Cats don't 'need' to drop a game
11:44 AM Thu 16 August, 2007 | Back
By Simon Black
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network
News
ONE OF the craziest things I've heard this year is a suggestion that Geelong need to lose a game heading into the finals.
Why? It just doesn't make any sense.
Just because the Cats have won 14 in a row and sit four games clear on top of the ladder with the minor premiership already locked up, it doesn't mean they are due to lose and would be any better off dropping one now before September.
It's like the Brisbane Lions in 2001. We'd strung 13 wins in a row heading into the finals and it didn't stop us stretching that to 16 to win our first flag.
The only difference is that we were playing for the double-chance all the way to round 22 but despite the fact that the Cats don't have anything tangible to play for I can't see them slackening off.
Confidence and momentum are big things in football and you don't want to flirt with your form. You just want to keep playing at maximum intensity so you go into the business end of the season firing on all cylinders.
And for some players, there are spots in the side up for grabs.
There are lots of similarities between the Cats of 2007 and the Lions of '01.
We'd been there or thereabouts in the years immediately preceding our premiership, having finished fourth in 1999 and fifth in 2000. Geelong were fourth in 2004 and fifth in 2005.
We had a pretty settled, experienced and physically mature side, with a varied forward set-up, a rock solid defence and a deep midfield rotation. Just like Geelong.
Our average winning margin through 16 games in 2001 was 39 points – Geelong's average margin over the last 14 rounds, bolstered by a 157-point slaughter of Richmond, has been 52 points.
According to my statistician, we had five players in 2001 who played all 25 games – Michael Voss, Nigel Lappin, Marcus Ashcroft, Jonathan Brown and yours truly. We had a further 14 players who played no less than 19 games that year.
Only three members of the premiership side - Justin Leppitsch (11), Luke Power (15) and elevated rookie Robbie Copeland (17) – had any extended time out of the top side.
There was a feeling within the group that everyone knew what everyone else was going to do, and a belief that, even if we were four or five goals down in the third quarter, if we kept working hard for each other, we could fight our way out of trouble.
Geelong is much the same. Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, James Corey, Matthew Egan, Cameron Ling, Darren Milburn, Cam Mooney and David Wojcinski have played every game. Another 10 players have missed four or less.
Steve Johnson has been a fixture since his return from a club suspension in round six, skipper Tom Harley likewise since he resumed from injury in round 10 and Paul Chapman has missed two three-game blocks.
That's 21 players, but there's still plenty of selection competition, with Shannon Byrnes, Josh Hunt, ex-captain Steven King, Max Rookie and Kane Tenace all having legitimate claims.
And that's not including Tom Hawkins, who would get a game in probably every other side in the competition.
So, for that reason alone, you can't tell me anyone is going to be taking it easy in the next three weeks because nobody will want to run the risk of missing out in September.
The big difference between the 2001 Lions and the 2007 Cats is location. While we were able to enjoy relative anonymity in Brisbane I reckon the hype and expectation in Geelong would be out of this world.
That alone will be a test for the Geelong players, and their resolve to keep doing what they are doing, playing their roles, being predictable and not getting ahead of themselves.
But I remember thinking after the Cats gave us a 50-point sticking in the wet at Skilled Stadium in round 12 that they looked a bit special.
Their collective ability to extricate the ball from a contested situation and use it to good effect was outstanding. Likewise their ability to ride the tackle and get the arms free for a handball.
That they are winning games by big margins is another good sign for Cats fans. It shows they are not content just to win, and that they want to finish games off well so they can start with the same positive feeling the next week.
All this, of course, won't stop the Lions trying to end the Cats winning run at the Gabba in round 22, and I'm sure it'll be the same for the Kangaroos at Telstra Dome on Sunday and Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium in round 21.
But as for needing to lose a game…no way in the world.
Awesome article. The comparissons with Brisbane's powerhouse team of the early 0s are amazing. The best bit about the article, however, was when Black referred to Corey as 'James Corey'. Further proof that one of the better midfielders in the game is largely unrecognised. Calling Max a rookie was a bit of a Freudian slip too it seems!
11:44 AM Thu 16 August, 2007 | Back
By Simon Black
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network
News
ONE OF the craziest things I've heard this year is a suggestion that Geelong need to lose a game heading into the finals.
Why? It just doesn't make any sense.
Just because the Cats have won 14 in a row and sit four games clear on top of the ladder with the minor premiership already locked up, it doesn't mean they are due to lose and would be any better off dropping one now before September.
It's like the Brisbane Lions in 2001. We'd strung 13 wins in a row heading into the finals and it didn't stop us stretching that to 16 to win our first flag.
The only difference is that we were playing for the double-chance all the way to round 22 but despite the fact that the Cats don't have anything tangible to play for I can't see them slackening off.
Confidence and momentum are big things in football and you don't want to flirt with your form. You just want to keep playing at maximum intensity so you go into the business end of the season firing on all cylinders.
And for some players, there are spots in the side up for grabs.
There are lots of similarities between the Cats of 2007 and the Lions of '01.
We'd been there or thereabouts in the years immediately preceding our premiership, having finished fourth in 1999 and fifth in 2000. Geelong were fourth in 2004 and fifth in 2005.
We had a pretty settled, experienced and physically mature side, with a varied forward set-up, a rock solid defence and a deep midfield rotation. Just like Geelong.
Our average winning margin through 16 games in 2001 was 39 points – Geelong's average margin over the last 14 rounds, bolstered by a 157-point slaughter of Richmond, has been 52 points.
According to my statistician, we had five players in 2001 who played all 25 games – Michael Voss, Nigel Lappin, Marcus Ashcroft, Jonathan Brown and yours truly. We had a further 14 players who played no less than 19 games that year.
Only three members of the premiership side - Justin Leppitsch (11), Luke Power (15) and elevated rookie Robbie Copeland (17) – had any extended time out of the top side.
There was a feeling within the group that everyone knew what everyone else was going to do, and a belief that, even if we were four or five goals down in the third quarter, if we kept working hard for each other, we could fight our way out of trouble.
Geelong is much the same. Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, James Corey, Matthew Egan, Cameron Ling, Darren Milburn, Cam Mooney and David Wojcinski have played every game. Another 10 players have missed four or less.
Steve Johnson has been a fixture since his return from a club suspension in round six, skipper Tom Harley likewise since he resumed from injury in round 10 and Paul Chapman has missed two three-game blocks.
That's 21 players, but there's still plenty of selection competition, with Shannon Byrnes, Josh Hunt, ex-captain Steven King, Max Rookie and Kane Tenace all having legitimate claims.
And that's not including Tom Hawkins, who would get a game in probably every other side in the competition.
So, for that reason alone, you can't tell me anyone is going to be taking it easy in the next three weeks because nobody will want to run the risk of missing out in September.
The big difference between the 2001 Lions and the 2007 Cats is location. While we were able to enjoy relative anonymity in Brisbane I reckon the hype and expectation in Geelong would be out of this world.
That alone will be a test for the Geelong players, and their resolve to keep doing what they are doing, playing their roles, being predictable and not getting ahead of themselves.
But I remember thinking after the Cats gave us a 50-point sticking in the wet at Skilled Stadium in round 12 that they looked a bit special.
Their collective ability to extricate the ball from a contested situation and use it to good effect was outstanding. Likewise their ability to ride the tackle and get the arms free for a handball.
That they are winning games by big margins is another good sign for Cats fans. It shows they are not content just to win, and that they want to finish games off well so they can start with the same positive feeling the next week.
All this, of course, won't stop the Lions trying to end the Cats winning run at the Gabba in round 22, and I'm sure it'll be the same for the Kangaroos at Telstra Dome on Sunday and Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium in round 21.
But as for needing to lose a game…no way in the world.
Awesome article. The comparissons with Brisbane's powerhouse team of the early 0s are amazing. The best bit about the article, however, was when Black referred to Corey as 'James Corey'. Further proof that one of the better midfielders in the game is largely unrecognised. Calling Max a rookie was a bit of a Freudian slip too it seems!
