Remove this Banner Ad

Back three - how much longer?

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Selggad

Selggad

Club Legend
Veteran
Oct 17, 2007
2,530
5
South of the River
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
SUUUUUUbbiiiiiiiii
Guys, Geelong seem to be going in to the new season as favorites, or equal favorites, for the flag and rightly so. It reminds me a little of 1994, when the Eagles bombed out the year before, even though they were the best team in the league. My question is around three of your key defenders, Scarlett, Harley and Milburn. Scarlett is the youngest of the bunch at 30 this year in June, while Harley and Milburn are a year and two years older respectively. Obviously three great players and Harley is a brilliant captain, but is there a possible vulnerability with the speed of the leading forwards and the backline style you play, where reading the play and closing to provide support is critical? It's in the early 30's that a lot of blokes start to lose that leg speed and become more susceptible to injury. I think this is a fair question, but when I talk about it to my mates that support Geelong, it hasn't even crossed their minds. Please don't consider this a troll, I'm interested to know what the hard core Geelong supporters think. Are they all good for the season; do they need a bit more midfield support; have you got developing key backs who could fill the hole if one or more of these guys are out for several weeks? Thanks for any serious replies.
 
yeah look im a tad worried. milburn late last year started to look as if the game was catching up with him and i think this is his last year. we have about 7 backs in the side at the moment so i think andrew mackie will just take milburns role when he leaves.

scarlett is fine he will go for another 2 or 3 i think so he is no problems and hopefully in that time tom gillies who is a very very similar player from what i hear and is similar build and similar height so hopefully he grooms into something half as good as scarlo.

harley will only have 1 or 2 years left i think with his knees and body i think he struggles a bit getting up for games but just plays through pain. cant see anyone replacing him. dan mckenna is a similar type but does not have the body and will take several several years to get a body type like harley.

Harry Taylor will be our key back for a long time and scarlett will be there for atleast 2 or 3 more years with mackie being our 3rd tall back, he has done it recently and been handy so hopefully we will have a good key back come 2 or 3 years time and i think our backline will be fine
 
Milburn was flying until he got suspended for "that tackle" and suffered an injury at that time or shortly after. He never seemed to recover and I suspect he was never 100% fit between then and the end of the season.

I expect him to bounce back strongly in 2009.

Apart from Harry Taylor, it is a bit concerning who is going to replace the three you mention. It's obviously why we drafted Gillies.
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

I think Lonergan may end up back there with Taylor and Mackie. Should get us through the next 4-5 along with development from draftees and Rookies.
Rather than talent, the more important issue is who will step up as a Defensive leader/general. All our leadership group youngsters are in the MF...leadership and understanding have been critical in the success of our backline. It's no co-incidence we went to water in Q3 in the 2008 GF when Harls was off concussed...
​
 
bigdroppunt said:
Enter Scott Simpson.....
Click to expand...

he wont play back he will play centre half forward.

i dont think its all doom and gloom we still have enright, mackie, taylor and hunt down there, would be great if egan got back and played decent footy which would answer this thread but we all know thats highly doubtful. waiting in the wings though if we get a few injuries we have a problem, dave johnson is a good back up but if him and kane tenace go next year then were going to be relying on adam donohue and taylor hunt as our back ups which means they need to be tried soon.
 
Harley this season.

Milburn one or two.

Scarlett 2-3 as a key defender, then maybe 1-2 years in Harley's role.

It is why Egan's injury hurts so much. Scarlett, Egan, Taylor would have made a solid group of three for the next 4-5 years.
 
We struggle a bit with the elusive skills of Cyril Rioli etc so why not groom T.Varcoe as a speedy back pocket. We do ok against the talls & Harry should improve further, & wouldn't mind seeing Lonergan CHB again to help out. Sounds like S Simpson should get a forward berth sometime. I do also have the concerns about our ageing backs& Mooney/Ottens.
 
VEEDUBS said:
We struggle a bit with the elusive skills of Cyril Rioli etc so why not groom T.Varcoe as a speedy back pocket. We do ok against the talls & Harry should improve further, & wouldn't mind seeing Lonergan CHB again to help out. Sounds like S Simpson should get a forward berth sometime. I do also have the concerns about our ageing backs& Mooney/Ottens.
Click to expand...

Varcoe loses his footing too much. Would be comical seeing him falling over while his opponent waltzes into an open goal.
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. The time lines everybody are talking about seem consistent and about on the money. The concern would be if Scarlett or Harley go down with a serious injury there isn't any coverage yet, but Milburn would not be such a loss, purely in terms of replacing the style of player. Ottens and Mooney are the other obvious elders, and Ling and Enright might both be getting on a bit for the gruel and grunt of the midfield, but they would have a few years left.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

VEEDUBS said:
We struggle a bit with the elusive skills of Cyril Rioli etc
Click to expand...

There aren't actually too many players in the league that can stop the sort of play you are referring to. Enright actually did a reasonable job on Rioli in the GF but for a few passages of brilliance from Rioli. Those things are pretty much unstoppable, no matter who the opponent.
 
Injuries play a big part in things. Scarlett & Milburn have hardly missed games throughout their careers so I would think that they have some time up their sleeve. On the other hand Harley is a machine and treats his body as a temple and, after not missing a beat last season, would have at least two to go.

All 3 can play on big or small players with Scarlett the only one that has ever had any leg speed. What makes them so good is their ability to read the play and the flight of the ball better than their opponents. This compensates a lack of leg speed (something that was apparently the big problem with Selwood prior to the draft, not really all that important in hindsight).

The Geelong defence also back themselves in. It's not uncommon to see them stand some 20 metres off their direct opponent which can result in their opponents getting away from them (like Higgins in the Prelim early on). It also allows them to double team or cover opponents if needed, not to mention create space to start attacking thrusts.

As for succession plans go, Milburn is covered by Enright, Mackie and perhaps Corey in 2011 if he's had enough of getting 30 touches a game and wants a different role. Gillies and McKenna are hopefully going to take a key defensive post with Taylor at CHB. This should free up Scarlett to take the third tall or a medium forward, similar to what Harley does now.

The Hunt brothers, Wojcinski, Donahue and Djerrkura will spend time creating plays and keeping the small forwards at bay along with Enright who has done it in style for the past few years.
 
I know these questions about longevity are about how this will effect our overall structure but I am worried about the longevity of Chapman more than some of the 'elder statesmen' of the back half.

regards,

REB
 
We've got more depth in our team at the moment than any other side. We've been lucky that we've been able to leave the 19 and 20 year old blokes in the two's to grow instead of throwing them in the deep end and expecting them to match it with the big boys. Obviously some have stepped up and been given the chance..

I expect to get another 2 or 3 quality seasons out of this list, like the lions!!
 
Not too worried about Harley's pace as he zones off in front of his man and drop infront of him.

Scarlett I think has at least two more years before I start to worry about him. I think he's at the top of his game at the moment.

Harry Taylor should be stronger this season which will help him massively. That leaves Milburn who I think will play a smaller part this year plugging holes.

I think the starting backline will be:

Harley Scarlett Hunt
Enright Taylor Mackie

I'm not too worried about aging players with that lot as long as it is addressed in the next draft, hopefully with our first pick.
 

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Makes the loss of Egan all the more frustrating as you would think he would of been a rock back there for quite a few more years. Though i shouldnt be writing him off yet i guess.
 
El Segundo said:
I think I read somewhere that Tom Gillies has shown something in his short time.
Click to expand...
Training the house down?

I don't really know how anything can be said of a raw recruit before he has had a run in any match, not even an intraclub match.
 
b andrew mackie harry taylor taylor hunt
hb corey enright matthew egan david wojincski
also ranga and gillies will play a part
with a bit of luck from egan...
this a long way away but doesnt look too bad!
 
lloydy1 said:
b andrew mackie harry taylor taylor hunt
hb corey enright matthew egan david wojincski
also ranga and gillies will play a part
with a bit of luck from egan...
this a long way away but doesnt look too bad!
Click to expand...
Looks good, but all reports are that Egan WILL NOT play AFL again
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back three - how much longer?

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top