Agreed. Can't say we miss him.
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Review Cats defeat Bombers by 95 points
- Thread starter dazbroncos
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I wonder what Jack Martin is thinking . Lucky? Like to be contributing more? Just stay fit and stay in this side….?
He is te type that once he feels comfortable could be a difference maker.
He is te type that once he feels comfortable could be a difference maker.
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The exuberance of youth.We all smiled.
Mattttty
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Yeah, I reckon he'd be happy with where he's landed. And you can already see him starting to do some unique and special things.
He can play back, middle, and forward. And he reads the game very well and is a really good kick. I reckon he'll be wanting to get some games under his belt to build his match fitness and confidence in his body. Tracking well.
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I thought he was going to score a try.
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We were good.
They were all kinds of shite.
Low intensity game that allowed us to practice some things. A pretty handy luxury to have mid season.
On to next week.
They were all kinds of shite.
Low intensity game that allowed us to practice some things. A pretty handy luxury to have mid season.
On to next week.
After such a long injury layoff I suppose he's still adjusting to our structure, but there's a lot to like. His kicking is very composed. Letting him take some of the kickins frees up Stewart, Humphries, Zuth, and O'Connor a bit more upfield, which makes a positive difference to our structure. I was also impressed with his setup for Jezza's 5th- mung kick by Smith to a clump of three Essendon defenders and Martin was able to simultaneously pressure both Day-Wicks, who picked up the ball, and Jaxon Prior who was going to get the receive. Forced the turnover, got the ball to Jezza, and boom goal. Exceptional reading of the play.
If Kolo and/or Cuth get back into the side Martin might still find himself squeezed out but ATM he is best 23 and rightly preferred to Bews.
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Good all round contributions and we should be careful not to take much from that game. Merrett was alright in patches, Guelfi did well, Duursma was ok, Setterfield good considering the heat on him, insane that Goldstein has output like thia for a guy born before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Other than that they were putrid.
Felt going in that Neale needed to kick at least 3 and he did so that's good for his development and confidence.
Baz racked the stats and played well but that was a brilliant game from Holmes.
Collectively the COS + Mannagh for Caddy trade gave us:
3 goals 1 behind
27 disposals @ 70% DE
8 contested
10 score involvements
13 marks
6 tackles
147 Fantasy points if you're into that sort of thing
For their
O goals 1 behind
9 disposals @ 56% DE
3 contested
3 score involvements
1 mark
0 tackles
25 fictional points
Even just comparing Caddy and COS, COS had 5 score involvements to Caddys 3 as a key defender, and they both kicked 1 i50.
I get that Caddy was in a side getting pizzled, but ignoring the stats he just wasn't involved. Effort is free.
Felt going in that Neale needed to kick at least 3 and he did so that's good for his development and confidence.
Baz racked the stats and played well but that was a brilliant game from Holmes.
Collectively the COS + Mannagh for Caddy trade gave us:
3 goals 1 behind
27 disposals @ 70% DE
8 contested
10 score involvements
13 marks
6 tackles
147 Fantasy points if you're into that sort of thing
For their
O goals 1 behind
9 disposals @ 56% DE
3 contested
3 score involvements
1 mark
0 tackles
25 fictional points
Even just comparing Caddy and COS, COS had 5 score involvements to Caddys 3 as a key defender, and they both kicked 1 i50.
I get that Caddy was in a side getting pizzled, but ignoring the stats he just wasn't involved. Effort is free.
I think we're just applying it better. Stengle, Mannagh, and Neale being in good touch makes the forward pressure more effective.
Then the oppo look upfield and see this:
- Stanley, Blicavs, and occasionally Stewart ready to compete in the air
- Close, Miers, Dempsey prepared to rove it out of the marking contest
- Shark and Axe willing to burrow in like maniacs to win contested ball
- Maxlenka primed to punish you with a quadrillion metres gained when we win it
And if the oppo do win it and go inside 50 they're seeing the exact same equation but with JHenry, COS, SDK, Zuth, Humphries, etc.
The balance upfield is better. So while the strategy is still the same, we've got a superior mix of players to execute it compared with last year.
It was a premiership contender beating up on a VFL side. Let's be fair. Essendon didn't get thrashed because they played spiritless footy, but because they can barely field a fit and uninjured 23. The silver lining for them is getting to invest some game time into a few of their rookies.
jim boy
Umpires Association Head
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No negatives, we did what we needed to do. But be realistic, this Essendon side had players that weren't even on an AFL list a few weeks ago. The bombers are clearly now playing the kids rather than going all out for a win. Not much better than VFL standard and the match was more of a training drill than a contest, not an indication of how we will perform next week against Brisbane. But you can only play whoever is in front of you, we got through relatively unscathed. For me the highlight was Martin, solid and dependable and showing that his best footy isn't all behind him.
NSW boy gets confused when asked to play fullback.
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Competition for spots in the best 22 and the easiest way to add value to your game is when you don't have the ball chase pressure and tackle it's one major component of our game that requires minimum skill levels and coaches love.
Stanley should also be recognised. He put his body on the line, and has been an important player for
the club during his career.
the club during his career.
He is playing very well and we need to be very mindful of not over working him.
smotherking
jumperpunch
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Dare I say - a little 2022 about this season? Things just seem to be clicking into place.
I don’t know if it’s talent ID or coaching (most likely both) but we are unbelievable at regenerating teams
How can’t you love this club
I don’t know if it’s talent ID or coaching (most likely both) but we are unbelievable at regenerating teams
How can’t you love this club
This is such a bad take on Merrett. He is arguably the most constructive user of the footy in the comp. He almost always puts it in the chest of a teammate in a better position, including a couple of bullets last night into forward 50 that saved them from a 3 digit margin. He’s the definition of hurt factor.
You must be thinking of Tom Mitchell (probably worst Brownlow Medallist in a couple of decades) or someone like that.
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There's bit in what you say Mr Meow: with Shaun Mannagh but to add further to him as a player his contested work, pressure and tackling in tight situations for a player of his stature 'is elite' (he's one tough cookie)and he's also 'very quick' from getting to one contest to the next 'in congestion' which is 'brilliant' and that combined with him being a highly skilled player and goal kicker makes him one of the more valuable players in the comp. The other thing Mr Meow: is Shaun hasn't played a lot of AFL footy and the more games he plays the better balance he will have in his decision making because he has a high level of footy IQ.
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I'll take @2Smith2Scratcher
He has really clean hands too. Even when he fumbles for a second, seems to be able to recover cleanly and quickly.
He's a 'class act' Turbocat: and yeah you nailed on the head 'stay fit' but it's gotta be 'finals fit' which is a big ask but not impossible!
thejester
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Watching the highlights - it's hard to beat the sequence of Stengel no look handball over the back, Dempsey miracle goal, David Rodan trying to not smile as he does the double pump.
Stanley is always a mixed bag, but there's no doubt we need him.When players of the calibre of Smith, Holmes, Miers, Stewart, and O'Connor get 150-odd touches between them you know the Cats are going to romp it in. Add a lazy ten goals from our two tall forwards, and an utter shellacking is on the cards.
1. Rhys Stanley - Broke even with Goldstein in what must rank as one of the oldest head-to-head ruck matchups of all time. I was super happy to see him get that late goal, and I wish he could go on again in 2026 because his form and fitness certainly merit it.
3. Bailey Smith - Wow. What a game. 41 touches, and some absolutely sublime passes among them. Best on ground by some margin, which says a lot when the 2nd best on ground was a bloke with 36 touches, infinity billion bounces, and a goal himself. Since coming to Geelong he has added "contested ball beast" to his resume which, while never a real weak point at the Doggs was also not his focus.
5. Jeremy Cameron - Maybe one or two lazy moments, but when you kick six in a 95-point drubbing you have done your job. Made the young and inexperienced Essendon full backs look a bit inadequate. He's looking more interested in playing as part of a great team than he has since 2022 in my opinion.
7. Shaun Mannagh - We seem to have half forward flankers coming out of our ears, but Mannagh provides a point of difference to Close, Miers, Stengle, and Dempsey in being a contested ball dynamo. Geelong's forward 50 pressure is relentless, and Mannagh is a big reason why. Three goals today and five tackles is a good day's work for a small forward.
9. Max Holmes - Really starting to become a ball magnet and, like Smith, has begun to add a lot of contested ball wins to his game. Watching him take a hundred bounces on his runs down the wing is nice, but seeing him poke a little handball out of a pack inevitably to a teammate is just as satisfying. It's making him hard to stop and, now that teams are beginning to tag him every week, actually almost untaggable.
14. Connor O'Sullivan - Another pretty good game from COS. Admittedly, Essendon's F50 entries were few and mostly shit so he was favoured from the outset, but he bustles hard for a tall guy and I see he's leading the team for 1%ers this year. Had to laugh when he gave up a free by forgetting to bounce the thing. Still, beat Caddy convincingly.
16. Sam De Koning - It was a shame he injured himself early because I thought he was playing pretty well up until that point.
17. Lawson Humphries - One ridiculous howler andone crazy long goal from outside 50 aside, it was just a competent and low-key game from Humphries. He didn't really have to do much given Essendon's inability to get the ball inside 50 much. Still, as always, he was a handy link-up option and excellent kick of the footy.
18. Tyson Stengle - Unlucky not to end up with three goals, given he hit the post once and had another set shot taken off him after an advantage call. He had an excellent game once again. That goal he did kick though was preposterous. You shouldn't be allowed to be that good a kick of the footy. It isn't fair.
19. Jack Martin - I wasn't sure what he'd bring to the table when we recruited him, especially after missing a lot of weeks through injury and then a couple of pretty ho-hum games in the VFL. Maybe just cover for injuries. Just goes to show that Chris Scott should be coaching the club and not me. He's slotted into the backline pretty handily and is an excellent kick of the footy.
22. Mitch Duncan - Subbed on in the 3rd for Sam De Koning. I reckon we've found our specialist sub for the rest of the year. His disposal was spot on, and I think at this stage of his career he does well when players on both teams are beginning to tire and all the slyness he's accumulated over the years can be used to greatest effect.
28. Ollie Dempsey - Ending up with two late goals was a fitting reward for another clever and hard working game. Dempsey covers a lot of ground to win the ball on a wing and then zoom forward, and it's often unrewarded, but to be a ball winner in the midfield and then a high-marking medium forward, occasionally even in the same passage of play, is a dream come true for a coach who knows how to effectively deploy him. Which Scotty does!
30. Tom Atkins - 18 touches, of those 11 contested, and 9 tackles. Crazy contested ball numbers, but we've come to expect that from Axe. He's the reason Smith and Holmes can work their way free so often- an underrated part of our midfield mix, but very much appreciated by those uf us who know.
32. Gryan Miers - Very very smart player who always looks like he's got all the time in the world with ball in hand. Got a lot of touches through the midfield and attacking half, and almost invariably used it well. Thos flat passes to a leading player give the defender no chance to spoil. I didn't have him in the votes today, but he was pretty unlucky not to be.
33. Shannon Neale - Awesome game. The guy is leading the club for contested marks, is crazy fast for a guy the size of a ruckman, and is a long and accurate set shot for goal. The highlight for me was making a pretty shit centering ball inside 50 from Smith, straight to two Essendon defenders, look like genius by just rushing at the footy faster than anyone that height has a right to do and then making the set shot look trivial. The Neale train has arrived.
34. Oisin Mullin - I think he was on Merrett most of the day and got handily beaten, and utterly munged a lot of his disposals as well. Have noticed though that he reads the ball very well in the air and with his pace can pick off a lot of hack kicks, from both teams. One day he'll be able to turn that into a weapon for us, but that day has not come yet.
35. Patrick Dangerfield - There was talk in the game day thread of PFD potentially reaching the hallowed 400 game mark. Days like today make that seem more within reach. He spent all day up forward and only got 11 touches, but 2.1 off his own boot, 10 score involvements, and a staggering 5 goal assists show how valuable he remains even when he doesn't go near the centre square at all.
38. Jack Henry - A bit of a nothing game, with only 8 touches, but he kept his opponent out of it entirely. He was handy, but wasn't really called upon to do much.
39. Zach Guthrie - Huge in the first half especially, when Essendon were still kinda sorta in the game. He attacked the ball hard and wore some pretty heavy hits, but didn't give an inch all day. Sound disposal and accurate reading of the play helps immensely too.
42. Mark O'Connor - Career best season so far. Played on Nic Martin, who usually torches us, and beat him handily IMO. Martin may have got a couple of touches more, but wasn't damaging and was always gonna get a lot of cheapies with Essendon's handball-happy and aimless sideways crabby play style. MOC on the other hand was always dangerous steaming forward through the midfield; he's a big unit and fast, and is turning into a valuable attacking option for us.
44. Tom Stewart - Welcome back Tom! After a few good, but rusty, weeks it was excellent to see Stewy back to his best. Backed himself in marking contests and clunked them all, fifteen times in total. Just magnificent. He's so vital to our chances in the finals and is tracking perfectly.
45. Brad Close - Another meh game from Close, who isn't having the best year so far. He gets outmuscled a little too easily IMO and is occasionally guilty of short stepping. Thought the run-down tackle and goal were nice though!
46. Mark Blicavs - He just keeps doing everything week after week. When SDK went down he ended up with the job on Two Meter Peter and handled him pretty well. Together with 11 contested possessions and 2 contested marks, he gave us a lot of both grit and smarts down back. I hope he plays on for several more years, because I have no idea how we could ever replace him.
I thought he was thoroughly beaten by Goldy, and that became even more stark when he wasn't at centre bounces.
