Preview RD 21 Geelong V GWS - GMHBA, Fri 6 August @ 7:50pm

[standupand]

Rare that I disagree with one of your posts standup, however imo player management is critical at this time of year and I trust our fitness staff to interpret the relevant data as to whom should be rested and tapering in the lead-up to finals.

Happy to take another look at both Clark and Holmes in action, too.

Will be happy of course to have my worries proven to be more psychosis than reality. Just getting edgy with the pointy end of the season approaching quickly.

 

[allrighty]

Anyone wondering why Narkle was dropped need only watch the last qtr against North, 18.45 left in the qtr. Bosenavulagi gets it on our HFF, takes off towards the centre of the ground. Narkle is 10m away and jogs in his direction. When he realises that Bosenavulagi is in the clear he accelerates a little but all too late. Parfitt runs hard from further away and tackles him. That one play shows you why Parfitt gets a game every week and Narkle keeps getting dropped.

Saw it

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Early in the year you’ve got to bank wins with your best team because if you get too far behind you can’t manage games and workloads in the back half. We have that luxury now. I expect this is the last week we will be managing players. Next week will be some big ins.

The first in line will be 196cm so quite the size

 

[Cursed Cat]

It is quite humourous that blokes like Narkle, Constable and Clark crack the sads when they're not selected.

Let's be real here, the club has gone all in for a premiership THIS YEAR so that's the focus right now, not the future. The likelihood of them playing is slim with that being the case.

But even then the MC has shown that's it willing to play youth, you just have to do what you're instructed to do, work on your deficiencies etc. They don't do that!!

They've all been told to work on their tanks and defensive running and none of them have. Clark has been told to get in the gym and just by looking at him, it doesn't look like he has.

Maybe boys, before you pack your bags and go to some bottom feeder club and take the easy way out, actually work on your deficiencies here? You could be a part of something really special.

I haven't gotten any type of entitled vibe from the 3 players you've mentioned in the quoted post; they are in and out of the side and probably understandably disappointed that they're not holding down a spot in the best 22.
I haven't heard or read any murmurings of dissent or discontent though, and all three give it their best when recalled to the senior side.

Constable by all reports has been in cracking form in the VFL so it's not like he' s just going through the motions.

You assert that Clark has been ''told to get in the gym'' but we punters don't know what weight the club and he think is his current optimal playing weight; you can also add in the fact that Clark has had shoulder issues and perhaps this has impacted his development in terms of building upper body strength as a consequence.

All three are well within their rights to test the market at the end of the year; they're footballers and they want to play at the highest level; if there are seemingly bigger opportunities elsewhere then I can understand that it might be too good to refuse.

They're on our list this year though, and all three are in the September frame to varying degrees.
They may have their respective deficiencies but there's still well over a month of football left to play, and we need all hands on deck; Narkle in particular may well still be very much required at the pointy end this year.

 

[darren forssman]

Do people see Narkle's lack of defensive running live at the ground or on TV? I watch 100% of the games on TV and haven't ever really noticed it, but enough people have mentioned it for me to concede it's most likely a thing I've just missed.

Any examples?

On tv...2019 prelim, 3rd qtr.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Will be happy of course to have my worries proven to be more psychosis than reality. Just getting edgy with the pointy end of the season approaching quickly.

haha yep we Geelong supporters are a neurotic bunch no doubt; I think even younger supporters than those of my generation who endured the GF losses of 1989/'92/'94/'95 have plenty of reason to fret come when September looms.

 

[Gunf]

Whitfield would be too smart and quick for non tagger like Holmes, no matter how fast he can run.

He would also blow him up by half time which would make us a man down

 

[Drunkcat]

Feeling nervous about the changes this week. I mean I've been keen to see Holmes given more of an opportunity in the seniors for a while, so happy to see him come in. But something about the timing of the changes doesn't quite feel right. Surely, with only 3 weeks left before finals, we would want to see a settled best 22 run out there and play themselves into some form. Resting and managing players this time of year for me is not a good sign for finals. Couldn't these fringe players like Zuth and Clark and Krueger have been given their opportunities earlier in the season? Feels like they're not really being given a genuine chance to cement a spot in the side right now, but are just there temporarily to allow others to "freshen up". I want to see real competition for spots, not player management coming into finals.

No this is the perfect time to rest players, then last 2 games we put out our best side to tune up before finals

 

[Cursed Cat]

No this is the perfect time to rest players, then last 2 games we put out our best side to tune up before finals

Tend to agree; the bigger picture though imo is that the club is in a pretty good position if they even have the option of doing this.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

No I'm not.

He didnt do much in the big GF against the Tigers

Posters love overrating players

 

[Cursed Cat]

hé is a poor mans steve Johnson.

You're a massive Steve Johnson fanboy Seeds so coming from you that's pretty high praise, unintended or not - Toby Greene is in the conversation.

I think he's a very good player and one of the few matchwinners in the comp; a bit like Jordan De Goey, a handful of times each year he will fire up and win his team a game of footy. Can't ask for much more from a small forward imo.

Never saw Steve Johnson launch an after the siren torp for a sausage roll from 55, btw - if you can't appreciate something like the below then you and I ... well, we'd still have Esava ..

 

[Vdubs]

He didnt do much in the big GF against the Tigers

Posters love overrating players

Either did Danger.
Other teams are entitled to have super players- GWS have Greene and Whitfield. Nothing to do with overrating. He is a brilliant player. Each team has 1-2.

 

[Turbocat]

Rare that I disagree with one of your posts standup, however imo player management is critical at this time of year and I trust our fitness staff to interpret the relevant data as to whom should be rested and tapering in the lead-up to finals.

Happy to take another look at both Clark and Holmes in action, too.

Holmes should just about be ready to start feeling a part of the side. Clark would be ready to use glass as a bubblegum substitute. Kruger will probably be better in week 2

Fitness is probably going to be key to finals, and we will be having having quite a few coming back in the next 3 weeks and I think the maturity of the returning players should be able to handle the in's

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Either did Danger.
Other teams are entitled to have super players- GWS have Greene and Whitfield. Nothing to do with overrating. He is a brilliant player. Each team has 1-2.

How would you rate him to Peter Daicos ( who basically played in the same position hff ) - i wouldnt put him in the same street as Daics

Some of Daics play - was in the best ever category - and often at our expense

81 PF he basically won the game for Coll - that goal he kicked against Ian Nankervis in the last qtr is one of the great goals of all time

And in a game at Victoria Park - where Daicos kicked 7 or 8 goals on Stephen Hocking - that ended Hockings career that day - i dont think he played another senior game for Geel - after Daics tore him to bits

If you are going to call someone a brilliant super player then you reserve it for great players like Daicos - not players like Greene

 

[Play it Sam]

Anyone wondering why Narkle was dropped need only watch the last qtr against North, 18.45 left in the qtr. Bosenavulagi gets it on our HFF, takes off towards the centre of the ground. Narkle is 10m away and jogs in his direction. When he realises that Bosenavulagi is in the clear he accelerates a little but all too late. Parfitt runs hard from further away and tackles him. That one play shows you why Parfitt gets a game every week and Narkle keeps getting dropped.

You got it. I remember saying come on Sparkle fire up! It might look lazy to us but there must be some mindset to it.
He plays the outside a lot, too much for our liking, however when it works and he gets fed or a centre touch he can look smooth and get results.
Maybe he's told that has to be his modus operandi? And when you're hanging out all the time it's easy to stay there.

Who knows, but running out of excuses, and would like to be more confident he will step up if needed due to........
(you know that not- to- be- named thing in finals that calls for a medical sub)

 

[Cursed Cat]

Holmes should just about be ready to start feeling a part of the side. Clark would be ready to use glass as a bubblegum substitute. Kruger will probably be better in week 2

Fitness is probably going to be key to finals, and we will be having having quite a few coming back in the next 3 weeks and I think the maturity of the returning players should be able to handle the in's

Fitness yes - but also, who knows where September will be staged. At this stage.

Krueger's debut last week looks more and more prudent. He didn't put a foot wrong.

If Clark or Holmes crack the 22.5 come September I will be mildly surprised but completely supportive. They're raw but generally good fun to watch.

 

[Cursed Cat]

How would you rate him to Peter Daicos ( who basically played in the same position hff ) - i wouldnt put him in the same street as Daics

Some of Daics play - was in the best ever category - and often at our expense

81 PF he basically won the game for Coll - that goal he kicked against Ian Nankervis in the last qtr is one of the great goals of all time

And in a game at Victoria Park - where Daicos kicked 7 or 8 goals on Stephen Hocking - that ended Hockings career that day - i dont think he played another senior game for Geel - after Daics tore him to bits

If you are going to call someone a brilliant super player then you reserve it for great players like Daicos - not players like Greene

That is a fair call.
Peter Daicos sets the bar very high and rightly so. He was absolutely sublime.
I never really saw him when he played solely as a centreman, prior to injuring his knee for the first time.
He definitely played midfield minutes though whilst I was lucky enough to see him play, and as you say, he regularly toyed with our smaller defenders.
His creativity was only bettered by Ablett sr during their era; Daicos had as much pure skill as anyone, ever.

 

[Play it Sam]

haha yep we Geelong supporters are a neurotic bunch no doubt; I think even younger supporters than those of my generation who endured the GF losses of 1989/'92/'94/'95 have plenty of reason to fret come when September looms.

Those wild cowboy daze. Yeatsy's GF payback for broken testicles. 1989 won't come again, you just had to be there.

An Oral History of the Geelong v Hawthorn Rivalry Part Two - 1989 - The Mongrel Punt

We whet your appetite with Part One, but now The Mongrel's Oral History of Hawthorn v Geelong moves onto the main course - 1989

themongrelpunt.com

 

[Cursed Cat]

Those wild cowboy daze. Yeatsy's GF payback for broken testicles. 1989 won't come again, you just had to be there.

An Oral History of the Geelong v Hawthorn Rivalry Part Two - 1989 - The Mongrel Punt

We whet your appetite with Part One, but now The Mongrel's Oral History of Hawthorn v Geelong moves onto the main course - 1989

themongrelpunt.com

only GF I ever attended.
Girl from my small country town at the time was the bat girl streaker that day.
Don't even get me started on Ablett's 2nd quarter ruck-shark-snap, which remains to this day one of the top 3-4 sporting feats I have ever seen given context, execution and creativity as arbritrary parameters.
That goal was peak Cursed Cat nostalgia, even as it happened it was canonised in my mind.

 

[Nankervis brothers]

How would you rate him to Peter Daicos ( who basically played in the same position hff ) - i wouldnt put him in the same street as Daics

Some of Daics play - was in the best ever category - and often at our expense

81 PF he basically won the game for Coll - that goal he kicked against Ian Nankervis in the last qtr is one of the great goals of all time

And in a game at Victoria Park - where Daicos kicked 7 or 8 goals on Stephen Hocking - that ended Hockings career that day - i dont think he played another senior game for Geel - after Daics tore him to bits

If you are going to call someone a brilliant super player then you reserve it for great players like Daicos - not players like Greene

Daicos kicked 8 goals, but it didn't end Hocking's career. In fact, Hocking went on to play the rest of 93 and all of 94. Daicos, on the other hand, only played a few more games.

The Vengeful Hocking works in mysterious ways.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Those wild cowboy daze. Yeatsy's GF payback for broken testicles. 1989 won't come again, you just had to be there.

An Oral History of the Geelong v Hawthorn Rivalry Part Two - 1989 - The Mongrel Punt

We whet your appetite with Part One, but now The Mongrel's Oral History of Hawthorn v Geelong moves onto the main course - 1989

themongrelpunt.com

btw that account of Hocking, obviously concussed, from Paul Couch is pretty brutal.

 

[Nankervis brothers]

only GF I ever attended.
Girl from my small country town at the time was the bat girl streaker that day.
Don't even get me started on Ablett's 2nd quarter ruck-shark-snap, which remains to this day one of the top 3-4 sporting feats I have ever seen given context, execution and creativity as arbritrary parameters.
That goal was peak Cursed Cat nostalgia, even as it happened it was canonised in my mind.

It was the greatest individual performance in a VFL game of all time. Sublime. He was so superb that day that losing the game seemed almost inconsequential.

 

[Play it Sam]

btw that account of Hocking, obviously concussed, from Paul Couch is pretty brutal.

IKR, get their quotes! was there but didn't know the half of it- that's why I put it up
(slightly off topic I guess- unless we compare current team and protecting Selwood's head)

 

[Vdubs]

How would you rate him to Peter Daicos ( who basically played in the same position hff ) - i wouldnt put him in the same street as Daics

Some of Daics play - was in the best ever category - and often at our expense

81 PF he basically won the game for Coll - that goal he kicked against Ian Nankervis in the last qtr is one of the great goals of all time

And in a game at Victoria Park - where Daicos kicked 7 or 8 goals on Stephen Hocking - that ended Hockings career that day - i dont think he played another senior game for Geel - after Daics tore him to bits

If you are going to call someone a brilliant super player then you reserve it for great players like Daicos - not players like Greene

Gary Ablett senior and Daicos, and Modra, were brilliant, exciting, super skilled players.
They were at a different level to most players that ever played.
James Hird, Akermanis, Voss, were also at another level.
But talking about right now, 2021, the best players in our comp would have to include Toby Greene.
The way I look at it is, if you could choose one small forward right now to join JC in our forward line, who would it be?
What I love about Greene is his deceptive skill at high marking. He is quick and great on the ground, but his marking sets him apart.
He is not in the Martin category, but who ever will be? 3 x NS medals etc etc. Maybe the Bont will get there.

 

[Play it Sam]

Gary Ablett senior and Daicos, and Modra, were brilliant, exciting, super skilled players.
They were at a different level to most players that ever played.
James Hird, Akermanis, Voss, were also at another level.
But talking about right now, 2021, the best players in our comp would have to include Toby Greene.
The way I look at it is, if you could choose one small forward right now to join JC in our forward line, who would it be?
What I love about Greene is his deceptive skill at high marking. He is quick and great on the ground, but his marking sets him apart.

Okay we get it, despite his inconsistencies you love Greene.
He is good, and one of the first we'll put work into.
Problem is, has a punchable head and a nasty record
so many people won't admit it.