Review Preseason hit out against Dons and Review

[Hello Kitty]

Hi from NSW Bush. Happy 2024 Season

Miers’ goal in Q4, watching recording, how far from goal was it? Astounding kick + goal

 

[4quarter_cat]

I have high hopes for Conway from the little I have seen.. but it is obviously very little which puts an a steric next to it. Bruhn really disappointed me in the practice match. He did very little the first half when Merritt and parish were tearing us apart in the middle. I was looking to him to See if he would take the game up to them yet he didn’t.

I would agree he is tracking to be a solid B grader at the moment, much similar to a Mitch Duncan career. Never quite an AA level, but a good solid reliable player.

Comparing him to one of the most underrated players in the competition over the last 10 years. I'll be wrapped off he's ends up anywhere near as good as Duncan.

 

[numbwombat]

This MC picked Jack Henry every game from his 2nd season. Same with Miers.

They picked Mullin and O'Connor after a handful of VFL games. They picked Dempsey a few games after stepping off a basketball court.

They picked Holmes for finals in his first year.

They twice rushed Sam Simpson back from injury for finals series.

They've dropped Parfitt, Menegola, Dahlhaus, Bews and O'Connor in the past 2 seasons

None of this suggests a match committee that is conservative.

?? Obviously they can't pick the same best 22 every game, week on week, year on year. Many of those were changes forced by retirement or injury? Dahlhaus and Parfitt were legitimately dropped.


Dempsey and Mullin occasional games usually when next up because of injury.

Bews and Menegola were out of the team because of injury, not dropped initially - Menegola lost his spot when he missed over half the 2022 season and couldn't break back in.

Henry and Miers replaced retirees (the reason they went from zero games in one season to virtually every game the next).


It wasn't a criticism - it's good list management - but the MC have (rightly) been reluctant to get youth in the team by dropping established senior players to the VFL, preferring to manage / rotate players, or wait for senior players to retire. Certainly reluctant to play premiership players in the VFL round 1, making it clear that their year and career is over barring spots opening up via injury.

More likely, if we have good luck with injuries, the MC get games into Clark, Dempsey and Mannagh by managing/resting and rotating senior players and work out the best 22 over the course of the season, not based on a couple of preseason games.

 

[Hello Kitty]

Way too much cuteness
The pure joy in this sweet girl

 

[moond0g]

Bowes started his career in the midfield with the very good Suns group and played well there before being injured and on return was forced by Dew to play off half back the whole reason for him being at Geelong and bringing pick 7 (clark) to the Cats was Chris Scotts promise of a midfield spot, he already knew like us that had seen plenty of this young bloke he was AFL capable as an on baller.

Well I hope he’s there round one. But the argument he played as a midfielder 6 years ago, therefore wouldn’t benefit from the game time there leading into the season doesn’t really hold much weight to me. Especially when he didn’t play there at all last year.

 

[goyoucatters]

Coaches will be showing that to everyone.

Surely that tips the scales his way at the selection table when the last few places are up for grabs. You would be desperately unlucky to miss the 23 for Round 1 when you've been bringing effort like that.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Particularly Clark, as he's in a long list of Mannagh, Dempsey, Neale, & Mullin and so on who appear to be fighting for that 21st or 22nd spot.

He deserved a shot to get a full game in his natural position as a bit of a dress rehearsal.

Many of us would prefer that we just left MOC out and made the whole thing simple, but sometimes we can't have nice things.

MOC looks to be flatlining. Has his moments, but not enough. Needs to show something more this season or he will be overtaken.

 

[Mattttty]

I worry about anyone who purports to understand ruck infringements.

Yeah, I definitely don't know what's going on in there. You'd think a professional ruckman towards the end of his career might have a clue. Seems not.

 

[Mr Meow]

Yeah, I definitely don't know what's going on in there. You'd think a professional ruckman towards the end of his career might have a clue. Seems not.

They call it ruck lotto for a reason.

Ruckman, team mates and spectators have been utterly clueless on the merit of ruck free kicks for as long as the game has been played.

 

[And_ROOS]

Umpires should genuinely just let ruck contests go unless there is a clear high contact. Let them wrestle. Let them grapple. But arm contact above shoulders is a free kick.

Half the time they are just guessing with the free kicks and it shows.

 

[4quarter_cat]

MOC looks to be flatlining. Has his moments, but not enough. Needs to show something more this season or he will be overtaken.

If memory serves. He only made it off the sub position for the gf because of holmes injury. He was already dangerously close to being overtaken.

 

[you pick one]

Well I hope he’s there round one. But the argument he played as a midfielder 6 years ago, therefore wouldn’t benefit from the game time there leading into the season doesn’t really hold much weight to me. Especially when he didn’t play there at all last year.

That could use a little more research Bowes breakout year with the Suns on ball was 2021 that's not 6 years ago injured for the most part of 2022 came back and played in the back half towards the latter end of the year before being traded to the Cats where he was used down back and on the pill as required 2023 season.

 

[standupand]

Umpires should genuinely just let ruck contests go unless there is a clear high contact. Let them wrestle. Let them grapple. But arm contact above shoulders is a free kick.

Half the time they are just guessing with the free kicks and it shows.

It should just be adjudicated the same as a marking contest. You can jostle but not push or grapple, no chopping the arms, no high contact. The difference is that much of the time in the ruck both players are infringing on each other, hence the lottery. I think the umpires do a decent job in the circumstances.

 

[you pick one]

It should just be adjudicated the same as a marking contest. You can jostle but not push or grapple, no chopping the arms, no high contact. The difference is that much of the time in the ruck both players are infringing on each other, hence the lottery. I think the umpires do a decent job in the circumstances.

Agreed we don't want to sanitize the ruck contest to much it needs to remain a battle of strength and stamina.Great part of our game

 

[catempire]

My pet hate with ruck contests is the stronger player being penalised for being stronger. They ARE grappling with each other. It's not an infringement just because one of them is physically better at it.

 

[catempire]

Back to thinking about what this game means for our season...

I'm starting to wonder whether we see a more explicit plan to concede the midfield this year and focus more on transition from the back half. The talk about the focus on running power and the move of Holmes to half back clearly square with that. Winning a flag with a crap midfield can be done - Hawthorn and Richmond showed that recently - but it requires pretty much champions on every other line and an excellent/disciplined gameplay. It'll be interesting to see if we have the latter (we have something close to the former, particularly forward of centre).

 

[Pure_Ownage]

MOC looks to be flatlining. Has his moments, but not enough. Needs to show something more this season or he will be overtaken.

Hes a decent squad player because hes very hardworking and versatile (you need that in depth) but id be picking clark dempsey and mannagh ahead of him.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Back to thinking about what this game means for our season...

I'm starting to wonder whether we see a more explicit plan to concede the midfield this year and focus more on transition from the back half. The talk about the focus on running power and the move of Holmes to half back clearly square with that. Winning a flag with a crap midfield can be done - Hawthorn and Richmond showed that recently - but it requires pretty much champions on every other line and an excellent/disciplined gameplay. It'll be interesting to see if we have the latter (we have something close to the former, particularly forward of centre).

I dont think we will just willingly concede the midfield (that approach isnt in our dna) but i do think the coaches would know at times top 4 midfields will beat ours (its our weakness). So you would hope they have another plan to get enough quality ball to our fwd line (which is top 4 quality) rather than from centre bounce. As you say the way for this might be slingshot from half back which would explain why they are trying holmes there.

 

[thejester]

Back to thinking about what this game means for our season...

I'm starting to wonder whether we see a more explicit plan to concede the midfield this year and focus more on transition from the back half. The talk about the focus on running power and the move of Holmes to half back clearly square with that. Winning a flag with a crap midfield can be done - Hawthorn and Richmond showed that recently - but it requires pretty much champions on every other line and an excellent/disciplined gameplay. It'll be interesting to see if we have the latter (we have something close to the former, particularly forward of centre).

I wonder if he’ll swing from onball to half back not just within games but, likely Stanley, based on the position of the ball. Starts in the centre, moves behind the ball when it’s inside attacking 50 etc.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

Thing I noticed from tuning into the broadcast was it sounded like a half empty stadium not just a country ground sound.

Did you expect 40k for a practice game?

 

[Stokey]

Did you expect 40k for a practice game?

No. That wasn't my point. Just saying the sound had that echoey sound of big empty stadiums. It didn't sound like the old KP. I'm excited to hear it full.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

No. That wasn't my point. Just saying the sound had that echoey sound of big empty stadiums. It didn't sound like the old KP. I'm excited to hear it full.

Yeah sorry, I misinterpreted what you said.

 

[you pick one]

With the 666 rule you are going to have to boost the back half for center bounces and win a lot of one on one contests to be successful with basing a game plan on conceding center clearances.

 

[Vdubs]

Back to thinking about what this game means for our season...

I'm starting to wonder whether we see a more explicit plan to concede the midfield this year and focus more on transition from the back half. The talk about the focus on running power and the move of Holmes to half back clearly square with that. Winning a flag with a crap midfield can be done - Hawthorn and Richmond showed that recently - but it requires pretty much champions on every other line and an excellent/disciplined gameplay. It'll be interesting to see if we have the latter (we have something close to the former, particularly forward of centre).

Tigers MF in its flag era has included- Martin, Cotchin, Prestia, Edwards, McIntosh, Ellis- hardly crap
Hawks MF in its 3-peat has included- Mitchell, Hodge, Smith, Lewis, Sewell, Burgoyne, Hill, Shiels- even less crap, if not brilliant.

 

[Grimoz]

Our midfield looks really thin, Bruhn just doesnt look like progressing, hopefully we can get a full year into Clarke.