Nathan Vardy

[geelong_crazy26]

There we go, thanks GC26, if we could get all these guys up and going we'd be a serious threat this year, this is a genuine blow, one we didn't need.

To what extent he has had soreness and rests I don't know thought, it could be nothing too serious or it could be something sinister, I will ask more about it when I speak on Saturday with my friend. But the fact he did not go to Perth and is mot playing in Geelong along with what I have been told thus far isn't a great sign

 

[cats_09]

After overcoming a hip injury that threatened to derail his career, Cats ruckman Nathan Vardy is hopeful of overcoming a groin niggle in time for round one.

Speaking on SEN, Cats General Manager of Football, Neil Balme said Vardy was expected to play prior to round one.

"As we know he had quite a serious hip issue which is pretty good, he's got a very slight groin issue that we are being very conservative with." Balme said.

"He'll play almost certainly within the next week or two."

"He's in pretty good shape and he'll be fine."

The ruck stocks at Geelong are at a low with no first choice ruckman available this week against Adelaide. However the Cats hope that Trent West and Hamish McIntosh who both underwent knee arthroscopes in the pre-season will be available for selection at the start of the season.

 

[cats_09]

Kinda almost happy to read that while Vardy isn't 100% that it isn't his hip causing him problems this time. Hopefully we do see him before the end of the NAB cup just to put more serious fears to rest

 

[Jazz71286]

"As we know he had quite a serious hip issue which is pretty good, he's got a very slight groin issue that we are being very conservative with." Balme said.

"He'll play almost certainly within the next week or two."

"Balme said" "certainly within the next week or two."

"next week or two....."

 

[Partridge]

We still have 1 more game after this weekend.
There's no need to panic, why risk playing a bloke who could suffer injury in these meaningless games?

Because he needs match fitness. If he is to play in Round 1 he's got to have some kind of proper preparation. Otherwise he will get 2 possessions and be immediately excused because he's "underdone". Otherwise he's injured, in which case, they should tell us.

He didn't play for a year and came back into the team last year and made an immediate impact. Blicavs gets a great opportunity to play an entire game and they may be eager to see how he performs as it may be more about West than Vardy in regards to RD1.

No he didn't.

vs Sydney - 9 possessions, 3 marks, 1 goal, 10 hitouts
vs Fremantle - 4 possessions, 2 marks, 1 goal, 7 hitouts

Promising against Sydney (mainly because it was his first game in a year), but unsighted against Fremantle. Forget how good people want him to be, he was solid in one game and that's it. It was fantastic that he was able to play senior footy at all last season, but let's not get carried away.

If any of our other ruckmen had 4 possessions and 7 hitouts in a final I'm pretty sure the majority around here wouldn't be so charitable either.

 

[Copernicus]

See you in round 16 Nathan.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

Am just confused in this.

If he has hip soreness and needs to be rested and managed then it should be no great big deal to say so. It is perfectly understandable.

However, if he is just being eased into competition, then why wouldn't you take the opportunity to just play a quarter or two in the NAB cup....that's what is designed for! If fit, he needs gametime.

 

[dazbroncos]

See you in round 16 Nathan.

wash ur mouth out.....

Go Catters

 

[Copernicus]

wash ur mouth out.....

Go Catters

Bring it up with Balmy!

 

[dazbroncos]

Am just confused in this.

If he has hip soreness and needs to be rested and managed then it should be no great big deal to say so. It is perfectly understandable.

However, if he is just being eased into competition, then why wouldn't you take the opportunity to just play a quarter or two in the NAB cup....that's what is designed for! If fit, he needs gametime.

I agree but if as suggested he has a slight groin strain, the gains of match practice go out the window with a 3 week groin strain....

I guess I'd rather manage a 1/2 fit Vards and sub him first 2 weeks than have him miss the first 4 games with a different injury.

Go Catters

 

[Partridge]

I agree but if as suggested he has a slight groin strain, the gains of match practice go out the window with a 3 week groin strain....

I guess I'd rather manage a 1/2 fit Vards and sub him first 2 weeks than have him miss the first 4 games with a different injury.

Go Catters

If he's 1/2 fit in Round 1 he doesn't play. Haven't they learned that lesson yet???

Of course, it's football. They definitely haven't.

 

[dazbroncos]

If he's 1/2 fit in Round 1 he doesn't play. Haven't they learned that lesson yet???

Of course, it's football. They definitely haven't.

Poor choice of my words.. I should have said an underdone Vards but a fit one... - short on match practice but fit -

Go Catters

 

[Partridge]

Poor choice of my words.. I should have said an underdone Vards but a fit one... - short on match practice but fit -

Go Catters

Fair enough, I know what you mean. If McIntosh isn't fit and West is (fingers crossed) I wouldn't mind betting he'll be the backup ruckman. It's not the worst idea, as at least he won't have to play as much as the others.

 

[footscore]

No he didn't.

vs Sydney - 9 possessions, 3 marks, 1 goal, 10 hitouts
vs Fremantle - 4 possessions, 2 marks, 1 goal, 7 hitouts

Promising against Sydney (mainly because it was his first game in a year), but unsighted against Fremantle. Forget how good people want him to be, he was solid in one game and that's it. It was fantastic that he was able to play senior footy at all last season, but let's not get carried away.

If any of our other ruckmen had 4 possessions and 7 hitouts in a final I'm pretty sure the majority around here wouldn't be so charitable either.

believe he did his knee in that final, not sure if it was the 2nd quarter or 3rd quarter but he couldn't get through the game properly so let's give him an excuse in that one.
Sydney he was excellent, not promising mate, 3 marks a goal and 10 hit-outs in his first game back for a year against the eventual premiers?

 

[meto]

I tend to think Partridge to be a little more grounded than most of us about Vardy, but seeing him play against the Swans and the bulk he'd put on brought a smile to our faces.
He is undoubtedly a potential weapon, one we would dearly love to have on the park.

 

[AM]

If he's 1/2 fit in Round 1 he doesn't play. Haven't they learned that lesson yet???

Of course, it's football. They definitely haven't.

Take a line through the management of both Varcoe and Vardy last year. The club was very conservative. Can't see that changing.

BTW. When did last play a player who was only 50% fit?

 

[David the Cat]

Take a line through the management of both Varcoe and Vardy last year. The club was very conservative. Can't see that changing.

BTW. When did last play a player who was only 50% fit?

Would we know? Players play below 100% all the time....niggles and strains are a fact of life.

Bartel last year?

 

[AM]

Would we know? Players play below 100% all the time....niggles and strains are a fact of life.

Bartel last year?

Of course players hit the field less than 100%. Stevie J was maybe 80%-85% in the 2011 GF. *Let me stop a second and reflect on that magnificent day * Even then it was clear he wasn't moving as freely as usual - not to mention the additional jab he got when he departed the scene at a break. But 50%, even blind Freddie would pick that one up David.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

glad to hear that his soreness he has been having isnt hip related, i knew he had soreness because i was informed about it, but i just assumed it was reffered to his hip not niggling groin issues

im very glad it is something else

im no medical expert... but considering how close the hip and groin are, practically joint when you think about it... could it be in terms the same problem? the hip and groin are basically joint muscles

 

[meto]

glad to hear that his soreness he has been having isnt hip related, i knew he had soreness because i was informed about it, but i just assumed it was reffered to his hip not niggling groin issues

im very glad it is something else

im no medical expert... but considering how close the hip and groin are, practically joint when you think about it... could it be in terms the same problem? the hip and groin are basically joint muscles

We hope!......it is possible they're interrelated,.....same local as you say, it's another wait and see I reckon.

 

[SleazySimon]

glad to hear that his soreness he has been having isnt hip related, i knew he had soreness because i was informed about it, but i just assumed it was reffered to his hip not niggling groin issues

im very glad it is something else

im no medical expert... but considering how close the hip and groin are, practically joint when you think about it... could it be in terms the same problem? the hip and groin are basically joint muscles

they need to keep him away from the ruck I recon. He
would break down straight away. He just seems so fragile.

 

[Jon Douglas]

It seems to me Cats fans are getting somewhat ahead of themselves re our new faces and VFL players. Yes we won a Premiership in the VFL last season and that means we had some good players in the VFL. Many look good in the VFL given thier lack of time at this level and a few even made it into the seniors and played ok.

Yes on limited viewings Vardy and others look good but they have a long way to go yet to be best 22 and the real asset they could be to our side.

I like any other Cat fan dream of players like Vardy coming in and making a big difference to our overall performance and results as a team this season. But we should recognise that this is unlikely to happen as few players who have less than 50 AFL games experience tend to dominate their position with any consistency.

I think it is far more realistic to expect HMac to be an excellent recruit who can make a difference this season as he has many seasons of experience behind him. Also I expect Duncan, Bundy and THunt to have enough AFL experience to start to become very good AFL players over this season. West should also improve as he is near the 50 AFL game mark as well.

Motlop and Guthrie are next in line re AFL games played and therefore the expectation can be higher (than say players of Vardy's experience) by Cat's fans.

Then really Caddie with 2 seasons under his belt - should show steady improvement over the season as well.

Expectations on Rivers should also be reasonably high as he has the experience to slot straight into a senior side.

In otherwords, as much as I would like to see Vardy, Murdoch, Kersten, Brown, Stringer, etc all star - I think we should look to the following players to make the biggest difference this season - Bundy, THunt, Duncan, HMac, Rivers, West, Caddie, Guthrie and Motlop. That is a massive 9 players that really should all add to their previous performances at the club or/and to the team structure and performances.

At present only two of these players is injured and West and HMac should be back relatively soon (by round 6). If we get a average 10 % + increase on these 9 players - we will be pretty tough to beat.

Then we can dream one, maybe two other players, who do not have great expectations on them this season (because of low mileage in the AFL), come good and push their way into the senior side. Vardy is a prime candidate, as is the Hyphen - but who knows ? If we do get someone to really stand out in the VFL and then pushes into the seniors - like the Hyphen - for me that is an added bonus.

Menzel's return and showing form would be the icing on the cake for me.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

It seems to me Cats fans are getting somewhat ahead of themselves re our new faces and VFL players. Yes we won a Premiership in the VFL last season and that means we had some good players in the VFL. Many look good in the VFL given thier lack of time at this level and a few even made it into the seniors and played ok.

Good post. I would argue that Vardy hasn't got that far to go to be best 22. He's either already there (as half our supporters seem to think), or right on the cusp (as the others - including me - think), depending on whether you think he's ready to overtake West (I don't and I think West will blossom by sharing the load with a legit ruckman). He is the classic example of a ruckman who will undoubtedly benefit from the new rules. The other thing about Vardy coming in and making a big difference is, to me, a relative concept. I guess an example I would give (considering our ruck stocks right now) was whenever Ottens was unavailable against Fremantle, or when West missed the West Coast game last year. Ottens/West wouldn't have beaten their opponents anyway, but they would have done a hell of a lot better than the players who took the field. I agree that a player like West coming out of the full lineup and Vardy coming in probably wouldn't cause a significant improvement, but right now a combination of a fit Vardy and one of our psuedo-ruckmen changes our lineup in that area from 'pathetic' to 'respectable'. Which, I'd argue is a big difference.

I think there's probably four categories that our younger/inexperienced players fit into. Realistically, to contend this year, we want a healthy percentage of players from each group to step to the next level, with the step up from category A being to a borderline star of the competition.

Category A (established best 22 players): Players who will be in the lineup every week, barring injury or an extended form slump. Already well-known around the league as quality young players:
Mitch Duncan, Allen Christensen, Daniel Menzel, Taylor Hunt, Josh Caddy

Category B (borderline best 22 players): Players who have shown enough to have a claim as best 22 players. The amount of players from this group who force their way into our best lineup will determine whether we remain one of the oldest teams in the league, or one of the younger teams:
Steven Motlop, Cameron Guthrie, George Horlin-Smith, Nathan Vardy, Billie Smedts, Jordan Murdoch, Jesse Stringer

Category C (depth players): Players who have AFL experience and/or will feature this year (injuries permitting), but due to established players being ahead of them, would have to rely on significant improvement, or an injury, to become a regular player:
Mitch Brown, Josh Walker, Jackson Sheringham, Jackson Thurlow, Shane Kersten

Category D (fringe/unknown players): Players who are being given plenty of time to develop and may be a year off being ready for the AFL, rookie list players without senior experience, or AFL-experienced players who appear (for various reasons) to be a fair way off getting another senior game at this stage:
Joel Hamling, Lincon McCarthy, Jed Bews, Jordan Schroder, Josh Cowan, Ryan Bathie, Mark Blicavs, Brad Hartman, George Burbury, Cam Eardley

I like to think of myself as a realist. I know that a 2013 premiership would be even more unlikely than 2011 seemed at this stage. But along with the potential improvement from players like Podsiadly, Corey, Bartel and Stokes (all except Bartel probably need to improve on 2012 to maintain their spot), I can see 2-3 category A players stepping up to being in the top 100 or so players in the league, 3-4 category Bs becoming As, 2-3 Cs becoming Bs and up to 5 Ds becoming Cs (or even Bs). And it's difficult to see many of them dropping a level. We need to improve significantly to catch up to sides like Sydney, West Coast, Hawthorn and Collingwood. Luckily we've got significant improvement in us.

 

[hbk_aus]

Saw Vardy along with Selwood, Stokes and Burbury (on crutches still) along the waterfront last night. Vardy seemed to be moving without any discomfort so must be quite minor whatever it is.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Saw Vardy along with Selwood, Stokes and Burbury (on crutches still) along the waterfront last night. Vardy seemed to be moving without any discomfort so must be quite minor whatever it is.

With respect, it doesn't really mean much if you were just crossing paths with the group at the time. Menzel would probably look fine in that situation too and we'd certainly be expecting to see Vardy on the park before Menzel.