The mighty cats V Saints

cats2rise

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Thread starter #1
May as well start the thread....

Our injuries again are appearing and i would not have a clue who our best 22 will be on friday night, which im sure will be different from our fittest 22 which im sure will be different from who will be out there.

At the moment i cant see our young defence keeping on top of StK rampaging forward line. With Mooney, harley and sando all maybe missing, our defence looks extremly shallow and inexperienced with the likes of Lonergon, egan, Spencer possibly all lining up. Im sure Milburn will probably be chucked down back if we are stretched.

Our midfielers are always in a great battle against the saints young midfielders and this is where the game is usually won. Our midfielders will have to all be fit and ready to take on the likes of Dal Santo, Ball and Hayes and Harvey now also. We did have 20+ more inside 50's last week, but they ALL must count this week if we are to win.

Our forward looked shocking last week, but i am looking forward to Kingsly booting his well deserved 50th! I hope Playfair isnt played as a tall backman. Ottens needs to fire aswell, and kick himself back into form. The likes of Ablett, chappers and SJ will need to ne ready for a fierce StK defence and im afraid SJ will have a minimal impact because he looks severly underdone.

.. now to the rucks: Will Blake play with Kingys absence??

Still my prediction is for Geelong to pull a suprise win and everyone will be back on Geelong, but alas we will put in a poor performance the week after lol

Geelong by 29 points in a high scoring contest
 

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Kegs44

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#2
I bloody hope your rite, would love to see the cats win. The saint comfortably, in a encounter that wont be that great a game to watch. If Geelong do turn up you never know, but saints will have a win probs :(
 
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#4
Our forwards will struggle

Our defence will struggle

But if our so called gun young midfield fires (big if) we might be able to snatch a win.
 

jmain14

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#6
first time I have said this in a while but... we will get pasted. it is also the first time in the past 2 years that I will go to a geelong game expecting a loss.
 
F

Fall Out Boy

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I'm trying hard to be confident but it's difficult when you look at our defensive matchups.

If we play to our best we will win, but it is going to be incredibly hard to stop Riewoldt, Gehrig, Milne, Sammy H and Kosi with Scarlett being our only experienced tall defender.

Ego needs the game of his life, and we need one of Dash or Rooke to really step up and fill in as the third tall.
 

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patdman

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#12
Meh, with Kosi now in form...how are we going to stop Gehrig, Riewolt, Kosi if they all end up in the forward line at some point...as I'm sure they will.
Who knows...blind optimism says we can still pinch a win, but common sense says the real question is "how much do we lose by?"

Cats by -30 (Keeping a positive spin on things!)
 

cats2rise

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Thread starter #13
Kegs44 said:
I bloody hope your rite, would love to see the cats win. The saint comfortably, in a encounter that wont be that great a game to watch. If Geelong do turn up you never know, but saints will have a win probs :(
I would give an arm and a leg to make my prediction right.
 
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#14
i couldn't see the cats winning at all. Even a surprise win seems very forlorn. Also, im not sure about september either. i would like to see the cats there, and i think at full strength, the saints and cats are the two best teams in the comp. but, at the moment, i can't see the cats winning too many more games if harley, johnson etc. can't come back in
 

Copernicus

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#17
We're stuffed. Holding out hope for an upset, but I just can't see it happening with our defensive stops as low as they are, and half our forward line underdone or out of form. Not looking forward to checking the scores Friday morning....
 

GeeCat

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#19
My confidence isn't exactly bursting, but for the sake of things:

- Saints are an example of team who becomes highly vulnerable if they don't bring 100% intensity. It happened to us a fortnight ago, and it certainly can happen to St Kilda.

However pathetic it may sound now, we need to play out this game with the intensity we should always be playing at and pray the Saints have a lapse.

- Hamill is a key player in the forward line, solely with the pressure he creates (their Gaz and Chappy). He won't necessarily hurt us directly on the scoreboard, but he's as important a cog to shut down as the more fancied options in Riewoldt, Koschitzke and Gehrig. He'll provide their fleet of runners alot of indirect goal assists with his bash n' crash style in marking contests and contests around the ball. If he plays more goalward, then his opponent must be there to contest the ball with him. If he tends to lead more up the ground, then I think the best approach would be to play from behind. If we can force him into a leading forward role as opposed to his usual role as a spillage player, then that's a minor win in my mind. I'd suggest Rooke at this point in time.

- They are very top heavy, and have the ability to swing Gehrig, Koschitzke, Ackland, Hamill and Riewoldt in the forward line at any time. I wouldn't think Thomas would cram them all up inside the 50 arc, and I'd expect Riewoldt to play on the wing and drift forward. We're clearly down on tall stock in the defensive arc, so our best hope is in our mid-sized talls (Rooke, Milburn, Enright even). I'd expect Scarlett and Egan to constantly swap on Gehrig and Koschitzke during the night, and Ackland when Kossie is given stints in the ruck. We're going to need a blinder from both Matt's (no surprises there).

If Riewoldt plays on the wing as he did against Melbourne, I'd expect Bomber to put a Milburn or Enright on him. I can't say they'll totally nullify him, but I'm certainly hopeful they can subdue him to some degree. His marking further out on the ground shouldn't quite hurt as much, as his delivery into the 50 left a little to be desired last week. In that way, I'm less concerned about whether he gets 5 marks or 15 marks if he isn't hurting us by drifting forward or delivering quality ball into their 50. Someone will have to cut off the deliveries into their forward half, be it a defender or a midfielder dropping back. Bomber must decide how to play Nick. If we're prepared to go on the counter attack, then we can hopefully expose him when the ball is headed our way. If we're out to stop him, then I'd suggest playing behind him in play so as to prevent him from floating forward in a damaging role.

- Sam Fisher is their primary rebounder and one of the leading rebounders in the competition in the past month or so. When the Saints are on, he's one of the main catalysts in getting their running game going by triggering it off the half back flank with his superb reading of the ball. He does, however, play loose on his man, and struggles on pure defensive tasks. Milburn exposed Chad Cornes in his similar role 3 weeks ago, and I have a gut feeling whoever Fisher mans up on will have to do likewise. Fisher struggles to have the same impact on games in tight contests, as under pressure he is sloppy and naturally panics. Whoever has him as an opponent needs to expose these weaknesses and make him pay dearly. I suspect he'll man up on our 3rd or 4th tall, but with our current lack of such, Johnson or the extra midfielder drifting forward may have to deal with him. Bringing him deep into the pocket won't work I suspect, as Thomas will simply switch opponents to ensure Fisher plays where he is best suited. The only real solution is to constantly enforce pressure in our forward half and make him pay on the scoreboard.

Another player to watch for is Maguire. He loves nothing more than to run forward and contribute to the Saint's scoreboard. Whoever mans up on him cannot allow this to happen. I hate that two of our key forwards in Ottens and Playfair are underdone, so it's going to be a mighty struggle for either to run with Maguire if he plans on rebounding out of the defensive half and unleashing 60 metre bombs straight into the Saints vicinity.

- Midfield battle is crucial as always. However, not only in clearances and winning the contested ball, but kicking goals. Saints generally do not have a high scoring midfield in the mould of WC, but have shown they can put on an offensive display. Likewise, we haven't proven to be the most damaging glut of midfielders on the scoreboard, but we'll need to beat the Saints here to ensure we give ourselves every oppurtunity to win.

- Saints are more exposed against running sides. They're one of teams who play their best footy by winning the contested ball situations. The likes of Bartel, Corey, Ling, and Kelly will have to do their fair share in close and around the packs, but it's guys like Tenace, Byrnes, and Koulouriotis that need to expose the Saints. Tenace showed last week he was capable of running the lines and getting away with it (kudos to him for looking like he wanted to do something involved with footy). If we can win our fair share of contested balls, we're on the right track.

- St.Kilda proved last week that they too have a capable forward/midfield rotation. The use of Dal Santo in a forward pocket in the 1st quarter killed Melbourne. We have to be prepared to run with our opponents, none of the ball chasing crap. Yes, we do have to be prepared to take an offensive approach and make the Saints worry about matchups, but we cannot forgot the defensive side of the game.

- We should stop kicking to a leading Kingsley with every ball inside 50 - too predictable. Whilst this may garner Kingsley 5 goals, they aren't match winning goals. Kent has to be prepared to lead and come up empty handed sometimes whilst our midfielders have to be prepared to unreward some leads. Our dangerous forwards like Ablett, Chappy and Dog Johnson will have to do alot of leading work as well as sit around the packs and at the drop of the ball. All three combined will have to kick a combined total of 6-7 goals to give us a good chance of winning.

Stranger things have happened, but it's clear that St.Kilda have the upperhand in most areas of the game. We need alot of things to go our way on the night, and alot of it unfortunately has to do with St.Kilda's form, and not ours. The midfield is once again the most crucial; goals must be kicked and contested balls won.
 

Kildonan

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GeeCat said:
My confidence isn't exactly bursting, but for the sake of things:

- Saints are an example of team who becomes highly vulnerable if they don't bring 100% intensity. It happened to us a fortnight ago, and it certainly can happen to St Kilda.

However pathetic it may sound now, we need to play out this game with the intensity we should always be playing at and pray the Saints have a lapse.

- Hamill is a key player in the forward line, solely with the pressure he creates (their Gaz and Chappy). He won't necessarily hurt us directly on the scoreboard, but he's as important a cog to shut down as the more fancied options in Riewoldt, Koschitzke and Gehrig. He'll provide their fleet of runners alot of indirect goal assists with his bash n' crash style in marking contests and contests around the ball. If he plays more goalward, then his opponent must be there to contest the ball with him. If he tends to lead more up the ground, then I think the best approach would be to play from behind. If we can force him into a leading forward role as opposed to his usual role as a spillage player, then that's a minor win in my mind. I'd suggest Rooke at this point in time.

- They are very top heavy, and have the ability to swing Gehrig, Koschitzke, Ackland, Hamill and Riewoldt in the forward line at any time. I wouldn't think Thomas would cram them all up inside the 50 arc, and I'd expect Riewoldt to play on the wing and drift forward. We're clearly down on tall stock in the defensive arc, so our best hope is in our mid-sized talls (Rooke, Milburn, Enright even). I'd expect Scarlett and Egan to constantly swap on Gehrig and Koschitzke during the night, and Ackland when Kossie is given stints in the ruck. We're going to need a blinder from both Matt's (no surprises there).

If Riewoldt plays on the wing as he did against Melbourne, I'd expect Bomber to put a Milburn or Enright on him. I can't say they'll totally nullify him, but I'm certainly hopeful they can subdue him to some degree. His marking further out on the ground shouldn't quite hurt as much, as his delivery into the 50 left a little to be desired last week. In that way, I'm less concerned about whether he gets 5 marks or 15 marks if he isn't hurting us by drifting forward or delivering quality ball into their 50. Someone will have to cut off the deliveries into their forward half, be it a defender or a midfielder dropping back. Bomber must decide how to play Nick. If we're prepared to go on the counter attack, then we can hopefully expose him when the ball is headed our way. If we're out to stop him, then I'd suggest playing behind him in play so as to prevent him from floating forward in a damaging role.

- Sam Fisher is their primary rebounder and one of the leading rebounders in the competition in the past month or so. When the Saints are on, he's one of the main catalysts in getting their running game going by triggering it off the half back flank with his superb reading of the ball. He does, however, play loose on his man, and struggles on pure defensive tasks. Milburn exposed Chad Cornes in his similar role 3 weeks ago, and I have a gut feeling whoever Fisher mans up on will have to do likewise. Fisher struggles to have the same impact on games in tight contests, as under pressure he is sloppy and naturally panics. Whoever has him as an opponent needs to expose these weaknesses and make him pay dearly. I suspect he'll man up on our 3rd or 4th tall, but with our current lack of such, Johnson or the extra midfielder drifting forward may have to deal with him. Bringing him deep into the pocket won't work I suspect, as Thomas will simply switch opponents to ensure Fisher plays where he is best suited. The only real solution is to constantly enforce pressure in our forward half and make him pay on the scoreboard.

Another player to watch for is Maguire. He loves nothing more than to run forward and contribute to the Saint's scoreboard. Whoever mans up on him cannot allow this to happen. I hate that two of our key forwards in Ottens and Playfair are underdone, so it's going to be a mighty struggle for either to run with Maguire if he plans on rebounding out of the defensive half and unleashing 60 metre bombs straight into the Saints vicinity.

- Midfield battle is crucial as always. However, not only in clearances and winning the contested ball, but kicking goals. Saints generally do not have a high scoring midfield in the mould of WC, but have shown they can put on an offensive display. Likewise, we haven't proven to be the most damaging glut of midfielders on the scoreboard, but we'll need to beat the Saints here to ensure we give ourselves every oppurtunity to win.

- Saints are more exposed against running sides. They're one of teams who play their best footy by winning the contested ball situations. The likes of Bartel, Corey, Ling, and Kelly will have to do their fair share in close and around the packs, but it's guys like Tenace, Byrnes, and Koulouriotis that need to expose the Saints. Tenace showed last week he was capable of running the lines and getting away with it (kudos to him for looking like he wanted to do something involved with footy). If we can win our fair share of contested balls, we're on the right track.

- St.Kilda proved last week that they too have a capable forward/midfield rotation. The use of Dal Santo in a forward pocket in the 1st quarter killed Melbourne. We have to be prepared to run with our opponents, none of the ball chasing crap. Yes, we do have to be prepared to take an offensive approach and make the Saints worry about matchups, but we cannot forgot the defensive side of the game.

- We should stop kicking to a leading Kingsley with every ball inside 50 - too predictable. Whilst this may garner Kingsley 5 goals, they aren't match winning goals. Kent has to be prepared to lead and come up empty handed sometimes whilst our midfielders have to be prepared to unreward some leads. Our dangerous forwards like Ablett, Chappy and Dog Johnson will have to do alot of leading work as well as sit around the packs and at the drop of the ball. All three combined will have to kick a combined total of 6-7 goals to give us a good chance of winning.

Stranger things have happened, but it's clear that St.Kilda have the upperhand in most areas of the game. We need alot of things to go our way on the night, and a lot of it unfortunately has to do with St.Kilda's form, and not ours. The midfield is once again the most crucial; goals must be kicked and contested balls won.
Wow what a great review - I wonder if Bomber is as up on the Saints as you clearly are. For what its worth, I think I think you are spot on with your assessments on our weaknesses. We nearly came undone by the running game of the Doggies 5 weeks back. This style of play negates some of our skill in tight situations. Also remember that Penny, Harvey, Riewoldt and Hamill are still a little underdone.
I think you might be underestimating the strength of our midfield a little too. Our midfield hasn't focused too heavily on goal kicking because of the strength of our forward line - so it is not a good assessment on its effectiveness. Clearances are the measure of a midfield and the number of 1 percenters they are willing to perform.

I have been looking forward to the return match ever since you guys beat us in the first half of the season. Geelong are a team I respect and I feel that there is a genuine rivalry developing. I am a little disappointed that you don't have your best team available as it would be the match of the season.
I haven't written Geelong off in this match, like so many of your supporters seem to have, but I realise that most of that (no expectation of a win) is the realisation that it is a big ask with the injuries you have - and it heightens the delight if you can win these sort of games and maybe it dulls the disappointment if you do lose.

Good Luck
 
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