Tough Times

[BONG RIPS MKII]

good points tma

blake is useless, play simpson or west ahead of him

hawkins is starting to worry me, he hasn't improved at all this year

pods is best 22 without a doubt, i'd play him in front of hawkins if it came to that

selwood, johnson and mackie are out of form

scarlett holds our backline together, we are nothing without him

duncan looks great and ablett is the best player in the afl by a considerable distance

 

[Basic83]

Not the end of the world lads. We were missing our three best talls and only just went down. I thought we just ran out of legs.

 

[-Junior-]

Wont even bother listening to the negative crap after that. I think the performance was poor no doubt but i reckon there needs to be a bit more credit given to Fremantle.

For two weeks in a row we had to dig our selves out of a hole and i reckon it was pretty clear after last weeks epic we were a little flat and i saw some of the Hawthorn game and would say they looked it aswell. To travel over to Perth and play a side like that full of confidence without our FF, FB or ruckman is a big ask and im glad that we were at least in it for how poorly we actually played.

I no it comes down to matchups but Gamble was played in the backline all day not sure how many times that has happened in the VFL anyone?

Positives were obviously Pods thought he was great after he settled down took a couple of nice grabs BUT theres no way i drop Hawkins either..what the hell is that going to achieve. I dont care that he didnt get 20 touches. He kicked 3 goals guys there were worse players then him on the day.

For mine Mooney can be effective as a lead up player up the ground and let Pods and Hawkins roam in the 50.

To be 2-1 at this point in time is about where i thought we would be and really could easily be 0-3. I no its hard to cop a defeat when it happens so rarely but a bit of perspective about where we are at right now please. We will not play our best footy till around round 9-10 onwards despite probably winning the majority of games.

Call it excuses if you like but i reckon there were alot of reasons before the game to indicate this being a loss and yet we still nearly pinched it.

 

[Gavin Excell]

I actaully thought they played good. this was a pretty strong standard of game interstate against a team clearly on the rise. We were always going to struggle that last qtr in 29 degree heat after the tough game v Hawks and the short tunraround

I take a fair bit out of it

 

[hbk_aus]

TBH i thought we looked nackered at 3/4 time. That game on Monday was a finals type game - u saw what it did to the Hawks today. I thought it was a good effort against a side at the top of their game who were playing their Grand Final.

Kudos to Dawso, Pods and Duncan - good displays.

 

[Greg Brady]

I'm not liking Djekurra. He looked a bit lost out there.

3rd game. I was happy with how he went. To me he did all the things we need him to do. Would be up there with the better tacklers in our team. Just needs more game time to adapt and get used to running to the right places.

 

[Ruddeger07]

Gamble is and continues to be shite. Waste of time

This was the strangest selection I reckon in the last 20 years at Geelong.Gamble gets picked and played in the backline whenever he was on yet I don't ever recall seeing him play defence in AFL/VFL games.Surely Taylor Hunt,an actual defender, would've been a more sensible selection.

Woj time is catching up with him.

Been hopeless for a couple of years now

Ling needs help, he can no longer run all day in the middle.

You do realise he got injured in the first half,so that didn't help his game

 

[Selective Retention]

Gamble nor DJK are afl standard. Hogan should be in next week and Max will probably be back too. I'd give Christensen a game before retaining the other two......both no good.

 

[thegerman]

There is a lot to look forward to with the guys who played today. I thought:

Pods was great with his 11 marks, presented well and maybe should have been a bit better at his conversion. Otherwise, thought he was about even with what Mooney could give us.

Duncan was pretty good and did everything we expected. I think he is going to be a gun in the future and has kept his spot this week.

Simpson, well what can you say. Wasn't manned up all day so he should have got the pill a bit and he did. Sandilands gave him no respect and he floated about. Will get better with time, looking more like an AFL player now not Bambi.

Djekurra looked ok at times. Lost his feet a bit which didn't help him to force a tackle or mistake. Will get better.

Mackie. Ok, this is the second or third game in a row where Mackie has feined off putting his body on the line when it mattered, this time it counted as we had no-one to rely upon (such as Scarlett or Milburn) to help out. Played terrible and turned it over a lot. I'm a little tired of him running alongside the play instead of putting his body on the line to take possession. I'm thinking if Milburn is available, Mackie goes back to the two's as his game isn't what we need when the game is on the line.

Enright. Turned it over a hell of a lot. Boris could be forgiven though, probably a game he'd like to take back. I counted at least 5-6 clangers that directly resulted in goals to the opposition. Boris will be better for it and have a blinder next week.

A few were off-key, Byrnes was brought back to earth a bit. I thought Wojak put in a performance that will see him in the two's next week (see Mackie and running alongside an opposition player running at half pace).

I'm pretty upbeat though, we have a few things to learn about. Plus we have a few to come back for next week. I'd say we will fire up next week and many will be better off.

 

[Poetic Justice]

I'm not going to single out just one person so I'm going to single out everyone. Not in a negative sense.

Josh Hunt - If you're the 'best kick Geelong has' then take the kick outs and kick them long. I would almost put our loss today down to several shit house kicks out from Freo's goal square that were not marked. 70 metres+ thank you.

Lonergan - did okay but was not as good as in round 1 and 2. Hope he lifts his pressure again at home next week.

Enright - consistent performer and was in the right spot plenty of times. Good work as usual buddy.

Kelly - didn't see much of him that was a stand out but when I did see him he put in a good crack.

Taylor - this man is going to be a AA every year until he retires. He is just that good. So reliable. A couple of way ward kicks but when he's one out against someone you can always believe he will win the contest. I love him and would tear up if Geelong ever lost him.

Mackie - Good solid effort, couple of minor mistakes but was good.

Bartel - Mr. Tough as always. Couple of shoddy free kicks he gave away but other than that put his head over the ball and had a good crack.

Ling - was obviously affected by that hit but still worked damn hard.

Ablett - shined with 4 goals but I thought that unlike in rounds 1 and 2, he shined early and when the game was there to be won he wasn't as effective.

Duncan - love him. Geelong selection committee are going to have a pretty difficult argument coming to them if they are faced with whether to select him or someone like Stokes, Hogan, etc.

Hawkins - not the 'stellar effort' he was probably required but he was strong, took good marks and kicked 3 goals. Definitely won my respect today.

Gamble - Gamble who? Happy for him to be left out next week. Was also surprised to see him playing in the back line. Was not a successful attempt with him in my opinion.

Johnson - still trying to milk a little bit for the free kicks but the goals he kicked were good and necessary.

Podsiadly - this man is another dilemma for the coaching staff. Bit shakey with his kicks but what do you expect in such a high pressure game coming in for Mooney and never playing AFL before? Loved his ability to take some serious marks that I believe Cam and Tom would have clearly dropped.

Byrnes - not sure if coming off with a sore leg hampered the rest of his game but was not a massive contributor this week. Still love him but!

Blake - now after reading TMA's thread I must think I'm the only one who saw improvement in Blake today. He had a lot more of the ball than I usually see him with and didn't go weak in the knees when he got it. Obviously looks for the handball, which is fine and most that I saw still made the target. Good job against Sandilands too.

Corey - see Enright

Chapman - solid and dependable. As usual. Look up the definition in the Geelong dictionary for Paul Chapman and that was him. Normal.

Djerkurra - see Gamble. Didn't think much of his game. Had little impact.

Wojcinski - another 'as usual' player. Learning not to expect too much of him but still think his pace puts him in front of a few other choices.

Simpson - Did okay for his first hit out. Very nervous early. Will be good when he gets a little more development. May get a couple more opporunities this year.

Selwood - solid as always. Puts his head over the ball and does his best to get the hard ball and get it moving in Geelong's advantage.

 

[doodl]

Not a bad loss considering the outs we had and the tough game last week. but....

Varcoe for Wojcinski PLEASE!!

Enright should NOT kick out .. where was Hunt?

Mackie shirked another contest at a crucial time but AGAIN no-one will criticize him for it..

Blake got bumped out of a ruck contest by Johnson WTF? and his ability when the ball hits the ground is laughable..

In: Mooney Out: Hawkins

Big to Pods and Duncan

everything QFT! especially the call on Hawkins and Mackie. I was only listening on the radio but I was groaning everytime mackie got the ball.

Seems to me we should also have tried out Simpson in the forward line.

 

[CCrackers]

Settle down.

Plenty of good things from that today. Duncan showed he could become a real top liner. Pods showed he can play at the level. Hawkins contested and kicked 3. Impressed with Simpson. and how many out of our best side where we?

Sure there is a couple of issues.There a few quality guys who still off their game , Corey Enright is not playing well.Blake is Blake and Johno is currently not the same player he was 12 months ago.

Take a deep breath.

Thank you!.....Post of the day Tiger.

 

[True Blue Cat]

TMA you really do like trolling don't you? 1 loss does not equal tough times. You can attack all the players you want but it just makes you look stupid.

 

[119Points]

Oh noes! Season over!!

 

[TheMightyAchilles]

i would not play gamble again, unless he has 3 bog in the 2s
there are players who deserve a chance ahead of him
hogan ac varcoe II stokes varcoe

freo new boys showed some class, and sandiman showed what a ruckman does
blake does not present, get to a contest, do something

taps, woopeeeeeeee, the guys roved to the sandi man today and we nearly won

need a real ruckman, he threatened to leave, i would tell him to leave and sign up as an uncontracted player with the gc

 

[TheMightyAchilles]

TMA you really do like trolling don't you? 1 loss does not equal tough times. You can attack all the players you want but it just makes you look stupid.

not trolling, but i think there are tough times for some players

in the gun:
wojo, blake, gamble

 

[-Junior-]

Oh noes! Season over!!

Love your BF name btw haha...

Seriously though i just cant see us winning 19-20 games this year and i dont reckon that anyone at the club expects us to. Last year we clearly paced ourselves for the finals and make no mistake they will try to do this again ala Brisbane during their reign.

If we get anywhere near like sewing up a top four spot we will coast that is all our aim is i believe. Barring Brisbane sliding in their i pretty much see a all VIC top 4 anyway so jostling for positions is really pointless.

People we will lose a few games here or there dosnt mean everytime we do we need to ring the warning sirens. Just ridiculous.

Dawso, Pods, Duncan, Ablett and Chappy were just about our best and i though Linga battled back amazingly well under duress.

Also for mine i though DJK was pretty good, remember Varcoes performances when he was playing his first 20-30 games..for mine very similar output but DJK can be a little more physical. I reckon he will be ok although i dont no if there will be room for him when we bring our automatics back in Moons, Scarlo, Ottens, Rooke and Milburn.

 

[thehoff]

Today we showed glimpses of form. But some things are never clearer. We need a goal kicking tall forward, we can't give up clear cut opportunities game in game out.

Gamble is and continues to be shite. Waste of time

Simpson showed glimpses. Blake taps, that is all. He is a waste of time.

Woj time is catching up with him.

Ling needs help, he can no longer run all day in the middle.

Need another Taylor

Johnson needs to have a fine every time he tries to milk a free kick, as it costs us.

Stokes will walk into this team.

ahhhh

Dude, its round 3.

Sorry, but you're a wanka!

 

[Copulator]

Freo were good, they would have smashed most teams today.

Too much Gamble hate, he is clearly not a backman and was played out of position for whatever reason. Blame the coaching panel for that.

The one player who I think escapes criticism is James Kelly. So far he's played 3 games and had the least influence out of everyone. Not quite sure he would be deserving of his place in the side if we were at full strength. He is a passenger.

Hawkins kicked 3 and I'm not sure how, he was just about invisible. He is truly lucky he has the team he has around him otherwise I'm not so sure he would get near it. If he's not getting near it then he needs to be more imposing the way Mooney is, he is just too soft for mine and he will be back in the 2's before too long, Pods had him covered today.

Agree with everyone re Blake vs Simspon. I liked what I saw from big Dawson today.

Wojcinski has started the season slowly by his standards.

Duncan was good today, showed that he has a future.

Agreed that Chapman and Ablett kept it close. At full strength I think we hang on for a comfortable win though so I'm not even slightly discouraged at this point. Freo will do some damage over there if they play like this every week, I think thats the story.

 

[GrandBlue]

I'll bet you Simpson will be dropped ahead of Blake. No way Simpson deserves to be but he will because your mob has been favouring him for far too long now.

Duncan looks like he'll be very good in the future.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

Good call on Stevie J getting fined every time he tries to milk a free. I know most players will try the 'odd time' to milk a free, but Steve is doing it too much. The leadership group should have a serious chat to him, then if they are ignored impose a fine for each incident and give the money to a charity or something.

He's a BRILLIANT player. I love Dog. But something's gotta give...

 

[Ricketts]

Ling needs help, he can no longer run all day in the middle.

Yes he can. He was injured/sore today.

Need another Taylor

Scarlett.

Stokes will walk into this team.

Won't play a game this year.

 

[TheMightyAchilles]

Dude, its round 3.

Sorry, but you're a wanka!

no need to be sorry

round 3 makes no difference

blokes like gamble should be playing for their careers
we can't have gazz busting a gut week in week out, need support

 

[TheMightyAchilles]

Yes he can. He was injured/sore today.

last week was the same, slow to start,


Scarlett.

need another one

Won't play a game this year.

stokes will be in asap (once ban is lifted)

 

[OldStyle2007]

Johnson must read his own press too much. 2 moments summed up his game. First, with a little over a minute left in the 3rd quarter, he was caught with the ball in a pack and dropped the ball while playing for a 'holding the man' decision. The ball spilled free to a Freo player, and because Johnno was going for a free kick he wasn't close enough to tackle him. End result: Freo goal.
Second, when the match was up for grabs Johhno is 1 out in F50 with 'Greg Broughton' playing his 19th game. Broughton comprehensively beat Johnno and took the mark.

Djerkurra showed exactly why he hasn't been selected for more matches

Pods showed us why he will definitely play more AFL matches. Agree very strongly with Chaos that other forwards would not have clung onto the marks Pods claimed

Gamble is FINISHED at AFL level. He is Charlie Gardiner reincarnated. Above average skills, good leap, but slow as treacle

Byrnes is so very lucky to be in this squad. His AFL career could not have been sustained at any other club. He has no right foot and is ordinary on his left. He can't even handpass with his right hand....

Mackie loves himself too much. He needs to put his pretty face on the line a bit more. His casual attitude creates too many fumbles and half-volley disposals to his team-mates

Expecting a bit more from the big guns late in the match, but gee they nearly won it for us anyway

I'm not a Lonergan hater - he tried hard and had some good spoils. Doesn't crack under pressure either

Not the end of the world, but I think this match displays exactly where the likes of Byrnes, Gamble, Djerkurra rank.

And I think there are lessons for players like Johnson and Mackie to take away