Things to consider for tipsters

[knightwheelrqr]

Luke Ball statistically has his best games against Brisbane, Hawthorn and Melbourne.

Darren Jolly statistically has his best games against Brisbane, Melbourne and North Melbourne.

With Fevola gone from Carlton, Carlton being one of our bogey sides, don't see as strong a likelyhood as usual that they will beat us and I see their forwardline as being far more controlable.

With the addition of Jolly it will mean when playing Hawthorn we will dominate the hitouts which should lead to increased clearances and with the addition of Ball it should mean the dangerous Hawthorn forwards in Franklin and Roughead will likely get less of it.

So the 3 teams last season I would always tip to beat Collingwood in: Brisbane, Hawthorn and Carlton I may not tip to beat us due to our list changes which should help us particularly against those bogey teams.

Just with Brisbane with the addition of Fevola to their forwardline then some other AFL level additions they will certainly still be very hard to beat and I would probably favour them to win still at this point in time, but I would be more likely to go based depending on the form of both sides comming into the game as opposed to the knowledge due to matchups that we would get beaten.

 

[Optimax]

our biggest bogey side is hawthorn

 

[TradeDraft]

our biggest bogey side is hawthorn

Agreed Hawks will be our Hardest Side to Beat

 

[Football God]

Agreed Hawks will be our Hardest Side to Beat

geelong.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

our biggest bogey side is hawthorn

True. I tipped them this year against us unfortunately got that tip right.

My point is with Ball, he plays some of his best footy against Hawthorn. Then with the addition of Jolly, Hawthorn will struggle for hitouts and will not get as many forward 50 entries out of the centre meaning we are a far greater chance of beating them next season and I would be prepaired to tip us.

Also N.Brown physically has developed greately this offseaon and B.Reid has been in some fantastic form in the VFL at the end of 2009, so expect him to be able to bring that into the AFL side next season.

So don't lose faith my friend. I think our troubles against the almighty poo and wee that we have so struggled against for so long may have finally ended.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

geelong.

I don't see them as being such a problem next year. We match up really well on Geelong, likewise the Western Bull Dogs.

Next season the team we will have the most trouble against will be St Kilda. They still have a stronger midfield than us, much more mature team and like Brisbane have quality tall forwards which for us has always been our weakness at combating. To beat St Kilda I expect Nathan Brown and Ben Reid would have to both be in incredible form if we are to hold them off.

With their recent dominance over us, I don't think that Ball and Jolly will make the difference against them as they might against lesser teams in Hawthorn, Brisbane and Carlton.

 

[Football God]

I don't see them as being such a problem next year. We match up really well on Geelong, likewise the Western Bull Dogs.

Next season the team we will have the most trouble against will be St Kilda. They still have a stronger midfield than us, much more mature team and like Brisbane have quality tall forwards which for us has always been our weakness at combating. To beat St Kilda I expect Nathan Brown and Ben Reid would have to both be in incredible form if we are to hold them off.

With their recent dominance over us, I don't think that Ball and Jolly will make the difference against them as they might against lesser teams in Hawthorn, Brisbane and Carlton.

i hope your right. considering we got smashed by hem in the prelim without pendles. and gaining more experience in the draft for our midfield hopefully we can match up too them well (ablett bartel ottens ling johnson and more) but they are ageing, so hopefully wont be that long till they slip down the ladder.

cats dont have much up forward, mooney and s.johnson are the biggest f*****g overrated FIGJAMS in the comp. i dont worry bout them just the midfield.

n.brown and reid have bulked up from the pictures i have seen n the interweb, they just need too gain the experience

well, knowing st.kilda they are a bunch of dogs so they would want too shut down ball throughout the match so maybe a baker or clinton jones will try and stick too him like glue.
not really worried because we are pretty good at stoppages but cos of MM we never have players in the middle and thats where the saints love too go through and hayes and montagna making their runs through there too a riewoldt/koschitzke.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

i hope your right. considering we got smashed by hem in the prelim without pendles. and gaining more experience in the draft for our midfield hopefully we can match up too them well (ablett bartel ottens ling johnson and more) but they are ageing, so hopefully wont be that long till they slip down the ladder.

cats dont have much up forward, mooney and s.johnson are the biggest f*****g overrated FIGJAMS in the comp. i dont worry bout them just the midfield.

n.brown and reid have bulked up from the pictures i have seen n the interweb, they just need too gain the experience

well, knowing st.kilda they are a bunch of dogs so they would want too shut down ball throughout the match so maybe a baker or clinton jones will try and stick too him like glue.
not really worried because we are pretty good at stoppages but cos of MM we never have players in the middle and thats where the saints love too go through and hayes and montagna making their runs through there too a riewoldt/koschitzke.

S.Johnson I actually rate and I think he could at some point become a dominant midfielder, but this comming season with some injury problems I don't think he will be at his best. Likewise Chapman who I think has seen his best, he won't play 22+ games in 2010 and injury will hurt him hard next season.

Our midfield will be another year older and another year more experienced. Pendlebury, Thomas and Beams will all be better and I think will all be better players next season. I think our midfield may still be slightly behind (because of the Ablett factor) but I think if we get the matchups right Geelong are certainly beatable from our standpoint.

I'd really like against St Kilda to see a matchup between Ball and Hayes, if St Kilda were smart they would play an offencive weapon on Ball, perhaps a Dal Santo or even Goddard as afterall Ball isn't accountable

 

[Football God]

S.Johnson I actually rate and I think he could at some point become a dominant midfielder, but this comming season with some injury problems I don't think he will be at his best. Likewise Chapman who I think has seen his best, he won't play 22+ games in 2010 and injury will hurt him hard next season.

Our midfield will be another year older and another year more experienced. Pendlebury, Thomas and Beams will all be better and I think will all be better players next season. I think our midfield may still be slightly behind (because of the Ablett factor) but I think if we get the matchups right Geelong are certainly beatable from our standpoint.

I'd really like against St Kilda to see a matchup between Ball and Hayes, if St Kilda were smart they would play an offencive weapon on Ball, perhaps a Dal Santo or even Goddard as afterall Ball isn't accountable

malthouse is an experienced coach and he'll know what to do with ball. lyon probal knew nothing about ball's capabilities compared to MM and he'll regret it even more when ball is tearing it up against them

geelong has just past heir prime IMHO but will sill have the knowledge and skill and hopefully ablett goes too the gold coast by the time we are in our prime for the next 2-3 years

 

[Return of the Pies]

Other things for tipsters to consider -
Carlton are a bunch of in-fighting, lunch-cutting, cap-rorting unethical Fevola-less alcoholic flogs.
It may not change your tips, but it's worth noting.

 

[THATSGOLD]

hawthorn. there forwards trouble us. lance is tough for us to match up on.

geelong big bodied midfielders worry us. ball in the middle will give us more grunt in 10 against them.

western bulldogs are our biggest boagies. had a massive lead against them and we just held on... second time we played we werent playing for much but they got over us by a few goals. I think with jolly in the team we will win more clearances against the doggies that should hopefully see us beat them in 10.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

Other things for tipsters to consider -
Carlton are a bunch of in-fighting, lunch-cutting, cap-rorting unethical Fevola-less alcoholic flogs.
It may not change your tips, but it's worth noting.

Ammusingly Carlton seem to be having more off-field issues than they did with Fevola

Who knows, could be back to their wooden spoon days. Never know If they didn't have Judd they would probably be favourite

 

[knightwheelrqr]

hawthorn. there forwards trouble us. lance is tough for us to match up on.

geelong big bodied midfielders worry us. ball in the middle will give us more grunt in 10 against them.

western bulldogs are our biggest boagies. had a massive lead against them and we just held on... second time we played we werent playing for much but they got over us by a few goals. I think with jolly in the team we will win more clearances against the doggies that should hopefully see us beat them in 10.

Hawthorn will be hard to beat, just I don't think their forwards will get as much of it because they won't get as much of the ball inside 50, and less clearances from the centre bounce which will help our backline allot! Also N.Brown and B.Reid are now pretty AFL ready and could very well step in. Reid could possibly be played in the Nick Maxwell sweeper role down back and come in as an extra man so I'm starting to consider Hawthorn to be a much more beatable team than in 2009.

Geelong we matchup well against. They are still the best side the competition, but our team is a year older and a year more experienced with 2 big offseason additions, while Geelong are another year older with their players who are in their primes (Scarlett, Chapman, Corey, Bartell) all getting older and likely to be slowing down so I think certainly we will be making up some ground on them and they will be very much beatable.

The Western Bull Dogs are not so much one of our bodey teams, just a quality team, I still rate them slightly higher than us, but I think they are very beatable from our point of view. Their forwardline doesn't have a super dangerous quality key position forward like Brisbane or Hawthorn, so the one thing we typically struggle against won't be there. And with Jolly in the ruck that will be a new area we will be beating them in. Would be a 50/50 game between the two side, but would be tempted to go with us because I think we can match them and their style of play and lineup I think we are suited to playing.

St Kilda at this stage is the one team I would be penciling in to beat us, otherwise would be tipping based more so on form, injuries and other indicators.

 

[Hoppers Xing]

The Dogs are not one of Collingwood's bogey sides, both games this year they were hard fought, great matches.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

The Dogs are not one of Collingwood's bogey sides, both games this year they were hard fought, great matches.

I agree. Typically more so hard fought matches more than anything. Always enjoy matches against the Dogs, fast paced games and great fun from a spectator point of view.

Both pretty even sides, both top 4 quality and looking forward to our games in 2010

 

[Hoppers Xing]

Yeah, will definately be worth going to with the Ball/Jolly factor, and the Hall factor (or Hall releasing other forwards like Hahn).

 

[knightwheelrqr]

Yeah, will definately be worth going to with the Ball/Jolly factor, and the Hall factor (or Hall releasing other forwards like Hahn).

Wakelin always dominated Hall, not sure how Prestigiacomo plays him, havn't really seen the 2 matchup often enough.

I think Hall will be a pretty good fit and now with a true full forward I think you will certainly be a contendor again this year, and I think you might make the grand final. If he can stay uninjured and out of trouble he should prove to be a nice pickup.

Also one tip to look out for. On your rookie list you have 2 youngsters I'm pretty keen on. Matthew Panos and Andrew Hooper. Both worth looking out for. Panos is a Matthew Lloyd clone, straight kicking full forward and is really a top 30 quality guy in this years draft. If Hall goes down injured or gets reported don't be surprised if Panos steps into the side. Hooper is a really AFL ready small backman. He got overlooked in the national draft because of lack of height (172cm) but I think he could also be a nice surprise for you also.

Best of luck in 2010.

 

[Heater39]

Why do you think we match up well on Geelong and the Dogs, knightweelrqr?

Geelong smashed us the last time we played them and have beaten us the last 3 times before that. I think it's time we moved on from our win over them in 08, no matter how good it was, Geelong have shown it to be an anamoly.

The Dogs usually seem to get the better of us as well.

 

[Hoppers Xing]

The only reason the dogs get the better of Collingwood sometimes, is that Collingwood players don't seem to rate some of our rebounding defenders, partcularly Harbrow since he's young, so we can continue to set it up again.

 

[THATSGOLD]

The Dogs are not one of Collingwood's bogey sides, both games this year they were hard fought, great matches.

im no bruce mcavainey but im sure you would find the stastics of games won and lost over the last few years significantely in your favour. agreed? i know this because my best mate is a dogs fan and he gives me hell when we play against them!

 

[knightwheelrqr]

Why do you think we match up well on Geelong and the Dogs, knightweelrqr?

Geelong smashed us the last time we played them and have beaten us the last 3 times before that. I think it's time we moved on from our win over them in 08, no matter how good it was, Geelong have shown it to be an anamoly.

The Dogs usually seem to get the better of us as well.

I think we actualy need to go back to that great 86 point win and look again at the things we did well. Recent I have actually watched that game again and after re-annalysis I think some of the scemes were genious and the matchups were really well done. The defencive pressure was great, like what St Kilda have consistantly been delivering in 2009, just with more energy and an even greater intensity if that is possible.

In the finals series there were many reasons why we lost. Geelong last year really wanted it more than us. Injuries really hurt with Pendlebury out and Swan playing injured, this left our midfield very much depleted. Geelong have the best midfield in the competition so that really made our job hard with 1 of our best mids out and the other playing injured.

Also in the finals series personally I wasn't really all that sure about some of the matchups. My favourite matchup (Harry O v Stevey J) which didn't happen unfortunately. Harry gets under his skin and always takes him out of the game, was really disappointed to see Goldsack get the job when we have someone who can play one of their main men better than anyone else in the league.

Against Geelong with the right matchups they are very beatable.

The only factor that we tend to struggle against is dominant key position forwards. Whether that be Brendan Fevola, Lance Franklin. We have never had a key position defender or a system that could effectively take them out of the game a limit their impact. Also teams that implement particular type zone systems we can also struggle against such as Hawthorn's. They tend to force their opponents wide, and with us because we look to go wide they force us wider.

Geelong right now don't really have any dominant forwards and their primary weapon is their midfield. Their forwardline is balanced and I think our backline matches up well on them size wise. They play pretty small and aren't a big key position forward orientated forwardline which is probably why we are more so suit to playing them. Tom Hawkins is their only forward I would be worried about from a matchup point of view as he could next year become an absolute monster. Their backline is very solid, and they are pretty adaptable to any forwardline, but that applies to all teams.

To me Geelong appear very beatable. I don't see Paul Chapman playing much this comming season, perhaps half the games if lucky due to his injury problems. The loss of Tom Harley as captain is huge. I would credit him as being the guy who really turned things around for Geelong, and with him gone I'm not so sure the same winning culture will be as strong as it was with him around. Also Steve Johnson with some injuries seems a bit questionable, doesn't sound like he will be playing 22 games in 2010 for my sources.

The Dogs are just a top quality team. Like Geelong they don't have any of the dominant forwards that cause us trouble so they will definately be beatable, but like always will be a 50/50 game where the best team on the day will win.

They have after looking it up won 4/5 of their last games. But I don't think there is too much in it really. They have been the stronger team anyway, just for me the encounters feel 50/50 these days and it's more up to the better team wins as opposed to this team will win because they have something that the other team cannot combat.

 

[Hoppers Xing]

With those match analysis skills, you should be Collingwood coach in 2020.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

With those match analysis skills, you should be Collingwood coach in 2020.

Would love to. Or become part of a club as an assistant one day.

Just I hope Buckley can continue to coach as long as possible, hopefully coaching this club to a few flags.