Review Cats destroyate Tuggers by 72 points

[Kobe Gryant]

George Stevens is a much better and classier footballer than Ned Long F2G given he is only 20 years old and played only one AFL game. Kid is all class and the best young inside contested mid we have recruited in years, struck gold with George!

He's got more natural talent than Ned, that much is certain.

Full credit to the Collingwood kid, he's clearly worked his arse off after Hawthorn let him go, and looking VFA standard last year.

Very limited though. George similarly has his limitations, but if he is to make it, it'll be in a much bigger way than Long.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

George Stevens is a much better and classier footballer than Ned Long F2G given he is only 20 years old and played only one AFL game. Kid is all class and the best young inside contested mid we have recruited in years, struck gold with George!

Cheers GG
Long has played well in the games I've watched him and is a similar size and doesn't appear overly quick , hence the comparison.
Very excited to see how George develops.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Honestly it may be that dropping two games sees us miss the top four entirely, such is the high bar for wins this year.

Potentially although I do think from Adelaide and Brisbane and us there's a clear gap to the next tier so if we win all the games we should (realistically every game except gws and Sydney should be 100 % winners for us) i doubt we are lower than 4th but we may need to win them all to be 2nd and not have to travel to adel/Brisbane in week one.

 

[fpm84]

The type of player Stevens is is exactly what our midfield needs. A tough extractor to get the ball to, and block for, Smith and Holmes.

Some for the players we've been chasing ie Rowell and Worpel, are to fill this exact role.

We have more than enough pace in the side and too much grunt work is regularly left to Atkins. It's exactly why we played Stewart in the middle for half of last season.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Can it not both be true that he did exceptionally well against experienced opposition, performing well above expectations, and that there are also qualifiers around whether that translates to other types of midfields and if it can be replicated?

Yes thankfully someone gets it

 

[cats_09]

 

[Gazza Greatness]

Cheers GG
Long has played well in the games I've watched him and is a similar size and doesn't appear overly quick , hence the comparison.
Very excited to see how George develops.

Ted Long has been a credit to himself F2G and worked extremely hard to get to where he has today at Magpie land after being rejected by the Hawks, so power to him cos you love to see that in a footballer with that never say die attitude. But George Stevens is in another class, another hemisphere and I've likened him to former great Swans contested mid in Josh Kennedy and even has a touch of Greg Williams about him as this kid is going to be a standout in time. We are one lucky supporter base F2G and it's just a dream to be a Geelong supporter over all these years with our current crop of youngsters the best since 2003..... and GO CATS !!!

 

[cats_09]

 

[Pure_Ownage]

You are selling Prestia way short ther mate - he has been an absolute star for the Tigers , injury prone i will grant that . And the start of the 19PF , and Geel had Rich on the ropes at h/t , in the opening 2nds Prestia got the ball and unstoppable pass to Lynch - It was shades of Barry Price to Peter McKenna it was that good , and the Tigers had the all important goal of the 3rd qtr and the game was on

Idont like Rich or Haw for that matter but you have to be fair , Taranto has been a very consistent performer for them , the big flop has been Hopper

Rich supporters like to bring up their great strike rate in GFs and yes they have had the upper hand against Geel in finals most definitely , but the major downer for their supporters , through their history , is when they crash they crash hard and stay down their for long periods of time

Prestia is a super player but like Duncan he's lost all his legspeed his hamstrings and calves are gone. A player like that is never ever going to expose Stevens for transition running. Guys like green Callaghan etc will be a much better test

 

[allrighty]

I don’t disagree with you. He did what he needed to do against a very bad opponent.

The planets did align for him though. We would be kidding ourselves if we didn’t acknowledge the context if his performance.

Ffs sometimes you cant win as a player on here. He did what he needed to do. Whoever the opponent is doesn't really matter in game number one does it?

Shirley we don't need to qualify every performance with a "yes but".

Can we just accept George had a ripper start and be done with it huh?

 

[Mr Meow]

He did all that could be asked of him in the circumstances, and yet some want to rain on his parade. Really?

He's a kid who had a a dip against opponents much more experienced than he and did well.

He played inside, right in the guts of it, and extracted the ball cleanly and regularly enough. That's what he does.

He was the grunt, not the speed, and he acquitted himself well. I likened him to a tractor during the game - he mightn't have top speed but he has some serious torque.

It's sad, bloody sad, that we can't collectively enjoy his moment in the sun without having to throw shade.

Exceptionally well said mate.

 

[CabWesty]

More love for Gorgeous George





For those, who mentioned George’s leadership:

“There were plenty of accolades along the way including premierships, best and fairest awards and representative team selections, but what stood out above everything else was Stevens' incredible attitude and demeanour, able to persevere through any and all adversity.

His character and personality quickly saw Stevens become a leader when he arrived at Geelong, often willing to put in extra hours on the training track with the Cats young players and even with the club's academy stars.”

https://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/1820616/george-stevens-set-to-make-his-afl-debut-on-saturday

Looks like that "no jerks" policy is working out for us.

 

[00VicWard001]

Steven’s was solid on debut. Gives off Tom Green kinda vibes. Would like to see him against GWS but not sure he’ll stay in if Smith plays. Who misses in a like for like role?

Thought Duncan was poor. Rarely sighted apart from quarter time breaks. You’d swear he wasn’t out there.

Bit of chat about O Henry. He’s struggling but I’m not sure he’s getting many looks either given the focus on Cameron and Neale going inside 50.

And Z Guthrie. I’m going to call it. He’s gone past T Stewart.

Z Guthrie has been my fav for years. The guy is the Ice Man for sure.

Reminds me of Mackie/Enright and Milburn.

 

[00VicWard001]

For sure, he's just played one of the best debuts we've seen in a while. I guess I should be more specific in that I mean a quicker and more damaging midfield that would show up a lack of closing speed more dramatically.

Could also be that I was just totally wrong, which is always a strong possibility

Definitely get your point. He has a long way to go to build and that will come with experience.

On a side note about quick midfields. I saw a stat where we are the quickest team (moving the ball) in the AFL.

 

[CabWesty]

There were a lot of empty seats at the start, probably because of the long lines from the new security checks looking for Collingwood supporters. The stadium filled up to 30,000 by quarter time.

Since when have they done dental checks at AFL games?

 

[catempire]

I do wonder how many of those that think Stevens is so slow and will be a liability have watched him in the VFL this year.

 

[small 4wards]

Prestia is a super player but like Duncan he's lost all his legspeed his hamstrings and calves are gone. A player like that is never ever going to expose Stevens for transition running. Guys like green Callaghan etc will be a much better test

Mullin for the most part played on prestia and did a pretty good job, granted Prestia would be far easier than daicos or richards. I went to look for Steven's defensive game and he was equal 3rd with about six other players for tackles (4) he was equal 6th in the team for pressure acts with Close, Dangerfield and Neale. Those aren't bad numbers at all for someone who we thought would be miles off in defensive pressure due to speed

 

[catempire]

The type of player Stevens is is exactly what our midfield needs. A tough extractor to get the ball to, and block for, Smith and Holmes.

Some for the players we've been chasing ie Rowell and Worpel, are to fill this exact role.

We have more than enough pace in the side and too much grunt work is regularly left to Atkins. It's exactly why we played Stewart in the middle for half of last season.

Perfectly said.

Slow players - if indeed Stevens is actually slow - he showed none of it dashing through the middle last night - have always had a place in the great game of Aussie Rules.

It’s slow players with no other compensating assets that don’t make it.

 

[CabWesty]

Didn't watch the game. But kudos to the drafting team; they've done it again. Finding a brawny inside nugget at #58 is a great pick up.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Since when have they done dental checks at AFL games?

It's coming with AI.

I'm not convinced the hand-held body scanners they use do anything. I've never heard one go beep. I've got two metal hips and a shin that they don't find whereas the ones at the airport always go off.

 

[terry_bright]

That affected our uncontested possession kings of the day - Holmes, Martin, Miers, Zuthrie, O'Connor and Cameron - more than Stevens who had a much higher proportion and total of contested possessions.

I agree.
When Richmond supporters mentioned they were statues, I imagine it was how slow they were to contain our run & transition through the middle of the ground. It wasn’t in relation to how well Stevens did at the coal face.

 

[cats_09]

I do wonder how many of those that think Stevens is so slow and will be a liability have watched him in the VFL this year.

He isn't necessarily the quickest over the first 3 or 4 steps, but once he's moving I haven't thought of him as slow in the VFL

I'm really happy to see Stevens be given a shot, but even happier it's in his natural position where he's in the guts & the thick of it

 

[CabWesty]

It's coming with AI.

I'm not convinced the hand-held body scanners they use do anything. I've never heard one go beep. I've got two metal hips and a shin that they don't find whereas the ones at the airport always go off.

Will be checking that out with my wife later this year after she got one replaced last year.

 

[Jumping Jack]

Will be checking that out with my wife later this year after she got one replaced last year.

You replaced your wife using AI?

Please explain. Just asking for a friend.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I do wonder how many of those that think Stevens is so slow and will be a liability have watched him in the VFL this year.

Admittedly not much since about April. Here's what I thought after the game against the bullants.

I still think his pack of acceleration will leave him exposed at senior level. Even at this level his opponent is often burning him off from stoppage. He's doing the right things to gradually prove me wrong though.

I may be wrong, but at least I'm consistently wrong