Preview AFL GF 2025: Geelong V Brisbane Sat 27th Sept MCG 2:30 pm

[cats_09]

Resource Post - I'll endeavour to update this post with info and links relevant to what's happening over the coming week

- Meet Up, Live Sites & Viewing Party discussion

Meet Up - 2025 Meet Up Thread - Grand Final Edition... including Live Sites info

https://gardenstatehotel.com.au/ 101 Flinders Lane. It opens at noon on Sunday.

www.bigfooty.com

- Grand Final Ticket discussion (please don't start separate threads for ticket sales)

Resource - 2025 Finals Ticket Discussion - Grand Final ticket discussion

Where can I find my Cats Membership Barcodes? OR When do we get Cats Membership Barcodes? Checked online : geelongcats.com.au website and Cats Mobile App

www.bigfooty.com

 

[The_Todd07]

One loss not being talked about is losing King to Melbourne. I really rarlte him and he has been responsible for a lot from all accounts.

I'm sure they're still sounding him out so should be a worry.

I think it hasn't been talked about much because Kingy will be right there in the box helping bring home the cup.

When he got the job it was announced he would see out our finals campaign

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Qualifying Final:

Qualifying Final
Andrews: 3 intercept marks; 4 rebound 50s (Zorko: 11!)
Geelong marks inside 50: 21 (Bris 6)

Round 15 (GMHBA)
Andrews: 5 intercept marks; 1 rebound 50s (Zorko: 11 again!)
Geelong marks inside 50: 13 (Bris 16)

Round 3 (Gabba) <<< source of the trauma for many <<<
Andrews: 5 intercept marks; 8 rebound 50s (Zorko: 8)
Geelong marks inside 50: 10 (Bris 7)


My gut instinct remains that we can't solve every problem and Andrews always looks more annoying because he intercept marks. We did what we needed last time and doing weird sh!t like playing Blicavs on him damages us, not them. Zorko is the one I'd like to put the clamps on.

Yeah that really points to Zorko having the bigger impact. The other one that hit home for Andrews is spoils, the number of deep entries that he spoiled into a rushed was like 4 or so of his i think 7? I just did a quick check on the vision on the app but lost count.

More annoying than damaging given that is entirely negating though. Maybe I have a blind spot on zorko because I dislike him as a person.

 

[Mr Meow]

I tried to give the stats you were after agenda-free shakes hands emoji / aren't we agreeing with each other emoji

Apologies, the end of your post appeared to suggest Andrews hasn't been a big factor. Ultimately if we get enough clean supply we won't have to worry too much. If we are scrappy and under the pump he will probably repel us with ease. So the onus is on ball winners and playmakers to do their bit.

 

[Mr Meow]

Yeah that really points to Zorko having the bigger impact. The other one that hit home for Andrews is spoils, the number of deep entries that he spoiled into a rushed was like 4 or so of his i think 7? I just did a quick check on the vision on the app but lost count.

More annoying than damaging given that is entirely negating though. Maybe I have a blind spot on zorko because I dislike him as a person.

Zorko does get a lot of rebound 50s from play on kick ins after behinds though. He is still prolific elsewhere but it pads his stats a bit.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

PS: Who has played on Zorko? Close. Zorko destroyed him in round 15 (33 possessions to 9), beat him in the QF (35 possessions to 18)

So they'll send him to Close again.

Man, if we could stop fretting about doing weird things with Andrews and just tell Close that he has one job to do tomorrow. Stick to him.

Close doesn't really play on anyone though. They want him loose at half forward and roaming.

 

[Pollywaffle]

If this were last year, I'd agree, but not now. Losing Daniher has hurt them all year. I think our brand is way more flexible, too. I mean, if the Lions want to do something different from what they've been doing for the past 3 years, they're welcome to it. And I think there are at least 3 players in their 23 who don't get a game for us (Reville, Gallup, Gardiner)

View attachment 2437677
.. and it will be the third time in his career (counting Sidebottom's desultory effort) that he's been tagged. He's showed no sign of knowing how to deal with it. Not tagging him would be a tremendous relief to him, I imagine, and it means tagging Neale who knows exactly how to handle it and is playing hurt anyway.

For me, the idea of Brisbane "learning" is music to my ears because that's code to me for over-reacting and abandoning some of their baked-in style of play. The idea of their low-pressure, ball-oriented mids trying to rough up or hassle our tags fills me with joy. Can you imagine a Lions mid standing one of our mids and monitoring Mullin at the same time? Please, by all means, adjust your positioning even by 1% less than you normally would when just trying to win the ball. Stand that extra inch away from Holmes or Danger or Smith or Atkins.

I know a lot has been made of results flipping from QF to PF, but since 2003 they all involve Victorian teams losing in Perth and winning at the MCG.

If Lions win, I'll tip my cap to a herculian effort by a great side and a coach I have underrated. But let's not make it easier for them by trying to win with Plan B.

Astute post.
should be compulsory pregame reading for all apprehensive cats fans
Sometimes logic doesn’t prevail but let’s hope it does.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Zorko does get a lot of rebound 50s from play on kick ins after behinds though. He is still prolific elsewhere but it pads his stats a bit.

Yeah 10 of his 35 from kick ins last time tracks.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Close doesn't really play on anyone though. They want him loose at half forward and roaming.

He will be close though

 

[Mr Meow]

Qualifying Final:
Andrews intercepts: 9 (most by a Lion)
Round 15:
Andrews intercepts: 11 (equal #1 with Zorko)
Round 3:
Andrews intercepts: 9 (equal #1 with Zorko)

Yeah those intercept numbers will generally have KPDs in the best players, so long as their main opponent didn't get off the chain. 10 a game is huge. But we can still win if he has 10 and we generally use the ball well (which is possible). Example being the QF, as opposed to round 3 and 15.

 

[Mr Meow]

PS: Who has played on Zorko? Close. Zorko destroyed him in round 15 (33 possessions to 9), beat him in the QF (35 possessions to 18)

So they'll send him to Close again.

Man, if we could stop fretting about doing weird things with Andrews and just tell Close that he has one job to do tomorrow. Stick to him.

Mannagh definitely was against Zorko in round 15 and a fair bit in the QF too. But like I said we don't really lockdown on back flankers. Zorko wasn't effective with ball in hand 3 weeks ago because our pressure and positioning was elite. That's how you reduce his impact.

 

[joe444]

Mannagh definitely was against Zorko in round 15 and a fair bit in the QF too.

Have to admit all I did was fastforward the games and pause when I saw Zorko. He was definitely on Mannagh to start round 15 but was on Close certainly from the second quarter.

Zorko's stats are inflated by kick-ins (he took 10 in the QF and played on every time), so maybe all I can hope is that Close plays like he did in the QF. Seems to enjoy the MCG.

That kick-in stat comes from a site I was uanware of:

Kick-In Breakdown - DFS Australia

ADE BRL CAR COL ESS FRE GCS GEE GWS HAW MEL NTH PTA RIC STK SYD WBD WCE 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 AFL Kick In data is available from the 2021 season onwards. PO% refers to the percentage of time each player plays on from the square when kicking in. Each round is denoted… Read More »Kick-In Breakdown

dfsaustralia.com

 

[catempire]

It is not about me…but I couldn’t resist a little cameo given how special it is.

You won’t believe it but I did miss a lot of you posters. Indeed it was one of the reasons I shut off (did it a dozen times but usually cancelled before the cooling off period) - was getting a bit addicted…although more so as I was getting too sensitive to criticism of players…

I was becoming bailey smith (I love him!) complaining about being in the spotlight whilst posting everyday. My equivalent was getting emotional about posts when I didn’t have to read them. And certainly didn’t have to reply - I did a couple where I started to react to people and decided I was going down a hole.

But I have kept reading and love the passion of (most) posters.

Anyway…again not about me…back for a week and fingers crossed it is a good one

Sorry, we made the decision you are not allowed to leave again. The tribe has spoken.

 

[Mr Meow]

Have to admit all I did was fastforward the games and pause when I saw Zorko. He was definitely on Mannagh to start round 15 but was on Close certainly from the second quarter.

Trust me, I've played this game a fair bit with trying to track match ups on replays. Our small defenders and forwards all roll onto 3 or 4 players. It switches so many times within quarters, let alone a whole match. Exceptions are special roles like Mullin on Watson or MOC on Rayner.

I don't see opposition trying to isolate our small forwards with a 1v1 match up the whole game. Probably because they pretty much all rotate to the wing or midfield. Mannagh will freely rotate between a pocket, flank, wing and as an extra at stoppages. These roles aren't designed to track an opposition rebounder.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

Why does everyone keep saying ‘my heart says Brisbane, my head says Geelong’

Why all the love for the lions? Does everyone have some personal connection with them?


They won it last year. Hardly the underdog they are making themselves out to be.

 

[The_Todd07]

Why does everyone keep saying ‘my heart says Brisbane, my head says Geelong’

Why all the love for the lions? Does everyone have some personal connection with them?


They won it last year. Hardly the underdog they are making themselves out to be.

Probably more them not wanting us to win but knowing we are the better team

 

[joe444]

Why does everyone keep saying ‘my heart says Brisbane, my head says Geelong’

Gotta say, though. I love being hated. Beats being scorned and pitied.

First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
then they fight you,
then you win
...
then they hate you
then you win again to piss them off
then they make up conspiracy theories about you
so you win again
then they exaggerate media stories about you
so you win another one to break their hearts

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

Probably more them not wanting us to win

I don’t get why. Brisbane’s team are full of arrogant flogs.
They won it last year.
This is their 3rd GF in a row.

Seems they are everyone’s second team.

 

[joe444]

I don’t get why. Brisbane’s team are full of arrogant flogs.
They won it last year.
This is their 3rd GF in a row.

Seems they are everyone’s second team.

I think the hivemind has decided to make us all about Bailey Smith and of course the fact that we never, ever, ever go away.

Plus Fages is so nice and cuddly.

But they do have short memories about these likable Lions.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Why does everyone keep saying ‘my heart says Brisbane, my head says Geelong’

Why all the love for the lions? Does everyone have some personal connection with them?


They won it last year. Hardly the underdog they are making themselves out to be.

They'll miss us when Brisbane has won their 4th in a row in 2030

 

[The_Todd07]

I don’t get why. Brisbane’s team are full of arrogant flogs.
They won it last year.
This is their 3rd GF in a row.

Seems they are everyone’s second team.

They aren't everyone's second team, they simply prefer them over us.
That is entirely down to us being a top 4 team for so long that many people have never known anything different.

Do yourself a favour and don't give a shit about what outsiders think about Geelong. Just revel in how much they will hate it when we lift the cup tomorrow

 

[CatToTheFuture]

It’s a hard one. I almost feel like Mullin can’t play on McCluggage again because he’s going to be expecting it.

We need to do similar but a little different than the QF.

Send him there and if it's not working change it. We have some many options we can just try anything on the fly really

 

[Stab Pass]

We have spent a lot of time on who we tag, Mullin to McCluggage, MOC to Raynor, Axe on either Neale or Ashcroft etc. Have a think about it on their side. Dunkley goes to Danger. Who goes to Smith and Homes? Not Neale, he's not going to keep up and that calf isn't going to appreciate repeat sprints. Ashcroft? Nah, plays his game. Marshall? Is he strong enough? If Blitz starts to dominate again who can go with him? Berry a massive out for them when it comes to balancing out the mids. I can understand why they are playing Neale, without him they are thin in winning contests around the ball, but they are taking a massive risk. If that calf goes again then they will be left wide open around the ball.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

BF experts - who is picking up Charlie?

Bailey after the final siren?

I'll see myself out

 

[joe444]

BF experts - who is picking up Charlie?

(DVD, 2023) - rarely seen thereafter.

 

[fpm84]

Anyone know what gate to enter for the captain’s run?