Re: How embarrasing have 9 players in the AA side
"worst possible thing" ??
what sort of cats fan are you?
It's freakin' AWESOME!!!!
If anybody has any worries about the team then read this article by Chip Le Grand - it will allay any doubts you may have had. Important information in bold
Cats swallow cream of All-Aussie team
Chip Le Grand, Australian Football | September 18, 2007
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22435215-2722,00.html
THE town of Geelong has fallen madly, deeply in love with its all-conquering football team.
Geelong's domination of the All Australian team is a good omen for its premiership drive.
On last night's evidence, the All-Australian selectors feel much the same way.
A staggering nine Geelong players were named as All-Australians, making the 2007 Cats the most decorated team in history. Never since the All-Australian concept was formalised in 1982, has one club been so disproportionately represented.
As September portents go, Geelong couldn't have asked for a more favourable sign as it heads into a preliminary final against Collingwood on Friday night and perhaps, a grand final beyond.
While the All-Australian selection process is highly subjective and invariably contentious, it is to premiership success what Golden Globes are to the Oscars.
As for Collingwood, the only preliminary finalist without an All-Australian player this season, the omens are not so good. Not since 1991, when Hawthorn won its last premiership, has a team won a flag without receiving at least one Australian gong.
The Geelong nine are midfielders Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Cameron Ling and Joel Corey, defenders Darren Milburn, Matthew Scarlett and Matthew Egan and forwards Cameron Mooney and Steve Johnson.
The previous team to take such a lion's share of national gongs was the fabled Brisbane team of 2002, arguably the best within coach Leigh Matthews' premiership triumvirate, with six All-Australians.
Carlton had five representatives in 1995; the year the Blues won 20 regular-season games and were declared by then president John Elliott, in typically humble fashion, as the greatest football club in the world.
When Essendon won 24 of 25 matches in their "perfect" 2000 season, the Bombers had only three All-Australian representatives.
The selection imbalance reflects both Geelong's dominance and the preparedness of AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou's
eight-man selection committee to reward form ahead of reputation.
The most controversial of the Cats' inclusions is likely to be Mooney, who in effect has kept St Kilda star Nick Riewoldt out of the team. Where Riewoldt is a two-time All-Australian and a favourite for this year's club best and fairest,
Mooney was given the nod for his greater consistency and ability to bring team-mates into the play.
Johnson is another inclusion which will raise eyebrows outside Geelong, given he missed the first five games of the year due to a suspension for off-field misbehaviour imposed by team-mates.
But in his
17 matches --
the same number as Daniel Kerr played this year --
Johnson averaged nearly 20 touches and kicked more than 40 goals as a small forward.
The
other Cat inclusions will barely warrant debate.
Ablett is a raging
favourite for the Brownlow Medal, along with
Bartel, after a
destructive season in the midfield.
Ling has become a
black hole for opposition stars and developed into one of the competition's surest kicks for goal, with a dead-eye return of 21.4 for the regular season.
Corey was this year's
most complete onballer. He was the only player to rank within the competition's
top-five for possessions, tackles and clearances.
Milburn, an 11-year AFL veteran, has enjoyed a
career-best season.
Egan has been the
cornerstone of the competition's most miserly defence.
This has left
Scarlett, unburdened, to play as a
match-winning, running defender.
The flip side of Geelong's over-representation is that six clubs missed out completely. This will ensure that Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has plenty of company today as the perennial arguments rage