Preview Round 2 - Geelong v North, 1:10pm Sunday 2 April @ Etihad

[Pivo]

Not sure whether this question was directed to me?

I think Narkle is well down the list of debutantes and would only come in if our injury status was appalling. I reckon he's more likely to have a year in the VFL building up his tank.

Parfitt, Stewart (both done), Gardner, Z.Guthrie and possibly Parsons are the only ones I can possibly seeing debuting. Gardner being the one I'm particularly interested in watching.

I'd add Cunico to your list (injuries allowing).

 

[Duskfire]

Dropping Taylor is crazy. Dockers paid a lot of attention to him because he is worthy of respect; he also brought the ball to ground a lot. Yeah he had a not so good game but him being there means Hawkins doesn't get double teamed.

We comfortably beat a team we tend to struggle against. Making too many changes at this point in time would be a bit weird. If Guthrie isn't right then Menegola comes in. Done

 

[Matthew Jelley]

Dropping Taylor is crazy. Dockers paid a lot of attention to him because he is worthy of respect; he also brought the ball to ground a lot. Yeah he had a not so good game but him being there means Hawkins doesn't get double teamed.

We comfortably beat a team we tend to struggle against. Making too many changes at this point in time would be a bit weird. If Guthrie isn't right then Menegola comes in. Done

Exactly! Plenty of times Taylor brought a pack with him and Geelong roved the crumb. Hawkins also had a lot more space and had a great game

 

[The rabbi]

Go fetch your glasses baldy, you're late to the party on that news.

Yes, but you did not make a smart arse joke about it, did you my little rotund young friend?

 

[wcadams88]

You expect Narkle to be selected this year? Similar to Gregson?

Narkle will be an absolute star

 

[you pick one]

I can't see Geelong dropping the Taylor experiment based on that game, his marking wasn't at its usual high standard but he still had a positive influence.
One change for this week Bews for Cocky,unless CS was fair dinkum about Smith only missing last week because of injury,then we are in for huge melts if his name is on the team sheet Thursday evening.

 

[you pick one]

Yes, but you did not make a smart arse joke about it, did you my little rotund young friend?

18C

 

[year of the cat]

I'd add Cunico to your list (injuries allowing).

Ah, the forgotten Cunico who lurks in the shadows. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Wouldn't be 100% surprised. They need to play a like for like - and have shown they're prepared to play debutants. Narkle will run and carry and has great finishing. And knows where the goals are.

I'm also a big Narkle fan but from what I read he was average at best in the weekends VFL.
Suspect Lang and Menegola would be ahead of him at this stage

 

[Frank Bunn]

Dropping Taylor is crazy. Dockers paid a lot of attention to him because he is worthy of respect; he also brought the ball to ground a lot. Yeah he had a not so good game but him being there means Hawkins doesn't get double teamed.

We comfortably beat a team we tend to struggle against. Making too many changes at this point in time would be a bit weird. If Guthrie isn't right then Menegola comes in. Done

They practised with Harry up forward in the JLT and it didn't work and now the same in round 1. He would be making every effort to perform well in that role but maybe it just doesn't suit him. But no way we should drop him. Put him back in defence this week and try something else in the forwards. It was worth a try, move on.

Whodathunk after we rookied Pods that we would still be missing him several seasons after his last game for us.

 

[Catsmaninamerica]

I'm also a big Narkle fan but from what I read he was average at best in the weekends VFL.
Suspect Lang and Menegola would be ahead of him at this stage

I'll give you a kernel here, and I'm very rarely wrong with these grandiose statements.

Lang is a vfl footballer. I've hoped and believed, but honestly, some blokes just don't have it, and lang lacks that "something" that you need to be a successful AFL player. Menegola may come in, although he seems to be very much out of favour.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

No to Smith. He needs to earn his spot and didn't do that during the JLT.

None of the last three premiers - Hawthorn, Sydney, Western Bulldogs - have placed too much of an emphasis on rucks. The Dogs won a flag with Jordan Roughead (a KPP) as their starting ruck.

For all the dominance of Naitanui, Goldstein and Sandilands, none of them have led their teams to premierships.

We looked far more balanced with Stanley and Blicavs on Sunday, and our midfield was excellent in constantly sharking Sandilands' taps.

I'm sure Smith will play plenty of AFL this year, and I do like him, but he needs to earn it.

Despite a lot of angst about selection we picked an excellent side for the Shockers and delivered
It's only Round 1 but structurally our makeup made us look a well balanced unit. Specifically :
> Two rucks allowed another mid in the rotation instead of Smith/Stanley/Blics - we looked quicker with ball movement and tackled ferociously
> Taylor down forward gave us a quality 2nd tall and help for Tommy , forward pressure was very good compared to 2016
> Blics made life hard for Fyfe which was significant
> With Taylor forward our defence looked better balanced with 2 talls , I liked the 3 mid sizers in Tuohy/Stewart and Ruggles , Mackie was fantastic on Walters
> Stanley was fantastic around the ground despite 211 creaming him in the hitouts

Above all it was a very even contribution from a well balanced side , going forward we need to be conscious of that particularly if we are going to continue to play fast flow Geelong football.

 

[Ricketz]

Nope.
We now see how much extra zip we have over the ground by not having to play three rucks.
It was very evident in the JLT series as well.

I'd even argue we would have beaten Hawthorn on our own terms in last years final had there been no Smith and he was replaced with a small.

We just cannot play three rucks anymore and it's ridiculous it's taken how many years already to figure it out?
Even then, we still have supporters wanting what ultimately failed for us last year.

So Blitz, Smith and Stanley are the reason we beat Sydney in contested possessions, hitouts and centre clearances, but still lost the final? Ok then - not how most people would understand footy working, but whatever.

 

[Frank Bunn]

I'll give you a kernel here, and I'm very rarely wrong with these grandiose statements.

Lang is a vfl footballer. I've hoped and believed, but honestly, some blokes just don't have it, and lang lacks that "something" that you need to be a successful AFL player. Menegola may come in, although he seems to be very much out of favour.

I disagree. Lang was the only player in our VFL side this week who stood out like dogs balls that he was an AFL player. He might not be always in our best 22 but they can't all be stars.

I think Cockatoo and Zuthrie will both overtake him in the next couple of seasons but currently Lang is a better player than either. Narkle doesn't even come into the equation at the moment.

 

[Daniel McL]

Lang would show the doubters he is a good player at AFL level if we played him in his correct position...

That is rotating through the midfield mostly wing with times up forward.

All we have to do is bring Lang in for Cockatoo, move Murdoch further up the ground to play Cocky's role of using his pace to pressure inside 50 + we all know Murda has good goal sense too. Then Lang plays more through the middle with times up forward.

Lang has shown pretty good composure at AFL level + he tackles well + is a good ball user so wing is the perfect spot for him.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Next to Glendale.

Where the airport is, with Warner Bros Studios, ABC, NBC, Disney and I live. San Fernando Valley.

Also the name of Murtaugh's cat in Lethal Weapon series of movies....

Go Catters

Thanks Daz. That clears it right up...

 

[Turbocat]

Not sure whether this question was directed to me?

I think Narkle is well down the list of debutantes and would only come in if our injury status was appalling. I reckon he's more likely to have a year in the VFL building up his tank.

Parfitt, Stewart (both done), Gardner, Z.Guthrie and possibly Parsons are the only ones I can possibly seeing debuting. Gardner being the one I'm particularly interested in watching.

I quoted a comment from Catsmaninamerica , he seems very positive on Narkle. I have not seen him at VFL level. I believe Jones was supposed to be promising as well.

I will say if Narkle etc gets game like Parfitt , then that really ramps up the pressure on those that have been here for several years.

 

[Turbocat]

Narkle will be an absolute star

Another who likes him... what makes you confident..speed , goal sense ..?

 

[wcadams88]

Another who likes him... what makes you confident..speed , goal sense ..?

Just has that aura about him similar to Menzel has natural footy smarts and knows how to find the goals, a good sort that kid

 

[Spazz Cat]

In current form Stanley's marking is infinitely better than Harry's.

There is no disputing that. Unfortunately when Stanley plays as the 2nd tall he just doesn't demand a defender which really has been the main problem.
Taylor certainly isn't looking sharp ATM but it seems to be working for the team better than any of the options since Pods left.
Just on the tiny sample size we have to go on anyway.

 

[catempire]

There is no disputing that. Unfortunately when Stanley plays as the 2nd tall he just doesn't demand a defender which really has been the main problem.
Taylor certainly isn't looking sharp ATM but it seems to be working for the team better than any of the options since Pods left.
Just on the tiny sample size we have to go on anyway.

I think the problem in the past has been system, not Stanley. Insert Stanley into Taylor's role on Sunday and he kicks a few goals and takes a few grabs AND Hawkins has the same impact.

 

[Spazz Cat]

I think the problem in the past has been system, not Stanley. Insert Stanley into Taylor's role on Sunday and he kicks a few goals and takes a few grabs AND Hawkins has the same impact.

I hope so. Even if he could just halve the contest like Taylor did on the weekend I'd be happy.
No sure though about just inserting Stanley in there and him giving the same or a better contest than Taylor.
He often just gets lost, same as when at Stkilda. Every few weeks he'll produce something but the other weeks he'll produce next to nothing.
Taylor won't star much but we know he'll contest every single week and the forward line and midfield can gel better as they know what to expect.
But as you said maybe with a new system he could be the answer.

 

[BotsMaster]

I don't think we need to bring anyone in for Cocky as I'm confident we'll get the job done against Norf a man short.

 

[Bobby_]

Ultimately failed? They played off for a grand final spot bobby. Yes they didn't win a flag but they were better than 14 other sides and had the best record against the top 8out of anyone. This is a Donald trump style truth you're trying to peddle here.

One kick away from going out in straight sets (again).
Had we beaten Hawthorn by 2 or 3 goals and then made it competitive against Sydney, ok you have me but we didn't.

 

[year of the cat]

I quoted a comment from Catsmaninamerica , he seems very positive on Narkle. I have not seen him at VFL level. I believe Jones was supposed to be promising as well.

I will say if Narkle etc gets game like Parfitt , then that really ramps up the pressure on those that have been here for several years.

Ha! I have him blocked hence the confusion!