Preview 2019 Prelim Final - Tigers v Cats @ Punt Rd Oval, Fri 7:50pm

[Mr Meow]

I get the argument against Fort, but am hardly more inspired by Taylor Henderson.

But damn, I hope I'm proven clueless here.

Remember also our attention is being drawn away from this, but boy our midfield have a massive job. Setting up a forward half game vs letting them lock it up in their end stopping our escape. That would be a killer. Guth, Selwood, Kelly and Danger have to have big games. Reckon they can do it?

 

[Cataholic]

Remember also our attention is being drawn away from this, but boy our midfield have a massive job. Setting up a forward half game vs letting them lock it up in their end stopping our escape. That would be a killer. Guth, Selwood, Kelly and Danger have to have big games. Reckon they can do it?

I'll back Selwood in because he just loves the heat of battle, and I'll back Danger too, because he loves the spotlight.

Guthrie? He played very well last week, but he needs to back it up now to prove his doubters wrong. Can he? There's only one bigger stage. Shine son.

Kelly? Has the skills, but can he shake close attention, because that's what he'll get. I'm gonna back him

 

[Spazz Cat]

Remember also our attention is being drawn away from this, but boy our midfield have a massive job. Setting up a forward half game vs letting them lock it up in their end stopping our escape. That would be a killer. Guth, Selwood, Kelly and Danger have to have big games. Reckon they can do it?

Yeah, we KNOW Danger can and will. I really think Guthrie can do it again without Duncan there. Let Menegola run with Dusty or whoever.

 

[Reppie]

Richmond are seriously over rated.

 

[Cattery]

At least with Fort he is going to outmark all their defenders one out.
A Richmond defender will have to roll off their man to help out if the ball goes long into Fort one on one.

Seriously?
Reckon he would be one of the weakest players overhead on our list personally. Only time another defender would have to roll off for support is if Forts matched against someone half his size, and I don't see that happening.

 

[cat_fanatic]

Absolute shocking decision bringing Henderson in.

Terrible.

Not only is he a terrible finals player. It Means we either play him forward, crystaling the loss of Hawkins or we rob our defence playing Taylor forward.

We needed to play an unconventional small forward set up to be unpredictable. Hard to plan against. A specialised forward game plan to take advantage of Richmond’s tall defenders. As said, unpredictable small set up with pressure.

Instead we bring in a 50% version of Hawkins to obviously play the same way (bomb it on the heads of the forwards).

This stupid Scott decision has likely cost us a premiership

Height is key in finals. If we go in small the ball will get picked off.

The pressure will be imense and we wont have time to hit up targets perfectly very often.

 

[year of the cat]

I'll back Selwood in because he just loves the heat of battle, and I'll back Danger too, because he loves the spotlight.

Guthrie? He played very well last week, but he needs to back it up now to prove his doubters wrong. Can he? There's only one bigger stage. Shine son.

Kelly? Has the skills, but can he shake close attention, because that's what he'll get. I'm gonna back him

That’s our best chance of winning - we need to dominate them in the midfield and have an even spread of goal kickers. Miers, Dahl and Atkins need to hit the scoreboard. Need our mids to be contributing too.

 

[strauchnyy]

Height is key in finals. If we go in small the ball will get picked off.

The pressure will be imense and we wont have time to hit up targets perfectly very often.

I hope you’re right but I’d consider our forward entries a weakness of ours and bringing in a lesser like for like tells me they care more about keeping everything the same than game plan and structure to counter Richmond’s weakness

 

[Munich]

Take that betting crap to the betting thread.

 

[cat_fanatic]

I hope you’re right but I’d consider our forward entries a weakness of ours and bringing in a lesser like for like tells me they care more about keeping everything the same than game plan and structure to counter Richmond’s weakness

They'll be backing in our smalls and mids to contribute. All Taylor needs to do is contest in the air. He will have his fair share of marks and opportunities for goal, maybe even a couple of frees. Thats all Hawkins does and that's all Taylor needs to do.

Don't forget that Hendo was fantastic when he played this year in the back line. I rate him almost as highly as Taylor as an intercept mark in the back line. He has experience and hes as fit and healthy as anyone in the two teams combined.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Taylor forward fails much more than it works. Thought they gave up on it after the Dogs game this year.
Id be amazed if Henderson works forward.
It's ridiculous really. Gone from giving us a chance to thinking we're screwed.

You think we are screwed because Hendo or Taylor might play forward but you'd see us as less screwed if Buzza Fort Smith or Abbott played? I know which i think screws us more.

 

[Munich]

They'll be backing in our smalls and mids to contribute. All Taylor needs to do is contest in the air. He will have his fair share of marks and opportunities for goal, maybe even a couple of frees. Thats all Hawkins does and that's all Taylor needs to do.

Don't forget that Hendo was fantastic when he played this year in the back line. I rate him almost as highly as Taylor as an intercept mark in the back line. He has experience and hes as fit and healthy as anyone in the two teams combined.

Exactly right. A few frees here and there (which hawk never gets anyway) and it's on like donkey Kong.

Thank god we're not playing the doggies, Harry can't kick straight against them

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I have to say I agree on the first two points.....Taylor forward does rarely work, and I too will be amazed if Hendo up forward works either.

That said, there's no obvious alternative, without 'reaching' just as desperately by selecting someone left field like Fort or Cocky. Which probably demonstrates that we're pushing the proverbial uphill.

In other words its on the list managers that we dont have better options and the coaches made the least worst call they could with the options they had.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I genuinely do, yeah. In this sort of game, with the lack of match time especially hurting a VFL/GFL standard player I could realistically see Fort getting less than 3 touches for the whole match.
Matches where we lack any sort of marking option up forward have not gone well for us. Bombing in to a bunch of smalls sounds like an awful game plan. All Taylor needs to do is play an accountable role and bring the ball to ground, like he did for the winner against West Coast. Without someone doing that you are giving up 15 intercept marks before the match even begins. Without an experienced second tall up there, Sav will get mauled.

This.

 

[Spazz Cat]

Seriously?
Reckon he would be one of the weakest players overhead on our list personally. Only time another defender would have to roll off for support is if Forts matched against someone half his size, and I don't see that happening.

Really? I've thought he's really quite good overhead. From what I've seen anyway.

 

[Kingsfoil]

The way our midfield perform, rather than one single change to our forward line, will be far more pivotal to how the match will pan out. Our midfield goes alright when they don't s**t the bed, and they will determine the outcome. The guys at either end will help, but they can't do much regardless of who they are if the guys in the middle stink it up.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Carey in his article tonight said he was a big believer playing week-on week ( no 1 week rest ) helps maitain your edge - and thats what im hoping for - last weeks game ( not slow motion at all ) you couldnt get a better preparation for this weeks game

Also noticed last week ( and dont want a silly report like Hawkins ) that a few Geel players were very aggressive - Stewart - not just the Yeo bump - there was an earlier passage of play - he was very aggresive - Blicavs was pretty stirred up at the start - i hope Geel play like that - aggressive and right on the edge

 

[Reppie]

We flogged them earlier in the season.
No need to try and reinvent the wheel.

 

[strauchnyy]

If you were coaching us we would become a basket case of a club inside 6 months! What a ridiculously stupid idea. Someone gets injured so throw the majority of what has worked for you all year out. You aren't favourites so abandon 12 months of planning just to make the opposition guess or "catch them off guard". They are the stupidest notions I've ever heard. Everything you wrote just screams panic cause we aren't favourites! Thank god you ain't in charge!

You’re that cats fan arnt you. I bet you have blind faith in the bombing to the square forward entries. I bet you supported chappy being the sub, or Menzel getting dropped or even not playing a ruck v pies this finals series. An absolute sheep! Have some bloody logistical critical thinking instead of blind faith! I hate to break it to you but the MC don’t always get it right.

Playingbthe exact same way (dumb forward entries) to a forward line of Henderson is not going to get us over the line.

We need to be unpredictable and do
Something different to catch the best side off guard.

You however think the same thing over again will yield a different result. What is the definition of insanity?

 

[tomthabuddah1]

Carey in his article tonight said he was a big believer playing week-on week ( no 1 week rest ) helps maitain your edge - and thats what im hoping for - last weeks game ( not slow motion at all ) you couldnt get a better preparation for this weeks game

Also noticed last week ( and dont want a silly report like Hawkins ) that a few Geel players were very aggressive - Stewart - not just the Yeo bump - there was an earlier passage of play - he was very aggresive - Blicavs was pretty stirred up at the start - i hope Geel play like that - aggressive and right on the edge

Add Menegola to that - he was playing on edge. If we bring the aggression we can win this for sure.

 

[Cattery]

Really? I've thought he's really quite good overhead. From what I've seen anyway.

Not on the evidence of his three senior games, HT (or Henderson) would be miles better then him overhead IMO.

 

[Ray Donovan]

Ridiculous to contemplate bringing an injured player into a prelim.

If the game plan is reasonable 22 fit men should be able to carry it out.

Jesus Christ.

He is on the emergency list so take that up with the match committee if he wasn't close he wouldn't be there!



That was two days ago, have you ever seen Geelong swing a late change before a final I think he is in the mix

 

[Ratcat]

He is on the emergency list so take that up with the match committee if he wasn't close he wouldn't be there!

View attachment 749105

That was two days ago, have you ever seen Geelong swing a late change before a final I think he is in the mix

Hope you're wrong don't want 3 touch Gary in the 22, he's not even fit enough for this.

 

[Reppie]

He is on the emergency list so take that up with the match committee if he wasn't close he wouldn't be there!

View attachment 749105

That was two days ago, have you ever seen Geelong swing a late change before a final I think he is in the mix

Hard to believe anything you see at this time of the year.
Fake stories made up every day.

 

[Vdubs]

For those really confident, Geelong by 40+ is at odds of $21.00

It's been a long time since I've felt so utterly convinced we are so far off the pace compared to the team we're about to play. Maybe the last time was 1969, v Tigers of all teams, and we were smashed on and off the ground. As a little kid, their supporters seemed like they were possessed.
The win last week was nice, but this has such a 2017 feel about it, yet we bought tickets and went to Adelaide feeling some hope.....Until we walked up to the Adelaide Oval and played "Spot a Cats supporter" . It then hit us that we were about to experience something horribly unique- a thrashing in a final with minimal crowd support our way.
Tomorrow night could well be different, but how anyone could contemplate putting big $ on Geelong just tells me they have ca$h to spla$h.
Have been to some extraordinarily good prelims-
- 89 v Essendon- an amazing 170 point turnaround!!
- 94 v NM- the Hand of God game, Ablett kicking the winning goal after the siren, his only goal iirc.
- 07 v Pies- exasperatingly close, but a thrilling win.
- 09 v Pies- we were awesome, dare I say it, Hawkins was huge that night.
Who knows what we'll be writing about tomorrow night, but I have this eerie feeling like turning up to a really big exam you know you just haven't prepared well enough for. Crazy actually, because CS thinks we have done as much as we could, minus Tomahawk.