Preview Geelong vs Collingwood, Practice Match Fri 26 Feb, 11am @ GMHBA

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May 18, 2016
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3 minutes of highlights


Evans looks the goods. I want to see him get games while dahl is injured. And if his form is good enough, keeping dahl in the vfl.

Dahl simply does not get on the scoreboard enough. Love his hussle, but it looks like evans can match that, while being a better goal kicker.
 
Nov 7, 2010
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We sure didn't pick up Dahlhaus as a goal kicking forward as a defensive forward yes, I don't understand people thinking he should be kicking bags he's only ever averages just over half a goal a game for his career,his dominent years 15,16 and 17 he hurt sides going through the middle winning clearances and laying tackles.Doubt we will see that Dahlhaus again, can a kid unseat him this year?depends on what Scotts looking for and Luke's form I guess.
 
Feb 12, 2017
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We sure didn't pick up Dahlhaus as a goal kicking forward as a defensive forward yes, I don't understand people thinking he should be kicking bags he's only ever averages just over half a goal a game for his career,his dominent years 15,16 and 17 he hurt sides going through the middle winning clearances and laying tackles.Doubt we will see that Dahlhaus again, can a kid unseat him this year?depends on what Scotts looking for and Luke's form I guess.
Dahlhaus has done exactly what we bought him for. Whether we still need that purely pressure forward remains to be seen, but another goal-kicking small alongside Miers would be great.
 
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May 18, 2016
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We sure didn't pick up Dahlhaus as a goal kicking forward as a defensive forward yes, I don't understand people thinking he should be kicking bags he's only ever averages just over half a goal a game for his career,his dominent years 15,16 and 17 he hurt sides going through the middle winning clearances and laying tackles.Doubt we will see that Dahlhaus again, can a kid unseat him this year?depends on what Scotts looking for and Luke's form I guess.
Fair enough. But is 8 goals in a season enough of a return for a forward, even a defensive one? If evans can play that defensive role as well as dahl, and get some more goals on the board, what is the issue here?

Dahl doesn’t seem to convert very well. Seems to mess up a lot of chances he gets.
 

catswhiskers

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Love it when a young bloke puts his hand up and says move over. Its just one outing on a modestly competitive stage but Evans does have something. Body reminds me of Josh Hunt.
 
A few things I noticed watching this match that impacts Round 1 to 5;
1. Evans is already ahead of Dahl in the forwardline. Harsh on Dahl, but Evans can kick over a jam jar.
2. I think we should really look at Atkins in defense for at least 5 games, better ball user than Bews and Kolo, quick enough to tag the smaller forwards we always struggle with. He won't ever be a good enough forward and he certainly won't displace any of our mids.
3. Danger absolutely needs to stay up the field. He looked like he was in 2nd gear and was still bursting out of packs. Defenses are going to sh*t themselves if we have him smashing in 50m forward entries to Hawkins, Cameron and Rohan. What he does breaks Richmonds press and it killed us not having him in form in the GF.
4. We are completely f’ed if Stanley gets injured.

Think this year is the year we see Parfitt, O'Connor, Miers and Simpson go up a level should they stay healthy. I think they are where the improvement comes from because we are going to get high output from the regulars in Danger, Selwood, Hawkins, Blicavs etc. We also need to see Clark, Constable and Narkle become contributors, at minimum 8 games.

Obviously just a practice match and lots of things change, especially with some rust in the match, but there were some very telling signs.
Higgins is a really smart user of the ball, and so was Constable. Both got the ball in traffic and generally were making good decisions and hitting targets. Obviously Higgins will start Rd 1, but wonder if Constable has worked on his fitness like the coaching staff want because it offers something different in midfield. At one point he gets the ball on the wing and basically directs Menegola into the space for an easy handball that becomes an i50.

Jenkins is a better 2nd ruck than Esava right now and should be preferred to Blicavs who is needed in other positions, namely defence. Jenkins was nothing special, but he set up shots on goal with quick handballs into space, and gets into the right positions on the field. If Jenkins was in his 20s it wouldn't even be a question. Plus Jenkins can kick goals. I wonder if V Essendon we see Fort in the ruck, but also maybe if we see more of De Koning in the ruck (late in the third he jumped all over Grundy) or if maybe we see some game time for Neale or Tsapatolis (although no way are they ready to be 2nd ruck if we want a premiership).
Number 4 is the killer. With no Blitz sharing midfield ruck duties there's no way his body holds out a full season
 
For what its worth, heres my take on the game.

Parfitt was everywhere and looks set for big step forward in 2021. I thought was Geelong's best.
Cam Guthrie wasn't far behind. Is a top quality player these days.
Lachie Henderson played very well and distributed nicely from the backline. Quality player.
Miers looks set for a big season.
Zuthrie got plenty of it and delivered the football with a touch of class. Some detractors might need a rethink.
Evans, as many have noted, made his presence felt...could well line up in Round 1.
Hawkins will be hard to stop again this year...oozes class.
Tom Atkins looked right at home in the backline..competitive as always and creative from half back.

I also thought the skipper moved well throughout.

Looking forward to the Don's game on the weekend. A few more will add to the above list. Thought it was a really good hit out for both clubs.
 
Feb 21, 2010
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For what its worth, heres my take on the game.

Parfitt was everywhere and looks set for big step forward in 2021. I thought was Geelong's best.
Cam Guthrie wasn't far behind. Is a top quality player these days.
Lachie Henderson played very well and distributed nicely from the backline. Quality player.
Miers looks set for a big season.
Zuthrie got plenty of it and delivered the football with a touch of class. Some detractors might need a rethink.
Evans, as many have noted, made his presence felt...could well line up in Round 1.
Hawkins will be hard to stop again this year...oozes class.
Tom Atkins looked right at home in the backline..competitive as always and creative from half back.

I also thought the skipper moved well throughout.

Looking forward to the Don's game on the weekend. A few more will add to the above list. Thought it was a really good hit out for both clubs.

Just finished watching the replay and that's a pretty accurate summary.

I've been a critic of Zuthrie, but I thought he along with his brother were 2 of the best 3 players (the other being Parfitt) on the ground.
I still don't see him as best 22 but if can be someone who offers deliable depth I'd be happy.
 
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cat_shack

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We sure didn't pick up Dahlhaus as a goal kicking forward as a defensive forward yes, I don't understand people thinking he should be kicking bags he's only ever averages just over half a goal a game for his career,his dominent years 15,16 and 17 he hurt sides going through the middle winning clearances and laying tackles.Doubt we will see that Dahlhaus again, can a kid unseat him this year?depends on what Scotts looking for and Luke's form I guess.
Correct. Not sure why people are bemoaning Dahlhaus’ lack of scoreboard hits. He and Rohan were specifically recruited to fill major gaps we had at that time in providing forward line defensive pressure. So on the basis of Rohan and Dahlhaus coming in for say Menzel and Kersten, who’s forward line pressure consisted of lethargically chasing shadows, then it’s a win. If a player is to push Dalhaus out then any starting point has to be replicating his pressure acts, at the moment I don’t see who.
 

Ratcat

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Love it when a young bloke puts his hand up and says move over. Its just one outing on a modestly competitive stage but Evans does have something. Body reminds me of Josh Hunt.

Was totally bemused at Wells selection of Francis Evans, then l realized this kid is a pure footballer, not an athlete/footballer.
Not surprisingly he finds a step up quite natural because it's in his dna.
Might have unearthed an absolute ripper here, tough nut too.
For whatever reason he makes me think of Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell, pure footballer.
 
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BIGANT

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I'm looking forward to seeing the Tom and Jerry show up forward this season.

Some of Hawkins' disposal by foot while playing up the ground was sensational. The pass he thread through a needle to hit a running teammate surrounded by 3-4 opponents in the last quarter was sublime, as was the pass from 60m out off two steps that hit Shannon Neale running back towards goal at the top of the goal square.

It's going to be a delight watching some of those passes hit Cameron lace out during the season.
And he gets his set shot kicking for gl right. Tommy boy could've won the first final v PA off his on boot.
 
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Mar 14, 2009
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Tom Atkins looked right at home in the backline..competitive as always and creative from half back.
Bews still kicking the ball out on the full and missing targets when under no pressure and in a practice game. :straining:

Hopefully Atkins can become a permanent fixture as a small defender as he offers so much more.
 

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Spearman

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Hawkins pass I50 in Q4 was Bradyesque :) Dropped it right in between the defenders. Funny thing for me was last week the 2009 Dogs-Cats HA game came up in my YT suggestions so of course I watched it. Young Tom showed his outstanding field kicking even back then with a lovely left kick under pressure to a teammate top of square. :thumbsu:
OTOH shocking set kicks at goal.
 

bombersboy

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A few things I noticed watching this match that impacts Round 1 to 5;
1. Evans is already ahead of Dahl in the forwardline. Harsh on Dahl, but Evans can kick over a jam jar.
2. I think we should really look at Atkins in defense for at least 5 games, better ball user than Bews and Kolo, quick enough to tag the smaller forwards we always struggle with. He won't ever be a good enough forward and he certainly won't displace any of our mids.
3. Danger absolutely needs to stay up the field. He looked like he was in 2nd gear and was still bursting out of packs. Defenses are going to sh*t themselves if we have him smashing in 50m forward entries to Hawkins, Cameron and Rohan. What he does breaks Richmonds press and it killed us not having him in form in the GF.
4. We are completely f’ed if Stanley gets injured.

Think this year is the year we see Parfitt, O'Connor, Miers and Simpson go up a level should they stay healthy. I think they are where the improvement comes from because we are going to get high output from the regulars in Danger, Selwood, Hawkins, Blicavs etc. We also need to see Clark, Constable and Narkle become contributors, at minimum 8 games.

Obviously just a practice match and lots of things change, especially with some rust in the match, but there were some very telling signs.
Higgins is a really smart user of the ball, and so was Constable. Both got the ball in traffic and generally were making good decisions and hitting targets. Obviously Higgins will start Rd 1, but wonder if Constable has worked on his fitness like the coaching staff want because it offers something different in midfield. At one point he gets the ball on the wing and basically directs Menegola into the space for an easy handball that becomes an i50.

Jenkins is a better 2nd ruck than Esava right now and should be preferred to Blicavs who is needed in other positions, namely defence. Jenkins was nothing special, but he set up shots on goal with quick handballs into space, and gets into the right positions on the field. If Jenkins was in his 20s it wouldn't even be a question. Plus Jenkins can kick goals. I wonder if V Essendon we see Fort in the ruck, but also maybe if we see more of De Koning in the ruck (late in the third he jumped all over Grundy) or if maybe we see some game time for Neale or Tsapatolis (although no way are they ready to be 2nd ruck if we want a premiership).
I think we need to dampen expectations on Simpson this year. Shoulder reconstructions take a while to recover from. The other one to consider is Brad Close. He looked ok in a few games last year though I would like to see him finish a little better. Did Close play on Friday or is he injured?
 
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Any news to why Stephen’s didn’t play?
Mate IHNFI as usual but I'll have a guess and say Cooper hasn't had much footy in the last two years with the broken leg then covit and now with the Cats adding Higgins and Smith to the list I wouldn't mind betting they take a conservative approach with him and ease him back through the 2s, hopefully he's up and about mid season.
 
Sep 11, 2006
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Mate IHNFI as usual but I'll have a guess and say Cooper hasn't had much footy in the last two years with the broken leg then covit and now with the Cats adding Higgins and Smith to the list I wouldn't mind betting they take a conservative approach with him and ease him back through the 2s, hopefully he's up and about mid season.
He’s looked heavily involved in all match sim and intra clubs. Was disappointed to not see him even play half a game tbh
 
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Correct. Not sure why people are bemoaning Dahlhaus’ lack of scoreboard hits. He and Rohan were specifically recruited to fill major gaps we had at that time in providing forward line defensive pressure. So on the basis of Rohan and Dahlhaus coming in for say Menzel and Kersten, who’s forward line pressure consisted of lethargically chasing shadows, then it’s a win. If a player is to push Dalhaus out then any starting point has to be replicating his pressure acts, at the moment I don’t see who.
am i in topsy turvey world. A forwards main job is to create goals From foward entries. Its not to tackle players who have got the ball from a failed foward entry. a foward has to fail his main goal first in order to be in a position to get a foward defensive tackle.

It is not a success replacing a player who kicks 2 goals a game with 2 tackles and replacing them with someone who has 4 tackles a game and 0.5 goals. Its goal scoreboard that determines winners of football games. Not tackle leaderboards.
 
Feb 21, 2010
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Was totally bemused at Wells selection of Francis Evans, then l realized this kid is a pure footballer, not an athlete/footballer.
Not surprisingly he finds a step up quite natural because it's in his dna.
Might have unearthed an absolute ripper here, tough nut too.
For whatever reason he makes me think of Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell, pure footballer.

There was a lot to like about how he went about it vs the pies.
We always want to compare youngsters to former greats, but for me he reminded me of Paul Chapman. Stocky, hard, good decision maker with clean disposal (with that description he's a bona fide star already!).
I see where the Mitchell comparion comes from, but I can't bring myself to comapre Evans to him. I f*****g hate Mitchell as good as he was.
 

Ratcat

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There was a lot to like about how he went about it vs the pies.
We always want to compare youngsters to former greats, but for me he reminded me of Paul Chapman. Stocky, hard, good decision maker with clean disposal (with that description he's a bona fide star already!).
I see where the Mitchell comparion comes from, but I can't bring myself to comapre Evans to him. I f*****g hate Mitchell as good as he was.

Haha!...yeah l thought twice about it but l thought l'd throw that one in to spice up the discussion.
But honest l did compare him to!
 

Ratcat

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am i in topsy turvey world. A forwards main job is to create goals From foward entries. Its not to tackle players who have got the ball from a failed foward entry. a foward has to fail his main goal first in order to be in a position to get a foward defensive tackle.

It is not a success replacing a player who kicks 2 goals a game with 2 tackles and replacing them with someone who has 4 tackles a game and 0.5 goals. Its goal scoreboard that determines winners of football games. Not tackle leaderboards.

I like to say,... scoreboard pressure acts preferred from my forwards of first importance!
 
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