Thompson says Cats "expecting" finals place -- afl.com.au

[you_idiot]

Article from the afl.com.au website: http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=74800

Pretty much, it says that anything less than a top-eight place will register as a major disappointment for the Cats this season.

All in all, interesting article...

Article in full posted below; discuss.

Cheers,
William

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

from the link above

Bomber backs Cats for the finals

5:35:31 PM
Fri 21 February, 2003
Barry Levinson
afl.com.au


Geelong coach Mark Thompson believes that improvement in his young list can carry the Cats to a top eight position this year.

Speaking to afl.com.au on the eve of their first Wizard Home Loans Cup match against the Western Bulldogs at Skilled Stadium on Sunday, Thompson said he would be disappointed if Geelong did not better its 11 wins and ninth-placed finish of last year.

"I think we're expecting it," Thomspon said of a finals berth. "We got close last year and all that has happened to our side is we're a year older. I'd expect that we can improve as a side and be on the way up, rather than the way down or even be stationary, a big upward curve on the improvement.

"I hope that translates into wins and a finals position. It should and people probably expect it and I think it's fair to expect it."

Thompson listed midfielder Joel Corey, defender Matthew Scarlett and forward Kent Kingsley as players who had shined over the pre-season and said he expected Kingsley to take on a leadership role this year.

The Cats' younger players impressed many last year, with James Kelly, Steve Johnson, James Bartel and Gary Ablett leading the way and Thompson said there have been no signs -- so far -- of the dreaded second-year blues.

"All the young boys have had really good pre-seasons and none of them have shown to me they're getting ahead of themselves or they're not going to back-up what they did last year," he said.

And the coach has several other youngsters ready to make an impression this year, with Charlie Gardiner, Matt McCarthy, Henry Playfair and Josh Hunt all expected to apply pressure for spots in the team.

But in acknowledging that the second-year blues can occur, Thompson warned that there will be no room for the curse at Skilled Stadium.

"It happens, but I don't know why it happens. I know that this year there will be a lot of competition for games amongst those boys, but we can't play them all.

"We can't play six (young) guys because there just aren't enough spots. If someone gets second-year blues, well it will be well and truly second-year blues because they'll be playing in the reserves for most of the year."

 

[ScouseCat]

I can understand why the club is expecting more this season because as a supporter, my expectations are similar. I believe that we're on the way up and after finishing 9th last year, our players will have a huge desire to be a part of the September action this year.

Of course it's not going to just happen... we have to continue to work hard and learn from every game we play. If we can keep doing this, there's no reason why we cant avhieve what we set out to achieve.

 

[Bakes]

Finals.
Im with Thompson