Preview 2012 Expectations

[you pick one]

That was me obviously.
If people think he wasn't labouring they are kidding themselves.
And that was the point of that thread.

Didn't he just have 2 operations FFS?

Spot on VC and I reckon he backed off in a couple of contests late in the season, a sure sign the body wasn't quite right.

 

[candiehappy]

he just wasn't flashy is all.

He did the same job as Kelly and it allowed the like of Christensen, Duncan even Bartel to drift around goals more often but if there was one player you would not want dropped for a final, it's Paul Chapman

what I love about this team is that if there was one player you would not want dropped for a final it's Chapman, Scarlett, Selwood, Enright, Corey, SJ ......

and IMO, if you watch the 09 & 11 GF, put Mackie on that list

 

[bobbycatsfanme]

Spot on VC and I reckon he backed off in a couple of contests late in the season, a sure sign the body wasn't quite right.

not having a go but give me an example please of a game where Chapman backed out of a contest

He's made his name from playing that style even when hurt.

I know they highlighted Bartel in that Brisbane game which was just appalling considering he's the last bloke to shirk a contest but I don't remember any time whatsoever where Chappy decided not to go for it

 

[you pick one]

not having a go but give me an example please of a game where Chapman backed out of a contest

He's made his name from playing that style even when hurt.

I know they highlighted Bartel in that Brisbane game which was just appalling considering he's the last bloke to shirk a contest but I don't remember any time whatsoever where Chappy decided not to go for it

4 minutes 10 to go, 2nd quarter of the GF.A fully fit Chapman would have won that contest or at very least cleaned Shaw up in the process of making it a contest.

There is a similar incident I reckon it's against Hawthorn in the first final but not going back to look now.

 

[nohairandfair]

Chappy is as tough as nails. His courage should never be questioned.

Blind courage is over-rated and can lead to Jonathan Brown type incidents.

A few judicious glances and a bit of self-preservation is better for the team and the individual.

 

[you pick one]

Chappy is as tough as nails. His courage should never be questioned.

Blind courage is over-rated and can lead to Jonathan Brown type incidents.

A few judicious glances and a bit of self-preservation is better for the team and the individual.

Totally agree.
And no body is.

 

[bobbycatsfanme]

yeh I know the play you talking about but I still reckon he had the options playing out in his mind and with scores locked, very crucial time of the game and the umpires giving away free kicks for anything remotely physical in today's footy....he made the right decision by the team not to try and go for Shaw as it would have been an automatic free kick.

I reckon Chappy's body came fine by the end of the season but he sure did throw his body in and under the packs in this years GF, that's for sure

 

[David the Cat]

For a change, dont agree with you bobby. He was definitely hampered and for a good part of the season. We will see a better Chappy next year.....scary huh?


And he did pull out a couple of times last year...I remember mentioning one instance in a post to PatrickHateman while defending TV from the "squib" accusation that person liked to throw around quite a bit. Chappy was certainly in preservation mode a couple of times last year, but in no way do I question his courage or his application. These guys are paid to make decisions and Chappy made the right ones for the Cats.

We have a Premiership to prove it and he made a significant contribution to it.

He will have a cracker of a season in 2012...bookmark it!

 

[David the Cat]

Chappy is as tough as nails. His courage should never be questioned.

Blind courage is over-rated and can lead to Jonathan Brown type incidents.

A few judicious glances and a bit of self-preservation is better for the team and the individual.

This....you said in a few words what i took an age to get to...

 

[bobbycatsfanme]

For a change, dont agree with you bobby. He was definitely hampered and for a good part of the season. We will see a better Chappy next year.....scary huh?


And he did pull out a couple of times last year...I remember mentioning one instance in a post to PatrickHateman while defending TV from the "squib" accusation that person liked to throw around quite a bit. Chappy was certainly in preservation mode a couple of times last year, but in no way do I question his courage or his application. These guys are paid to make decisions and Chappy made the right ones for the Cats.

We have a Premiership to prove it and he made a significant contribution to it.

He will have a cracker of a season in 2012...bookmark it!

yep fair point

They are pretty tough athletes, certainly up there with the most physically/mentally demanding sports of them all..imagine running 5km on the treadmill or around the oval and trying to catch your breath then having to play a game of one on one basketball 1st to 10 hurts

 

[pessimiser]

For a change, dont agree with you bobby. He was definitely hampered and for a good part of the season. We will see a better Chappy next year.....scary huh?


And he did pull out a couple of times last year...I remember mentioning one instance in a post to PatrickHateman while defending TV from the "squib" accusation that person liked to throw around quite a bit. Chappy was certainly in preservation mode a couple of times last year, but in no way do I question his courage or his application. These guys are paid to make decisions and Chappy made the right ones for the Cats.

We have a Premiership to prove it and he made a significant contribution to it.

He will have a cracker of a season in 2012...bookmark it!

until he does his hammy/ groin/ calf, whatever, his days are numbered, expect retirement end 2012, sad but inevitable, has been a champion, but no long term room for has beens

 

[Vdubs]

[/B] until he does his hammy/ groin/ calf, whatever, his days are numbered, expect retirement end 2012, sad but inevitable, has been a champion, but no long term room for has beens

Chappy at his best, is possibly our very best, but possibly true that his best is behind him. He could preserve his career a little longer if he was stationed as a forward, but doesn't seem his preference.

 

[bobbycatsfanme]

[/b] until he does his hammy/ groin/ calf, whatever, his days are numbered, expect retirement end 2012, sad but inevitable, has been a champion, but no long term room for has beens

he's always had a long history of hamstring problems and again suffered a setback pre-season.
I think he did a terrific job to get himself back up into our best 10 and especially at the pointy end of the season.

I agree with David..2012 will be a big year for him because we will be blooding the youth through the middle and Chappy will play forward more often than usual where he'll be able to kick some magnificent goals and fill Menzel's role to a tea.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

he's always had a long history of hamstring problems and again suffered a setback pre-season.
I think he did a terrific job to get himself back up into our best 10 and especially at the pointy end of the season.

I agree with David..2012 will be a big year for him because we will be blooding the youth through the middle and Chappy will play forward more often than usual where he'll be able to kick some magnificent goals and fill Menzel's role to a tea.

Fail to see why people are so against him having a reduced role within the forward line. His best season was in07 in this position and the move would only prolong his career. Fremantle have already publicly stated they are doing this with pavlich, I think we should look to give him more time in a lead up forward role again... just how bloody tough would we be up front with pods, hawk, sj and chap...**** you would just kick it long everytime.

 

[meto]

I agree!.....he probably will be most effective playing the small forward role next season, if he gets half the possessions of 2011, he'll kick bags.

Sure will power up the forwardline.

 

[Rosso]

Chappy playing as a permanent fwd could really be damaging. Very good overhead, on the lead and one of the best in the comp when the pill hits the deck. All depends on his pre-season. If he gets himself right then there's no reason why he can't impact through the middle of the ground.

As far as 2012 on a whole goes there's no reason why we can't challenge again. For mine the retiree's went out at the perfect time. Both could've played on but went out on top. no better way. In a perfect scenario Menz replaces Ling and pick out of Simpson, Vardy or Oar-en (thanks Addy) to replace the Mr Sept. Add to that the others ready to step up......Brown, Hunt, Guthrie, Motlop, Smedts, Cowan ect + the new draftees adding pressure and there's plenty to work with.

Will the Pies be fired up by the loss or will they be devastated? Can the Hawks step up and beat the Cats or the Pies in 2012? Can West Coast, Carlton ect take the next step up to be a top line side, capable of beating anyone?

These are all legit questions that need to be asked. Let's not forget that we had players stretchered off and played virtually the second half of each final with 21 fit players yet still won each final comfortably when the siren rang.

For me I can't see the others bridging the gap except for maybe the Hawks but they need to get Buddy and Rough right and that may be a big if. Would love to see back 2 back, the club and players deserve it and it would probably once and forever shut the door on the greatest team of all argument. After all, we on this board already know the answer!!!!

Go you mighty Catters!!!!!!!!

 

[Vdubs]

Speaking to a Pie fan mate tonight, and he strongly believes Pies can not beat us as we have worked out the press so well that they have to devise a new strategy. Buckley can't do that next year. He believes Hawks don't have the personnel to challenge either team, and that this year's draft has helped us as our nearest rivals have not been able to gain any advantage.
He thinks the only way Geelong will not win the flag next year is if we get done before we have to face Pies in the likely GF .
Interesting thoughts and that's pretty commonplace thinking right now.

But nobody is mentioning the Saints and their chances......?

 

[nohairandfair]

In a perfect scenario Menz replaces Ling

Not sure this is a perfect scenario.

 

[Rosso]

I meant for his spot in the 22, not his role.

Out - Ottens, Ling
In - Ruckman, Menz

If fit, that's our best 22.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

Chappy playing as a permanent fwd could really be damaging. Very good overhead, on the lead and one of the best in the comp when the pill hits the deck. All depends on his pre-season. If he gets himself right then there's no reason why he can't impact through the middle of the ground.

As far as 2012 on a whole goes there's no reason why we can't challenge again. For mine the retiree's went out at the perfect time. Both could've played on but went out on top. no better way. In a perfect scenario Menz replaces Ling and pick out of Simpson, Vardy or Oar-en (thanks Addy) to replace the Mr Sept. Add to that the others ready to step up......Brown, Hunt, Guthrie, Motlop, Smedts, Cowan ect + the new draftees adding pressure and there's plenty to work with.

Will the Pies be fired up by the loss or will they be devastated? Can the Hawks step up and beat the Cats or the Pies in 2012? Can West Coast, Carlton ect take the next step up to be a top line side, capable of beating anyone?

These are all legit questions that need to be asked. Let's not forget that we had players stretchered off and played virtually the second half of each final with 21 fit players yet still won each final comfortably when the siren rang.

For me I can't see the others bridging the gap except for maybe the Hawks but they need to get Buddy and Rough right and that may be a big if. Would love to see back 2 back, the club and players deserve it and it would probably once and forever shut the door on the greatest team of all argument. After all, we on this board already know the answer!!!!

Go you mighty Catters!!!!!!!!

Will be a very interesting 2012.... i think we will see a changing of the guard in terms of competing clubs and there will be a cluster of 6 or 7 clubs with geniune premiership ambition rather than the 3 or 4 of this year.

With Geelongs knowledge being spread via McArtney, Thompson, Egan, Milburn, Hinkley and Sando (amazing isn't it!) I'm sure we are going to see some significant emphasis being placed on bigger body midfielders and contested footy. Last year broke down the use of zone strategies again and highlighted the importance of being able to win contested footy, this will not be lost on other clubs. However, we will be again right up the top given we understand how to put together a season and can adapt well to multiple strategies.

Our biggest asset in 2012, as opposed to 11' is that we will have greater depth. With the amount of players pushing through and natural improvement in boys like Duncan, Hunt, Christensen, West I think we are going to mount a significant case again. My biggest hope is that we can get Brown, Vardy, Smedts and Menzel fit and firing again as these boys will make a huge impact....If we can get some games into Menzel by the end of the year, which is a 50-50 prospect, we could be particulalry dangerous come finals!

Managing the likes of Chapman, Enright, Corey and Scarlett will pay dividends....we have enough depth and talent to do this effectively now. I would love to see Chapman play a greater role in the forward line again...he has played his best footy there over a prolonged period and although a few cameo's in the midfield look great, his ability to provide contested footy in the forward 50 is what makes him so valuable. He played too much footy in the midfield last year and wasn't as damaging.

Anyways, we are certainly in a very strong position and there is absolutely no reason why we can't look at back to back.

 

[nohairandfair]

I meant for his spot in the 22, not his role.

Out - Ottens, Ling
In - Ruckman, Menz

If fit, that's our best 22.

Menzel has done an ACL. His 2012 will be mostly spent in rehab.

 

[The rabbi]

Menzel has done an ACL. His 2012 will be mostly spent in rehab.

Kersten anyone?

 

[you pick one]

Kersten anyone?

Billie

 

[thejester]

Kersten anyone?

I'd be surprised if he had the fitness base to play more than a couple of games next year...then again same could be said of Smedts. Really looking forward to the fight over 2-3 spots (I think we can safely assume there will be at least one or two injuries amongst the premiership squad) going into next season.

 

[bobbycatsfanme]

But nobody is mentioning the Saints and their chances......?

you really believe in the Saints don't you

I watch them play every week and they are a damn good team, they have the defensive style of game to really inhibit the best of sides for a good 50-70 minutes but it eventually breaks down when you don't create enough scoring opportunities yourself.

They are no longer a youthful side full of players with enormous potential, I mean their defensive core of Fisher, Gram, Clarke, Gwilt & Dempster have constantly failed under enormous pressure.
Fisher/Demspter are an exception but if you really play Clarke, Gwilt and Gram one on one without their support they receive...they will turn it over everytime.
Gwilt does not think things through and looks to grab the ball and boot it out of the backline to let his midfields deal with it from there.

They still have a very strong midfield but I personally do not rate Montagna one little bit. He's fragile, you get a bigger sized body who has the same tank to run with him and his influence is nullified.
Goddard is a champion and he's an exception but Hayes is coming back from a bad knee injury and he's has no 'competitive match fitness', it's going to take him half the season to get going from where he left off again and even then he is no certainty at 32 years of age.
I do like Armitage...he's tough and looks a 10 year player and Ray did very well in season 2011 but players like Peake & Jones are going on 28 years of age now so they aren't going to improve enough to give the Saints a genuine edge against the other top midfields in the game.

Del Santo, Goddard, Armitage are still a good duo to cause anyside headaches for sure but then you go toward their forward line and it's where they completely break down.
Riewoldt just hasn't got the spring to out mark the bigger defenders anymore and he too is 29 years of age and back after a severe injury which looks to have really influenced his mobility. For St Kilda to be a genuine premiership chance, they would need Riewoldt to kick around 60-70 goals for the year and he last did that in 2009 when they were all in their prime.
Milne is like Didak, exceptional when the pressure isn't at it's greatest but when you play finals footy and the opposition have done their homework on Riewoldt and Goddard and you know you are the go-to man, he just doesn't produce and he too is now going on 32 years of age.

Where are their backup ruck stocks?
Apart from Schneider, Steven, Kosi, Riewoldt and Milne...who else can consistently produce in big games to give them an edge against us, Collingwood, Carlton, West Coast, Hawthorn?

Saints will be up there for a good part of 2012 but I wouldn't buy into their new coaches statements at all as they will have trouble against the better sides again unless they have 2 or 3 young guys come through and produce excellent seasons like the top sides did.