Playfair back, Ottens maybe

[rickster]

Bomber quoted on Bay FM (Geelong). Playfair and Rooke to return, Ottens if he pulls up OK from training.

 

[LongBomb]

Good news.
We desperately need a better forward target than Lonergan & Gardiner.

 

[thehoff]

We are a real shot at taking the cup home if those boys return.

I know it is not overly important, but i really dont want to lose our 10th strait Grand Final appearance and would love to see my beloved cats home some form of silverware.

My old man has been a member of the club for 40 years and is yet to see a Geelong Premiership.

 

[GeeCat]

H + Otto = two potentially underdone big men in one squad. Anyone else think that's a tad unhealthy for a squad that:

i) Wants to win (is it worth carrying two guys who, for all they'd give to the team and its structure, are more than likely going to be out on the ground for less than two-thirds of the match?)

ii) Stresses injury management. From what I can gather, both H and Otto saw limited ground time in the VFL. If this is the precedent for succeeding player comebacks, then this whole matter of a gradual easing into the team is looking pretty ridiculous.

As much as winning would lovely, methinks Bomber's thinking rather wishfully in putting both Henry and Otto out on the field come Saturday night. If he stays true to his pre-season motto's of 'Season preparations over NAB' and 'Underdone players = Not considered for selection', then this will all be nothing more than the typical GF build-up hype (at least, I hope so).

 

[nananana catman]

H + Otto = two potentially underdone big men in one squad. Anyone else think that's a tad unhealthy for a squad that:

Yes. Neither got near it on Saturday for the 20 minutes they were out there and only bad can come from it.

Lets play to win, but let's do it with a fit squad that can all play 100 minutes
and have a fair dinkum crack.

 

[Turbocat]

I think that green or not , the NAB bench allows both to play. A half a game from each in the forwardline would give us at least as much we have been getting. The question is , If Blake id getting pounded , will they use Ottens in the ruck?

 

[GeeCat]

I think that green or not , the NAB bench allows both to play. A half a game from each in the forwardline would give us at least as much we have been getting. The question is , If Blake id getting pounded , will they use Ottens in the ruck?

Disagree.

Adelaide play a physically demanding game-style; one which we'll need every available player we can muster from the bench to insert into our own rotation and counter with. Carrying two underdone guys over two fit ones who can contribute 100%, regardless of the talent difference, is not the way to go.

I'd like to win this game as much as the next guy, but the season proper, in particular September, should always be the focus. These guys need match fitness, I understand that, but is throwing them in the deep end after 20 mins of VFL football the best way to do it? All for what? A contest? One which we may not even get considering both the ambiguity surrounding either player's ability to step straight into senior football and the quality of direct opposition they'd be facing? Is that a risk worth taking some 3 weeks into the pre-season?

I suppose it's all an issue of how much the club is willing to go to win this game. I hope they can keep perspective.

 

[GeeCat]

I might add, I think this game will be won in the midfield.

Regardless of whether or not H or Ottens plays, I'd expect that our flux of goals will, likely, have to come from our batch of midfielders and small forwards (much like last week).

 

[Turbocat]

Disagree.

Adelaide play a physically demanding game-style; one which we'll need every available player we can muster from the bench to insert into our own rotation and counter with. Carrying two underdone guys over two fit ones who can contribute 100%, regardless of the talent difference, is not the way to go.

I'd like to win this game as much as the next guy, but the season proper, in particular September, should always be the focus. These guys need match fitness, I understand that, but is throwing them in the deep end after 20 mins of VFL football the best way to do it? All for what? A contest? One which we may not even get considering both the ambiguity surrounding either player's ability to step straight into senior football and the quality of direct opposition they'd be facing? Is that a risk worth taking some 3 weeks into the pre-season?

I suppose it's all an issue of how much the club is willing to go to win this game. I hope they can keep perspective.

I suppose the question is, do we really want to go into the first game against Brisbane without H, Ottens and King with minimal 'senior time'. Thompson had concerns today about them getting up to the speed of the game again.

Agree , that Crows demand a lot from the mids. Its shame that Wojo isn't ready, id like to rip them with as much speed as we have got. Had the distict feeling that they were running ahead of the ball the other day, not cheating but backing your team mate to win it.

 

[worthogs]

Play both

Its the Nab Cup for christ sake. People dong give the cats a chance over there anyway. If we want them up in 2 weeks time give them some ground time against side going in for it rather than in another 1/2 paced practicew match. We will have a few under done for round 1 anyway so why not give them some time now if they are not injured. It still rings true to bombers Policy of not risking them too early. If they bring King, Dog Ricco in for it I would say they are rushing them back as they have not had a touch since Sept, but for the Big O and H well they have had some ground time and will only get better.

 

[Copernicus]

I don't see much wrong with rotating them off the pine and giving them a chance to gain some match conditioning. Who knows, a tall target up forward who has a little experience, like Otto, could well be the difference. If he's 100% then play him, as we'll need as many match-fit players as we can get come Round 1.

 

[catempire]

The focus MUST be on round 1 and having these blokes in the best possible condition for that match. So the match committee will need to weigh up the risk (if any) of playing them too early and risk them missing round 1 with the benefit of gaining some match fitness in preparation for round 1. Any benefit or detriment of having them on the park for a NAB cup grand final should not be taken into account.

 

[phk_71]

The focus MUST be on round 1 and having these blokes in the best possible condition for that match. So the match committee will need to weigh up the risk (if any) of playing them too early and risk them missing round 1 with the benefit of gaining some match fitness in preparation for round 1. Any benefit or detriment of having them on the park for a NAB cup grand final should not be taken into account.

Exactly right catempire - and I trust the Match Committee will make the right call in that regard. I don't get the impression that anyone is getting too carried away with the idea of winning the NAB Cup... I'm just hoping we can make the most of those 3 home games to start the year...

 

[GeeCat]

Forget the fact that this is a Grand Final. Are they at the stage where, in their (hopefully) conservatively planned road to recovery, they can be thrown back into senior football? Is a few run-of-the-mill training sessions and 20 mins of VFL football all that was needed in the legs? If it were any other week, has the the best approach been taken?

If they're at a stage where VFL level time is still required, for whatever length, then play them there.