Preview Geelong v Richmond 2020 Grand Final Sat Oct 24 @ Gabba

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I've been on night shift all week so have spent the long nights psychoanalyzing everything and finding signs in anything. I even watched the back slapping almost pseudo episode of Bounce that was the Grand Final Review show on fox last night.

So many stories are weaving through this time for tomorrow. Selwood's 200th. Gaz. Danger. Simpson. Henry. Let's dream.
 
I assume you mean the other years we made and lost a prelim. That’s a weird and irrelevant thought experiment. Of course it’s hindsight; you have to win the prelim to get this chance. In those other years we failed to do that.
We failed but it wasnt cos of lack of steely resolve. If we dont do bizarre selection changes in the qualifying final like dropping our ruckman and had a full list to choose from like this year (i.e. dont miss hawkins, duncan and rowan from the prelim) then we almost certainly would of played in a grand final last year. Last year we were switched on in both the semi and prelim just like we were this year.
 

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We failed but it wasnt cos of lack of steely resolve. If we dont do bizarre selection changes in the qualifying final like dropping our ruckman and had a full list to choose from like this year (i.e. dont miss hawkins, duncan and rowan from the prelim) then we almost certainly would of played in a grand final last year. Last year we were switched on in both the semi and prelim just like we were this year.
You are conflating my enjoyment of one thing with me saying it is going to be the difference.

I like what Sam Simpson brings to the team. That doesn’t mean I am confident we will win because of Sam Simpson.
 
Before the Prelim I had a dream we were in the GF and brought in Hulk Hogan to win his first flag.

Whatcha gonna do, when Hulkamania runs wild on you, brother?
 

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We have 3 barometers IMO that tell me if we will win or not.

1. Rohan gets on the scoreboard OR gets very involved with scoring chains.

2. Mitch Duncan gets a decent amount of the ball and some in space/used well.

3. Our defenders take intercept marks.

When we are on and we have the game on our terms those 3 are right at the forefront, when we don't, when our system starts to fail and we lose that momentum those 3 above tend to be the ones that are first to be lost.
 
Some quality analysis here of what we've built our game around in recent times. Debunks a few of the 'eye tests' people sometimes bang on with as well, that say we struggle to rebound the ball and that we always bomb to Toma.

 
AFL360 🙄🙄🙄
Discussing ‘Could Have Been Champions’ introduced by Rob??? - who, “Blah! Blah! Blah! Onto Wednesday favourites + highlighted Balta, as loved by Tigers’ fans 😳 Why? Because “There’s [sic] not many 21yos, who jump into. . .” the competition, who have such an impact. . .watch our Whately’s BP rise, as he summons Geelong’s prodigy, yet he waits, while Robbo (remembered his name), creams his pants over Balta. Whately exclaims that our Sam Simpson is a ‘bewdifull’ story, so much so that even Ralf (Hun) told his story. The simarlarities between father + son: “EVERY INCH! His son is the whole bit!” Whately was so eloquent, lyrical + utterly crapped all over Robbo’s Balta attempt. Balta? Balta, who?”

I have for the last several years refrained from watching any of the AFL panel shows except for rare clips here and there. I find their style and formula to be very monotonous and painfully 'blokey' and boys' club oriented. 360 was the one I found the most tolerable for a while, largely because of Whately, but then I couldn't stand how overbearing Robbo was and a lot of the guest segments.

I did just watch the segment on Balta, though, and I found the comparisons to other young defenders who have come into the comp to soon play big roles in finals games to be as equally painful, firstly because the comparisons they made were illustrative of another problem I have with these types of shows. So steeped in recency bias they overstate, over-compliment and over-hype as many players as they can, likely in an overall effort to maintain a belief among watchers that what they watch now is really important and therefore their show is vital to be engaged with. But comparing this guy to greats of the game who forged long-term, celebrated careers because he managed to slip into and play a role in a good team doesn't really fool anyone.

Then there's the other problem - they were comparing him with other key backs who had been taken from relative obscurity to having a big job to do in a grand final, seemingly ignoring the obvious, and much more contemporary, comparison: Harry Taylor. A bit older at the time, but a little bit more apt I would have thought. Guy was taken from a state comp then less than a year later he's lining up alongside Scarlett, Harley, Milburn, etc. against the Hawks in a GF. A year later, in his second year, he's tasked with stopping the best CHF of the era in a tight GF and, with some rain assistance, does a tremendous job.
 
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