22 point domination...

[Amber Guzzler]

Geelongs record against the top 6 last year (as of Round 22)

St Kilda - Lost
WB - Lost
Collingwood - Won
Adelaide - Won by 2 points
Brisbane - Lost
Also lost to 7th placed Carlton

So the Cats record against the top 6 last year is about on par with their record this year.

So they got lucky last year and bradbury'd the flag last year. Thinking they'll be lucky enough to do that again would be like winning the lotto twice.

 

[Amber Guzzler]

See above post. 1-1 for the year. Where does this statistic leave this awesome formula?

It's a bullshit formula to begin with. It's like saying that for the last month I've tossed a coin 5 times and every time I did it on a Friday, I got 5 heads in a row, therefore this Friday I'm more likely to get 5 head. It's rubbish.

The GF is won by the team that plays the best in Sept. Collingwood usually play their best footy in Sept. In the past, their best hasn't been good enough, and they've been beaten by better sides. This year, their best is better than it's been in a long time. If they play their best football in Sept, they'll be almost unstoppable and probably will win the flag.

 

[Amber Guzzler]

Can help but think how the game might've turned out if Byrnes' goal counted. Would've taken the lead to 3 goals? (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

I think they were only 1 goal up when that happened. I'm not sure what difference that would have made, we had them for most of the night. I doubt an extra goal would've seen us giving up.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

What was that melee all about at 3QTR(?) time? Selwood looked pisssssed.

Pretty sure Jolly asked Selwood to make sure he ducks his head some more.

Our kicking at goal is what kept them in it..

This.

People keep saying this game was close. I'm not sure what game they were watching.

The scoreboard flattered Geelong in a way that no scoreboard has ever done before.

Means nothing in the context of finals, but on THAT night, the game was anything but close. The Cats should be thankful we helped them look less toothless than they actually were.

Our inaccuracy combined with their abnormal efficiency (even for them, 25 scoring shots from 37 entries? holy crap) made it look closer than it really was.

 

[ant0s]

Pretty sure Jolly asked Selwood to make sure he ducks his head some more.



This.

People keep saying this game was close. I'm not sure what game they were watching.

The scoreboard flattered Geelong in a way that no scoreboard has ever done before.

Means nothing in the context of finals, but on THAT night, the game was anything but close. The Cats should be thankful we helped them look less toothless than they actually were.

Our inaccuracy combined with their abnormal efficiency (even for them, 25 scoring shots from 37 entries? holy crap) made it look closer than it really was.

Toothless is a fair assessment. We showed no real desire at the contest and had fewer numbers around the ball all night. However, if you think you'll dominate in the same respect in a cut-throat final, you are sadly mistaken.

 

[Cats Eye]

Would have made the lead two goals. People are forgetting that Steve Johnson kicked a goal minutes later to make the lead two goals anyway. Varcoe and Selwood also missed two goals from set shots to extend the lead.

Still, the goal should have been paid regardless.

What about the fact that Collingwood took the ball down the other end as a result of the kick in from the the dissallowed goal and goaled themselves. An 11 point turnaround will change any game. Does not help when half the geelong team are running towards the middle of the ground for the centre bounce either.

I thought there were several bad umpiring decisions that all seemed to go collingwoods way. Luck of the draw I suppose and is why we all love the game.

 

[Pie eyed]

Would have made the lead two goals. People are forgetting that Steve Johnson kicked a goal minutes later to make the lead two goals anyway. Varcoe and Selwood also missed two goals from set shots to extend the lead.

Still, the goal should have been paid regardless.

Agree. Hard to believe it was missed.
Still, claiming it would have made any difference is huge stretch. If anyone wants to play that game how about 6 posters and another 17 points which could all have gone the other way?

The game was won in the midfield primarily and in Geelong's back half.
Pressure on the Geelong backs was enormous from the first bounce until the siren.

 

[jim boy]

14.23 is the worrying sign. The stats sheet were correctly reflecting by scoring shots. Accuracy is the only issue. If we get close to breaking even it is the smashing the stats say it should be.

Problem is you guys always go down the flanks and will always shoot from a much tougher angle than a team going down the centre.

Its not a case of the magpies being inaccurate (other than Cloke - and he will always be inaccurate), more that your game plan lends itself to lowish goal returns for shots on goal. This becomes even more accentuated in high-pressure matches - hence your poor return in three of the four matches played against Geelong and St Kilda.

But hey - it works.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Toothless is a fair assessment. We showed no real desire at the contest and had fewer numbers around the ball all night. However, if you think you'll dominate in the same respect in a cut-throat final, you are sadly mistaken.

Read my post again. A little more thoroughly before making assumptions about what I think will happen in finals.

What about the fact that Collingwood took the ball down the other end as a result of the kick in from the the dissallowed goal and goaled themselves.

Why do people keep perpetuating this myth?

I've watched the replay twice since, and you guys kicked the next goal after the disallowed one anyway. So it wouldn't have made a difference.

 

[Boris the Contradiction]

What about the fact that Collingwood took the ball down the other end as a result of the kick in from the the dissallowed goal and goaled themselves. An 11 point turnaround will change any game. Does not help when half the geelong team are running towards the middle of the ground for the centre bounce either.

I thought there were several bad umpiring decisions that all seemed to go collingwoods way. Luck of the draw I suppose and is why we all love the game.

We took it up the other end and kicked a behind. We didn't goal. Let me guess you were listening to Kevin Bartlett on SEN an hour ago and assumed he was right? Bad move.

All the bad decisions went Collingwood's way hey?? Say hello to your little cheat for me. It's a pity because he's such a great player, just can't respect him.

 

[ChubbMuff]

Have just had a chance to watch the game. Whilst close the Pies were just awesome with their pressure, the Cats just had no time. Any time a pass or handball was not mm perfect, a Pie player seemed to pluck the ball from the hands of the intended recipient and either snuff the attack out or launch a counter. Yeah, Pies were a bit ordinary in front of goal but the Cats had their best side out (except Rooke) but could not put it away. Not a GF or final but even so Pies deserved that one for sure.

 

[Hump 17]

Seriously cant buy the we would of won by more if we kicked straight excuse. Fair enough if Didak missed five sets shot from 25 out youd say youve dodged a bullet. Collingwood have done this time and time again and it comes down to game plan and discipline. Sure it looks good on the scoreboard to have more scoring shots but unless these shots are high percentage options the stats count for zero.

 

[FuManchu]

It wasnt a domination. Until we convert efficiently, then you cant include the fact that we beat Geelong comprehensively in certain aspects. The scoreline is the only measurement that counts in the end.

The margin was 22 points and Geelong with their efficiency can bridge that gap easily.

If we want to dominate them, we need to convert. We don't do that yet, therefore we haven't dominated them.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Seriously cant buy the we would of won by more if we kicked straight excuse. Fair enough if Didak missed five sets shot from 25 out youd say youve dodged a bullet. Collingwood have done this time and time again and it comes down to game plan and discipline. Sure it looks good on the scoreboard to have more scoring shots but unless these shots are high percentage options the stats count for zero.

Did you watch the game?

We only took a few shots from the boundary. One went in (Leigh Brown) and one hit the post (Didak).

All the other shots were within a 45 degree angle. Watch the game again before making rash judgement calls.

Almost every miss was in front, or a SLIGHT angle.

 

[PatrickBateman]

The GF is won by the team that plays the best in Sept. Collingwood usually play their best footy in Sept. In the past, their best hasn't been good enough, and they've been beaten by better sides. This year, their best is better than it's been in a long time. If they play their best football in Sept, they'll be almost unstoppable and probably will win the flag.

It's funny all these theories appearing... this has to be one of the silliest I've seen so far. "Collingwood usually play their best footy in Sept"???

It would be nice if every team played 'their best' all the time, unfortunately we all know that this isn't the case. AFL players are not robots and mentally have trouble getting up for games. Current circumstances are that Collingwood are on fire, truly challenging for the groups first Premiership. Geelong is in completely the opposite state of mind... been there before and won it(twice). This is what may hold Geelong back in 2010 for mine, themselves. I still maintain that their best football is marginally above any other current side, most would likely agree.

It's got to be difficult for Geelong to back up the hunger in an even, tightly fought competition against 3 worthy challengers(Saint/Pies/Dogs), all of which haven't seen silverware for a long, long time. What Geelong achieved in the 4th quarter against StKilda in last years GF was nothing short of spectacular.

The game on Saturday night shouldn't be looked into too far. We've seen it all before.. Remember Port Adelaide beat Geelong at Skilled Stadium(Round 20, I think) in '07?? Then beaten by 20 goals in the GF? Collingwood has had a lot of trouble with Geelong and Collingwood in the past, these H&A wins really mean that much?? AFL is an unpredictable sport with such a range of variables, that's why we love it!!

 

[Cats Eye]

We took it up the other end and kicked a behind. We didn't goal. Let me guess you were listening to Kevin Bartlett on SEN an hour ago and assumed he was right? Bad move.

All the bad decisions went Collingwood's way hey?? Say hello to your little cheat for me. It's a pity because he's such a great player, just can't respect him.

Have not listened to SEN at all taday to tell you the truth, I thought it was a goal but have not watched any replay of the game so I will take your word for it.

Little cheat........... mmmmmmmm, not quite sure who you are referring to, but if it is your way of having a sook about Selwood like all the other collingwood supporters, then simply show me where it says in the rule book that head high contact is not a free kick. If Selwood is good enough to force the oppponents arm up above his shoulder during a tackle by twisting his body then good luck to him. It is not his fault that the opponent has not executed a correct and legal tackle. You calling Selwood a cheat would be like me saying Obrien is a cheat for shepparding the man on the mark.

 

[LongBomb]

Why, when you can't even get out of second gear against the pies?

Because we have done it before.
You blokes are slow to catch on. Maybe you should watch the 09 prelim to remind yourselves.

Everyone wrote Geelong off last year as well.

 

[FuManchu]

Because we have done it before.
You blokes are slow to catch on. Maybe you should watch the 09 prelim to remind yourselves.

Everyone wrote Geelong off last year as well.

Brisbane were saying the same in 2004. We did it last year!!!

 

[Cats Eye]

It wasnt a domination. Until we convert efficiently, then you cant include the fact that we beat Geelong comprehensively in certain aspects. The scoreline is the only measurement that counts in the end.

The margin was 22 points and Geelong with their efficiency can bridge that gap easily.

If we want to dominate them, we need to convert. We don't do that yet, therefore we haven't dominated them.

Finally some common sense. If collingwood had of kicked straight then it would have been a domination. The fact that they didn't means they didn't dominate. Quite simple really.

 

[Hump 17]

Did you watch the game?

We only took a few shots from the boundary. One went in (Leigh Brown) and one hit the post (Didak).

All the other shots were within a 45 degree angle. Watch the game again before making rash judgement calls.

Almost every miss was in front, or a SLIGHT angle.

Watched it with both eyes open somthing you should try to do. Most were snaps with a few of the usual suspects missing relativly easy ones from set shots. A side should consider themselves unlucky if Cloke or Macaffer kick a set shot goal against them. Just to add somthing why are Collingwood the worse at goal scoring efficency if all these shots are from easy position? Which they arent by the way.

 

[PatrickBateman]

You calling Selwood a cheat would be like me saying Obrien is a cheat for shepparding the man on the mark.

Hopefully this will finally be enough for everyone to put the tissues away for good... if not, I think I noticed Kleenex on sale at Coles yesterday...

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Watched it with both eyes open somthing you should try to do. Most were snaps with a few of the usual suspects missing relativly easy ones from set shots. A side should consider themselves unlucky if Cloke or Macaffer kick a set shot goal against them. Just to add somthing why are Collingwood the worse at goal scoring efficency if all these shots are from easy position? Which they arent by the way.

That's my point.

We're just terribly inaccurate. Had nothing to do with where we were taking shots. The implications was that all our shots are from the boundary.

They're not. And THAT'S the problem.

If all our shots were from the boundary at least we'd have THAT excuse. Problem is, our shots AREN'T from the boundary and we're still missing. Even the snaps didn't have to be snaps. In almost every case, the player could have straightened up and slotted it instead of being a hero.

One of the only snaps that DID make it (Beames') was just abotu the only one under genuine pressure.

 

[witsend]

That's my point.

We're just terribly inaccurate. Had nothing to do with where we were taking shots. The implications was that all our shots are from the boundary.

They're not. And THAT'S the problem.

If all our shots were from the boundary at least we'd have THAT excuse. Problem is, our shots AREN'T from the boundary and we're still missing. Even the snaps didn't have to be snaps. In almost every case, the player could have straightened up and slotted it instead of being a hero.

One of the only snaps that DID make it (Beames') was just abotu the only one under genuine pressure.

Straight kicking is a non-negotiable finals fundamental.
Arguably cost us a flag in 2008.
You'd want it sorted by September. Imagine the pressure on Cloke if he's lining up from 35-40 on a 45 degree angle in a GF with the game on the line?

 

[blueblood25]

this alone will keep me nervous come september..

Lots of cloke misses...

efa..

 

[FuManchu]

Straight kicking is a non-negotiable finals fundamental.
Arguably cost us a flag in 2008.
You'd want it sorted by September. Imagine the pressure on Cloke if he's lining up from 35-40 on a 45 degree angle in a GF with the game on the line?

Quite true, but the second of his goals was also right at a pressure time in the game to draw us equal.

But not being an apologist for his kicking, far from it. He really needs to break down the whole kicking scenario, from his waving the ball around when running in, his looking up before the ball hits the boot, the line he runs in at and how he swings his legs accross his body, most probably as result of the angle he takes on the run. All these factors contribute to his wayward kicking.

This is the stuff they teach you as a 10yo, how players can get thru to AFL level with flaws in the most necessary skill of the game is beyond me. I just think the junior coaches see a talent and instead of honing their skills they almost deify them and refuse to adjust what might be simple flaws early on in the piece.