Geelong Vs Melbourne

[jess_555]

YAY Photos! CLICK ME

 

[cat_fanatic]

I don't think he replaced anyone, 'cos everyone in the squad (plus Stokes) played.

Playfair???

 

[tin can sam]

Playfair???

he played, not well, but he played.

 

[Big Nasty]

YAY Photos! CLICK ME

That photo of Ling getting tackled should be his picture in the player profiles on www.gfc.com.au

 

[Team Extreme]

I hope King's calf strain wont be too serious.

 

[WE Are Geelong]

Stokes did play.

Backline: Scarlett solid, held Neitz to one goal that shouldn't have even happened due to Neitz holding Scarlett in the marking contest, Neitz got a free when the ball fell to ground. Thought Egan was solid at CHB, although for some reason he continues to take the hard marks and make the easy ones look hard. Mackie tried in across half back and deep in defence and did okay. D. Johnson again had a good game.

Mids: Prismall and Selwood very good, both should play round 1. As should Tenace, who played well also. Ling better improve quickly otherwise he'll get dropped. Didn't see much of Corey in the second half. King not sighted in the second half, injured?? Also thought Wocjinski played well in patches.

Forwards: Mooney solid in the second half, Ottens missed three set shots from the same part of the ground. Gardiner again good, he will play round one. I have to say that even though Djerkurra and Varcoe didn't do much with the ball their defensive efforts against Melbourne defenders coming out of the backline was outstanding, really put them under pressure and made the next possession down the ground more 50/50.

Thanks mate for the write up.

If you get a chance to respond, what was the general standard of the game like? Did the Demons try playing anyone back as it seems a low scoring game? Thanks.

And Djerrkura and Varcoe could be handy against the Doggies for the reason you mentioned...with a more open forward line as you expect against the Dogs I think they would get more of the pill also.

 

[ripitup27]

Not a terrible game by the boys but far from their best. Seemed to have the complete run of it for the whole game but just couldn't convert it to the scoreboard.

The defence was really fantastic, I thought Egan was like Scarlett at his best today, and he will for sure be on the brink of becoming one of the premier defenders in the game. DJ was very good, Mackie kept Robertson quiet for most of the game and Scarlett was solid.

The midfield, with the exception of Ling, moved the ball forward alot better than what they did last Friday night. Ling was still a bit static, but he did excert a bit of leadership on the field. Bartel was hard at it and made few mistakes, and Wojcinski, who I thought was best on with Egan, broke lines and kicked long after dashing through the middle. Very exciting today. Gardiner also seemed to be playing a bit forward of centre and did quite a few good things with it, and it takes me alot to say that.

The forward line still struggled a tad, but Mooney stepped up in the second half and destroyed the Demon talls, even pulling in a fair old screamer. Ottens was once again taking pretty much all the marks that came to him but his kicking was a little off today. Chapman made a welcome return with a solid contribution, and the aboriginal boys in Stokes, Varcoe and Djerrkura were once again exciting with their second efforts, despite making a few poor disposals.

There were probably only two negatives for my mind. One was Playfair. He just couldn't get anything right in the first half, despite doing some good stuff in the last quarter across half back. His disposal was poor and he has the agility of a drunk man on crutches.
The other, and much to my disappointment because I am a huge fan of the guy, was Byrnes. You can tell that Shannon just wants to put everything into what he does, which is more than I can say for the rest of the team sometimes, but sometimes his eagerness gets too much and he'll leave the ball behind or completly stuff the kick. He has talent and speed, and I want to see him play, but today didn't help him.

Anyway, my votes:
6. M.Egan
5. D.Wojcinski
4. J.Bartel
3. C.Mooney
2. A.Mackie
1. B.Prismall

Unlucky: C.Gardiner, D.Johnson, D.Milburn, K.Tenace.

 

[Kittenish]

I'm thinking that photo of David J with the ball and the Dees player leaping for him will end up on a gay p***ography site.
Bit suss that one.

 

[cat_fanatic]

Not a terrible game by the boys but far from their best. Seemed to have the complete run of it for the whole game but just couldn't convert it to the scoreboard.

Thanks ripitup! great to read an informative report; the afl and gfc websites are pathetic. Good to hear the only negitives were Hank and Byrnes, not too much of a worry. Pre-season a general succuss for the cats, looking forward to round one!

 

[ezbian]

A very good summation from Ripitup27.

Highlights for me.

Wojcinski's run and carry in the first half. Was about the only highlight for the whole half. Really scrappy game. It is possibly the worst half for senior level AFL footballers I have seen. Alot of players pretty uninterested and the tempo off the ball was very moderate.

Things got a bit better in the second half.

Mooney was excellant in the third and looks set for a big year IMO. Has gone along quite nicely in the preseason and has kicked good size multiples each week. His hanger in the fourth quarter was a ripper and would have brought the house down on match day. Just got a nice one on one ride on Ferguson.

Tenace and Wojcinski broke the lines and played quite well. Tenace actually finished quite well as well I thought.

Prismall and Selwood contiue to impress. It is hard to believe Selwood has only been playing four weeks. He was good again today. Both players have such composure. Great signs for our forwards for years to come.

Mackie, Scarlett and Egan were all excellant in defence. mackie played on Robbo in the second half and took the points I thought. Played well in a role that he is unaccustomed to.

Ling actually played well today. Got alot of centre clearances and kept McLean quiet in the first half. Just because everybody is all over him this year (I have criticised also), he was good today and is not deserved of any criticism.

Blake whilst terrible around the ground, you must admire his ruckwork. He piped it down the throat of our onballers about 8 times in the second half. He is definetely worth persisting with. His ruckwork today was clearly best on the ground and he had whites measure in the centre clearances.

Djekurra continues to impress me. His run, second efforts and chasing of opposition players is excellent. Varcoe did very little and is still along way off having any impact on games. He is such an outside player and needs to put his body on the line more. This stands out alot in congested games like today.

Nathan had a productive final term, and Charlie dare I say it continues to impress.

My Votes:

5: Wojcinski
4: Egan
3: Mooney
2: Scarlett
1: Ling

All in all a very ordinary standard of footy. Melbourne still look very underdone and have alot of players recovering from injuries etc.

Apart from some obvious omissions Byrnes, Varcoe & Playfair. With a few guys to come back, 24 into 22 is going to make for some interesting viewing.

 

[Mooney_d'King]

Not a terrible game by the boys but far from their best. Seemed to have the complete run of it for the whole game but just couldn't convert it to the scoreboard.

The defence was really fantastic, I thought Egan was like Scarlett at his best today, and he will for sure be on the brink of becoming one of the premier defenders in the game. DJ was very good, Mackie kept Robertson quiet for most of the game and Scarlett was solid.

The midfield, with the exception of Ling, moved the ball forward alot better than what they did last Friday night. Ling was still a bit static, but he did excert a bit of leadership on the field. Bartel was hard at it and made few mistakes, and Wojcinski, who I thought was best on with Egan, broke lines and kicked long after dashing through the middle. Very exciting today. Gardiner also seemed to be playing a bit forward of centre and did quite a few good things with it, and it takes me alot to say that.

The forward line still struggled a tad, but Mooney stepped up in the second half and destroyed the Demon talls, even pulling in a fair old screamer. Ottens was once again taking pretty much all the marks that came to him but his kicking was a little off today. Chapman made a welcome return with a solid contribution, and the aboriginal boys in Stokes, Varcoe and Djerrkura were once again exciting with their second efforts, despite making a few poor disposals.

There were probably only two negatives for my mind. One was Playfair. He just couldn't get anything right in the first half, despite doing some good stuff in the last quarter across half back. His disposal was poor and he has the agility of a drunk man on crutches.
The other, and much to my disappointment because I am a huge fan of the guy, was Byrnes. You can tell that Shannon just wants to put everything into what he does, which is more than I can say for the rest of the team sometimes, but sometimes his eagerness gets too much and he'll leave the ball behind or completly stuff the kick. He has talent and speed, and I want to see him play, but today didn't help him.

Anyway, my votes:
6. M.Egan
5. D.Wojcinski
4. J.Bartel
3. C.Mooney
2. A.Mackie
1. B.Prismall

Unlucky: C.Gardiner, D.Johnson, D.Milburn, K.Tenace.

Yep, that's how I saw it too. The second half was much stronger by the Cats. Prismall and Selwood in the middle look a sensational combination. I wouldn't be surprised to see Selwood play Round 1, but I don't know who he'd replace. Mooney was unbeatable in the second half, NAblett did some good work too. I thought both Egan and Scarlett had fantastic games.

I saw the second half of the third quarter and all of the final quarter of the VFL match. Hawkins looked strong but didn't dominate. Mind you, he had 2 guys on him for most of the time he was on. We lost by 42 points I think and it wasn't a good spectacle to watch. He should debut this year, but it wouldn't be until the season is fairly advanced.

 

[Micksy]

Very average game.

Seemed Melbourne didn't want to play, and our delivery into the fowardline was attrocious.

Our foward crumbers were AWOL.

Umpiring was terrible. 50m penalties in our favour were more like 30m penalties.

The one real highlight was seeing Rusty Robertson go way too early for a screamer and give away a free, only to have it travel the length of the ground for Moons to ride his opponent all the way to the ground. Show him how its done son!

King was not seen after half-time, with Blake filling in the ruck duties for the most part with Otto and Hank alternating. Pretty bad day for clearances. Ottens absent for the final term?

Woja got a lot of the footy, but his kicking was a disgrace. People who say he had a good day must've read the stats or something.

Credit to Mooney, Gardiner, Egan.

Boo to Ling, Woja.

I'm tired. Also sick of terrible footy. Bring on the season proper.

 

[Ricardo]

Good review ripitup27, i agree with all you said, i thought Egan played a very good match, from about mid-way through last year he has been one of the Cats best, Mackie also did some good things, a bit strange though when he was on Robertson, i thought that was a mis-match.

Playfair once again disappointed, it was good to see him in the backline though (only for a little bit).

I definitely think our forwards were a bit off, Mooney took some nice grabs and probably should have gooten 2 more goals, and Ottens missed (i think it was) 3 times from the SAME spot and kicked it in the same spot.

I thought Prismall was solid in the centre, Monica was one that broke through and really played well, unlike last FN i thought he controlled himself more and was unlucky not to get a couple of goals on the run.

Overall there were better signs from the boys compare to last week, Ling still frustrates the hell out of me but he played better (and kicked >5 times!!). When you consider we did have Jnr, Hunt and a couple of other out we did well, but in saying that Melbourne had a depleted line-up.

Btw- what happened to Corey, didn't see him for most of the second half.

 

[Metallica_Man]

That photo of Ling getting tackled should be his picture in the player profiles on www.gfc.com.au

You mean this one?

i also found this one funny

 

[cat_fanatic]

Way to keep your eye on the ball Linga.

He looks like he's about to take a mark, does he know where the ball is???

 

[Trav 20]

For those interested, from our best fit 22 we had the following players missing: Bruce, McDonald, Green, Carroll, Sylvia, Bartram, Pickett, and Yze.

 

[Micksy]

Way to keep your eye on the ball Linga.

He looks like he's about to take a mark, does he know where the ball is???

Hahahaha!

Classic!

But seriously, this is where ling got his head taken off and was walking the boundary line like a drunk after he came off.

Still, funny caption

 

[rizzo]

Ok, just some notes:

Otto presented well, his kicking let him down. Spent most of the second half in the ruck, due to kingy going down.

Scarlo and Egan were very solid. Egan has improved so much, he will be one of the best going aroudn very soon.

Mackie was impressive in the backline. I can see him replacing Dash back there when dash retires.

Wojcinski was super with his run out of his defence, so was tenace who was matched up on davey during some parts of the game. Kicked a great running goal to.

Blake is continuing to develop. KICK THE BALL is all that i can say.

Ling was back to his best. Ran hard, disposed it well and got in and under.

Dissapointing were Gardiner, Playfair, Varcoe and Djkuerra.

Varcoe seemed to drift in and out of the game. Needs to use his pace more.

Selwood and prissa are both going to dominate our midfield for years to come. Selwood is all class. Sign him long term NOW!!

Bartel, enright, corey and chappy were all solid.

Stokes and Byrnes were ok.

DJ was very good. In our 22.

Moons, what a gun!!!

King was ok, Milburn was excellent.

Nathan was ok in patches.

Injuries to Corey (unknown), Byrnes (ankle), King.(calf)

Best: Selwood, Prissa, Woj, Egan, Ling, Moons

 

[JUBJUB]

Probably the only ones that were a good Rd1 chance that missed were Max,Harley,Jr,J Hunt,Stokes & Kelly.That's assuming everyone named in the squad played today.

Of course I forgot Dog,but he's not back until Rd7

 

[JUBJUB]

For those interested, from our best fit 22 we had the following players missing: Bruce, McDonald, Green, Carroll, Sylvia, Bartram, Pickett, and Yze.

Lot's of Melbourne supporters wouldn't consider him part of your best 22

 

[Trav 20]

Lot's of Melbourne supporters wouldn't consider him part of your best 22

Especially me. I named him for balance for those that do.

Also, Rivers only played a half.

 

[Micksy]

Also, Rivers only played a half.

Someone needs to put a bell on that guy. How many times did he sneak up and tackle someone from behind?

Or maybe we just need more talk.

 

[Catman]

I hope King's calf strain wont be too serious.

He doesn't have minor injuries.

He's barely played a combined full game of footy in 3 hitouts this year and is already injured. What happened to his best pre-season or is his body that shot that we are wasting a few hundred thousand dollars a year for the next three years on someone who will be a full-time regular in the treatment room?

Blake and Ottens to ruck this year. Better get used to it.

 

[Partridge]

Kane's teased us before, notably last preseason when he looked like he had actually figured things out.

I sincerely hope this time he's for real.

Tenace didn't come on until the 2nd quarter but played very well. Seemed to play as a sort of sweeper across half back and thrived on it. Completely outpointed Davey also. For those who bag his disposal he hit Nathan Ablett on the lead 3 times in the last quarter with terrific passes.

Defence
Very strong. Scarlett thrashed Neitz and Mackie did surprisingly well on Robertson. They swapped him and Egan around a little also. Wocjinski had a couple of shocking miskicks but on the whole played very well. He is frustrating, but he also creates a lot of run and drive. With him and Tenace both playing well no way can we be called slow.

Midfield
Selwood and Prismall both look very classy. So much poise and composure. Prismall looks a little stronger and fitter than last year and wants to move the ball forward all the time - a good sign. Bartel was great and Enright was solid. Ling was ok but made a couple of stupid mistakes.

Chapman was what you would expect - tough, classy, led hard and used the ball well. He is an absolute gun.

Forwards
Mooney was very quiet early but BOG in the second half. Marked everything that came near him. Probably should have kicked a couple more. He is a very good footballer. Ottens marked well early but kept missing. Went into the ruck for a bit after half time and did ok. Nathan Ablett was a little like Mooney, unsighted early but good second half. Did one great recovery where he dropped a mark but picked up the crumbs, dodged a couple of players then hit Djerrkura with a perfectly weighted pass. Definitely worth perservering with.

Gardiner, it pains me to say, was pretty solid. Seems leaner and fitter than last year.

The only disappointing players would have been Playfair, Shannon Byrnes and Varcoe. Djerrkura showed flashes but not enough to get a senior game yet.

If it were me, I'd have Prismall, Selwood and Tenace in the 22 against Footscray. They were all very good.

 

[ripitup27]

For those interested, from our best fit 22 we had the following players missing: Bruce, McDonald, Green, Carroll, Sylvia, Bartram, Pickett, and Yze.

Just throwing it out there but we had no G.Ablett, Rooke, Harley, Kelly, J.Hunt or S.Johnson which is a fair slab of a team. Just lucky we have a fairly even list.