Preview Identify the biggest factor in whether we can go again in 2019

Kempy the legend

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I'll not too worried.

I think we will finish top 4 then its all about form and fitness.

Allen and Petch are doing a lot better than a lot of people think.

Cole is taking on the opps dangerous small forward more often which is freeing up Shep to have his best year yet. Thing is, when you play on the opps best small forward, you are either barely sighted or your opponent is making you look stupid.

Once Barrass and Hurn returns the backline will be solid.

Forwards will find more form if the mids can lift more. This will happen once NN is back.

Question marks are the bench. Vardy Hickey or Allen?

Masten or Waterman?

Hutchings in if he isn't tagging?

Masten and waterman are both no good for team balance. If Hutchings isn't tagging he should not be playing
 

ioppolo

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Masten and waterman are both no good for team balance. If Hutchings isn't tagging he should not be playing
Waterman can play that HFF position and push up to the wing, he played it well in the first half of last year. He should be given a few weeks there in Petch's place IMO.

Agree on Masten. Has lost his form from last season.

Hutchings is odd. Has the tank to play on the wing. As does Masten. Unfortunately both are underperforming in that role. No one else really has the tank to play there. Petch would be out of steam by half time. Jetta no longer has the calves to play there. Duggan probably doesn't have the tank. Leaves us in a predicament. Guess Tim Kelly has his own wing if he makes it over here.
 
Dec 19, 2007
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Prefer Allen as he is more flexible - can play forward, back or assisting in the ruck and has not been disgraced - and gives it his all.
Agree with you Frenchy.Allen has got a great footy brain and just seems to make the right decisions.Hes actually been very competitive in his ruck stints but you wouldnt want him getting that sort of bashing for too long.As ive said before he reminds me of Gunston;a lot!
 
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Deroesfromgero
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We need a Devon Smith/David Zaharakis kind.
And that probably comes next year when we get Tim Kelly into the midfield and we use Shuey at Half Fwd into his 30s.
The idea of being able to afford to do this ....

Gablett like in his delivery - the forwards would be flicking their beans at the thought
 

Kempy the legend

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Agree with you Frenchy.Allen has got a great footy brain and just seems to make the right decisions.Hes actually been very competitive in his ruck stints but you wouldnt want him getting that sort of bashing for too long.As ive said before he reminds me of Gunston;a lot!
Agree totally, we should persist with him. I'd like to see a bit more verociousness around the ball, not only from Yeo
 
Dec 19, 2007
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Im just not sure we should be hanging our hat on getting Kelly.He will have had another year to settle in Geelong.If by chance he won a Brownlow that further strengthens the ties.We would also struggle to fit in the type of salary he will command.The filth down the road aren't going to go away and money talks.Would love to have him..but!
 
Jun 30, 2009
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Deroesfromgero
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Im just not sure we should be hanging our hat on getting Kelly.He will have had another year to settle in Geelong.If by chance he won a Brownlow that further strengthens the ties.We would also struggle to fit in the type of salary he will command.The filth down the road aren't going to go away and money talks.Would love to have him..but!
If you read the article written about him last week id be devastated as a geelong fan...


Hes gawn - and he doesnt like the purps

Nn has already flagged a pay cut himself

This is doable
 

Gaffy Duck

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May 12, 2019
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I get no impression Tim Kelly wants to stay at all.
5F1794E0-00A2-4849-8091-D1D89BCD7B68.jpeg


“Geelong held me at ransom and I can’t wait to get the * out of this s**t town”
 
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I get no impression Tim Kelly wants to stay at all. View attachment 690959

“Geelong held me at ransom and I can’t wait to get the **** out of this **** town”
It sorta makes me hope that if we dont win - geelong do - and he can feel no qualms over leaving them as all is paid in full
 

Astro7

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Aug 6, 2017
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I sort of get what you are trying to say, but you used the term state team. They did not have the cream of WA talent at their disposal, much of this was excluded from them. They had a much reduced list, no training base and rather then be carrying the hopes and aspirations of a state, they attracted a lot of negativity because of what they did to the WAFL competition.
Ok, I stand corrected. (I'll only think of them as a state team in private) (;

On the subject of Eagles giving up too easily, a curious one, as Simmo says the best quality they've shown this season is battling through tough games and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat! But when we lose a game horribly like in Sydney, he mentions their previous grit in games, then adds "but not this time"?
They've also just won games by the skin of their teeth (eg-Freo) - but those four losses by 7/8 goals are an enigma...and a concern.

Simmo also stated they had backup plans for what the coaches were throwing at them this season re: starving Gov and dirty ball and floods etc. But he admitted they were outcoached by Swans. We were sliced and diced every which way. If Hurn, Yeo, Barrass and even Masten were playing, how different would the outcome be?

The youth are still coming up to speed.(Petch etc)
Agree we need another hard bodied midfielder-were meant to get one at trade but gave it up for Oallen+Brander, won't regret that in the future - but for now we're a bit light in depth-Mallen? AhChee?
Yet they haven't been used, for a reason?
Is Kelly becoming a fantasy, he's starting to look like a stayer or too exxy? (if he joins WCE, ironic if we played off in a GF and he helped beat us?)(more ironic if we beat them and he left)

It's a hard one to predict- it isn't 2018, every season is different, other teams catch up, we get worked out and all the other cliches. If you believe that every game is tough and the team gives it's best every week (as they're paid to do so), then that's the reality of where we're at. So to think that there's going to be a miraculous turnaround after the bye could be seen as not real.

But Barrass and Nicnat back (and Venables?), with Hurn, Yeo and Willie, with Oallen and Waterman, even Masten, maybe Mallen and Sneezy or even Cameron get a gig -compare this to our GF list -and it looks like we could give it a good shot! Has to be top 2?
I'm thinking we come out after the bye, maybe after Essendon, with a settled and complete side and hit our straps. The players intent should be there heading towards the big Gig, maybe it just comes down to coaching?

So in short - after so much waffle!? - the biggest factor is -
* the return of NN and Barrass and Venables
* a settled side with new improved 'intent' and it's mojo humming after the bye.
* the coaching
* the rest of the competition!
* the oval bouncing ball
* the umpires?
* the footy gods and lady luck.
 

SirKarl0s

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I'm desperate to see the return of NicNat. Just having him on the ground will be a massive boost to the entire playing group.
 

frenchconnection

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Ok, I stand corrected. (I'll only think of them as a state team in private) (;

On the subject of Eagles giving up too easily, a curious one, as Simmo says the best quality they've shown this season is battling through tough games and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat! But when we lose a game horribly like in Sydney, he mentions their previous grit in games, then adds "but not this time"?
They've also just won games by the skin of their teeth (eg-Freo) - but those four losses by 7/8 goals are an enigma...and a concern.

Simmo also stated they had backup plans for what the coaches were throwing at them this season re: starving Gov and dirty ball and floods etc. But he admitted they were outcoached by Swans. We were sliced and diced every which way. If Hurn, Yeo, Barrass and even Masten were playing, how different would the outcome be?

The youth are still coming up to speed.(Petch etc)
Agree we need another hard bodied midfielder-were meant to get one at trade but gave it up for Oallen+Brander, won't regret that in the future - but for now we're a bit light in depth-Mallen? AhChee?
Yet they haven't been used, for a reason?
Is Kelly becoming a fantasy, he's starting to look like a stayer or too exxy? (if he joins WCE, ironic if we played off in a GF and he helped beat us?)(more ironic if we beat them and he left)

It's a hard one to predict- it isn't 2018, every season is different, other teams catch up, we get worked out and all the other cliches. If you believe that every game is tough and the team gives it's best every week (as they're paid to do so), then that's the reality of where we're at. So to think that there's going to be a miraculous turnaround after the bye could be seen as not real.

But Barrass and Nicnat back (and Venables?), with Hurn, Yeo and Willie, with Oallen and Waterman, even Masten, maybe Mallen and Sneezy or even Cameron get a gig -compare this to our GF list -and it looks like we could give it a good shot! Has to be top 2?
I'm thinking we come out after the bye, maybe after Essendon, with a settled and complete side and hit our straps. The players intent should be there heading towards the big Gig, maybe it just comes down to coaching?

So in short - after so much waffle!? - the biggest factor is -
* the return of NN and Barrass and Venables
* a settled side with new improved 'intent' and it's mojo humming after the bye.
* the coaching
* the rest of the competition!
* the oval bouncing ball
* the umpires?
* the footy gods and lady luck.
Agree with a fair bit of that - was very concerned with the coaching as well as the players lack of intent against Sydney as don't think Simmo attempted any changes to try and mix it up a bit, but then perhaps his hands were tied? Simmo likes to stick to his game plan - IMO can be a bit stubborn about it at times.
 

frenchconnection

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Don't think we should expect too much of Nic at first - he will be lacking match fitness so will probably take him awhile to warm into things, but then again I hope Im wrong and he sets the world on fire from the very start☺️
 

Astro7

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Aug 6, 2017
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Agree with a fair bit of that - was very concerned with the coaching as well as the players lack of intent against Sydney as don't think Simmo attempted any changes to try and mix it up a bit, but then perhaps his hands were tied? Simmo likes to stick to his game plan - IMO can be a bit stubborn about it at times.
...and then he says he has back up plans for whatever the opp. throw at them?
maybe some weeks it's all just a bridge too far. so many determining factors in such a close
competition.
 

JohnW

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Oct 6, 2005
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...and then he says he has back up plans for whatever the opp. throw at them?
maybe some weeks it's all just a bridge too far. so many determining factors in such a close
competition.

I wouldn't take what Simmo says verbatim, I see a lot of it as him directing the blame of a crappy performance onto himself, rather than throwing players under the bus. Im sure the message internally is a fair bit different.
 
I think the bye has come at the right time.

Hurn sore, Yeo sore, Shuey sore. Ryan has got up gingerly from more and more contests lately. Oallen and Petch are youngsters too.

We just need to get on a roll, bank 12 wins then march on for 16 wins and top 4. We finish top 4 and have our preferred midfield intact, we are a red hot chance.
 
Dec 19, 2007
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I know that this is waaayyy out of left field.If the Dockers beat Port this weekend and we dont finish top 4;we may get a home final against them.That was one of my early season predictions.Not off the cards yet!
 
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