurts me most. It was ours, and we didn't want it badly enough when the chips were down.

 

[krisholio14]

In regards to the bolded part, the aftermath to Round 5, 2007 springs to mind. We are 42-3 since then.

And you know what? 1 of those three losses means more than 41 of those wins.

 

[witsend]

This is what hurts me most. It was ours, and we didn't want it badly enough when the chips were down.

I also have been following Geelong for 30 years+ but I believe history is irrelevant to current teams. It's nice for the media and fans like us but bears little relevance to current players/coaches etc.
I'm not disagreeing with you at all... but I believe pain and humiliation are a far greater motivational tool than confidence.
Hawthorn will find that out in 2009.
It remains to be seen if Geelong have the hunger to succeed again. I personally believe the GF found us out for the makeshift forward line we alwys had. There is no real central focus there or dominant player ie Buddy/Roughead. That's why I'll be rapt if Hawkins becomes our FF next year, He doesn't and most likely won't kick 60+ goals. 45 would be great as far as I'm concerned. At least he needs to look threatening and create the aerial contest where our damaging talented players can run amok. Chapman/Johnson/Stokes/Varcoe/Gamble.
Moons will get his 8-10 marks on the lead and Lonners and Ottens can pinch hit as the 3rd tall.
The GF was lost because we had no dominant Key Forward who wanted to take the game by the scruff of the neck. I believe Hawkins is the kind of player who wants to kick the winning goal after a hanger, in the same way Johnno does. Gamble has the same attributes.
We dominated every aspcet of the 2008 GF except the scoreboard which tells me our system is working except for our Forward line, which we were comcerned about long before that game. And don't forget a number of our forwards who are adept at keeping the ball in the forward lien and have good defensive skills were under injury/form clouds.
I actually thought our reserves not making the finals was a huuuge issue as we couldn't play guys like Wojo/Hawkins/Stokes into form with a couple of quarters of competitive footy to see where they were at.

 

[witsend]

All of them went back to back at some stage.

Much, much harder now...the last team to Back to back was Brisbane and although they were a great side and a joy to watch, they were given huge salary cap advantages...$500,000 PA from memory. They were also a combined team with the cherry picking of the best of 2 teams. And let's not forget that they won their flags at the end of their era. The nucleus of their flag teams had been together nearly a decade before they threatened.
Since them, no team hs gone back to back and I think it's no co-incidence.
I also think this generation has a different ethos than those in the past.
They lack a sense of history and have much shorter attention spans. I'm just not sure that plauers these days care as much about the career stuff as players did 20/30/50 years ago.
There has to be a LOT of players at every club who just go through the motions 'cos they're getting 2-300K PA.

 

[catempire]

Diablo, I think you raise some fair points. Where I would stray from you is that I think that the GF loss will be what they need to shock them back into action and to bring back that hunger.

One thing I would add to what you are saying about the Footscray prelim and the GF is that part of the problem was that throughout the past two years we never really had to work hard to turn a game around when things weren't going well. It always seemed to be the case that we'd be in an arm wrestle with a team and may even be a few goals down but we would just be patient and wait for things to "click" where we would pile on 5-6 goals in a ten minute period which would break the back of the opposition. I felt in the GF that we were waiting for this to happen again and almost expected it to happen if we just kept plugging away.

In a way it epitomises the Thompson approach and mantra to coaching. "We'll just worry about what we have to do right and not too much about what the opposition is doing". It worked so well for so long that there was no catalyst for change. It did work in the prelim against the Dogs and there was an expectation in the GF that, even when a few goals down, it would work again.

The inaccuracy in front of goal was a significant hinderance to this mantra. As was carrying unfit players into the game. When the time came for the burst to come, we wasted opportunities and some players we needed to play a part couldn't because their bodies let them down.

I'm with you though. I hope that in 2009 we see a bit more attention and respect paid to dealing with opposition tactics, styles, players, etc. When things aren't going well, I want to see that we have options and ideas to deal with it. The 2008 GF should have taught us that it won't always turn around for us and "be alright" if we stick at the same approach. If not for the sake of four points in the H&A, we will more than likely need such flexibility in a crunch final at the business end.

 

[Topper]

Ladder Position - 1st, or at worst 2nd

Will we play in the Grand Final - Yes

If yes against who - Hawks, possibly Dogs

Best and Fairest winner - Gary Ablett Jr

Leading Goalkicker - SJ (he's most danderous near goal, he doesnt need to go up the ground to get 34 touches. Stay near goal and he'll kick 60+)

Reserves Best and Fairest - Gillies (??? um....why not)

Break Out Player of the Year - Gamble

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Motlop (Varcoe isnt the answer in that position)

Fall from grace player in 09 - Travis Varcoe

Most Improved - Gamble

Headline of the Year - "Tomahawk Cuts down Hawks"

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - Ahahahaha....... No, just No!!!!

 

[catempire]

Witsend, if Mooney had kicked 5.0 or 4.1 in the GF (instead of 2.3), do you think you would have been saying the same thing about our key forwards?

I fully expect Hawkins to develop into that key forward that we want, but key forwards weren't the reason we lost the GF.

 

[year of the cat]

What worries me going into the 2009 season is the loss of Egan, Prismall, and Nathan Ablett from our team over the past two seasons. They are impossible to replace in a short time and their absence may be telling over the course of the whole season.

Having said that IF we have our minds on the job and IF we are lucky with injuries this year then I would hope we could win it again. We need Chappy to be fit and firing, Hawkins to step up to be the power forward we so desperately need and our tall backs to remain fit as there is not a lot of backup for them on our list. Cross fingers.



Ladder Position - 3rd

Will we play in the Grand Final - Yes

If yes against who - Hawthorn

Best and Fairest winner - Gary Ablett Jr

Leading Goalkicker - Cameron Mooney

Reserves Best and Fairest - Simon Hogan

Break Out Player of the Year - Ryan Gamble

Best Player to make his debut in 2009 - Nathan Djerkurra

Fall from grace player in 09 - Tom Harley

Most Improved - Ryan Gamble

Headline of the Year - "Buddy strikes out"

Will Matthew Egan play again - No

Will Kane Tenace Play a senior game - Yes

 

[witsend]

Witsend, if Mooney had kicked 5.0 or 4.1 in the GF (instead of 2.3), do you think you would have been saying the same thing about our key forwards?

Probably not..but then the underlying issue would have been papered over again...
A successful team needs a threatening KPF....it puts perceived pressure on defenders and makes them more accountable. It requires double teaming etc. Do we have a single key forward atm who anyone needs to double team or pay total attentionto?
Like a Franklin or going back...Ablett/Carey/Brereton?
You only need look at Scarlett on Franklin in the GF. He did an outstanding job one on one with Franklin but it lost us his run and creativity. Then with Harley going down we were a tall short...
I am reminded though of what Bomber said when he first started at Geelong.
He said he would build a Defence, then a Midfield, then a Forward line. I just think a lot of the tall forwards we banked on didn't come though...in particular, the loss of Nablett put a hole in our forward line that we never really dealt with.
Lonergan did a very serviceable job as the 2nd tall but he is not threatening.
I hope and believe that Hawkins and Gamble will be the last pieces in the puzzle.
I still remain VERY optimistic for 2009-2011.
But 2008 will haunt me and GFC forever as the one that got away.
In 89/92/94/95 we were IMO the 2nd best team and did have that Frontrunner mentality we still get accused of unfairly.
i also pray we meet Hawthorn in 2009 GF.

 

[catempire]

Probably not..but then the underlying issue would have been papered over again...
A successful team needs a threatening KPF....it puts perceived pressure on defenders and makes them more accountable. It requires double teaming etc. Do we have a single key forward atm who anyone needs to double team or pay total attentionto?
Like a Franklin or going back...Ablett/Carey/Brereton?

No we don't... yet. We all hope Hawkins will be it.

But yet we won the 2007 flag without one and we weren't far away in 2008 without one. It's not the be all and end all if the rest of the team is complete.

 

[winty]

Witsend, if Mooney had kicked 5.0 or 4.1 in the GF (instead of 2.3), do you think you would have been saying the same thing about our key forwards?

I fully expect Hawkins to develop into that key forward that we want, but key forwards weren't the reason we lost the GF.

Agree with that. It was our lack of a crumbing forward that was our downfall IMO. SJ couldn't rove the packs when he was roaming up on the wing, Stokes was clearly injured, as was Chapman, and Varcoe seemed overawed by the occasion. The difference between Rioli, Dew and Williams, and Stokes, Chapman and Varcoe on the day couldn't be more diametrically opposed IMO. None of the key forwards was overly dangerous. Roughead and Franklin were pretty well held, and Mooney and Lonergan were repeatedly double teamed.

 

[witsend]

No we don't... yet. We all hope Hawkins will be it.

But yet we won the 2007 flag without one and we weren't far away in 2008 without one. It's not the be all and end all if the rest of the team is complete.

Imagine how exciting it will be if a midfield and rebounding half back line keeps pumping it inside 50 to people who can actually catch it when it's not necessarily lace out/one on one?
With dominant tall forwards there's always the feeling that they can make something out of nothing. That is the beauty of Franklin...you just never know what he might do but you know it's gonna be good.