Prediction Where will we finish this year?

[fpm84]

Might finish 7th at best - but if the season gets bumpy early, then injuries will be 'easier to manage', retirements will snow-ball and hope will vanish.

Retirements? Apart from Taylor who is a given, what other possibilities do you see?

 

[Down at K Park]

Retirements? Apart from Taylor who is a given, what other possibilities do you see?

Ablett?

 

[fpm84]

Ablett?

He's the only other realistic chance IMO and I think he'll be keen to play on in 2020, pending fitness and form this year...

 

[cynical]

He's the only other realistic chance IMO and I think he'll be keen to play on in 2020, pending fitness and form this year...

Taylor, Ablett, Scooter, Henderson, Smith

 

[James1970]

Retirements? Apart from Taylor who is a given, what other possibilities do you see?

Harry, Scooter and Ablett to start with, then depending on form and injury Henderson and I'm doubtful Cocky will ever play a full season. Smith won't have the patience to play a full season in the VFL if he's forced to on form.

Ablett and Selwood need to find settled positions out of the guts if we hope to see prolonged form from them. Ablett needs to play deep forward. If we seem them line up in the middle, first bounce, Round 1, my heart will sink a little.

 

[James1970]

Forgot to mention - the Tim Kelly factor is the truly great unknown for 2019.

They are all professionals, but it could seriously derail the season in a major way if it's not handled properly.

Which kind of reminds me how important Tom Harley was when he was captain.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Flag.

A white one?

 

[Max Milburn]

A white one?

Boom-tish!
Obviously I meant our fortunes would flag.

 

[dazbroncos]

A white one?

You can be a dill sometimes Stan but this got a real loud laugh from me.

Well played and thanks.

Go Catters

 

[you pick one]

You can be a dill sometimes Stan but this got a real loud laugh from me.

Well played and thanks.

Go Catters

Wisdom and appreciation.

 

[Turbocat]

Possibly not, but there are some who continue to predict many dire years ahead, even post CS.

I would say ... there is a chance of us slipping into irrelevancy ..after all we are not a mega club... and Rich is ..yet they spent decades in a position mediocrity. For us to be still considered a major player we simply must be a threat when it counts... But we rarely if ever fall to a state of inept and laughing stock.. I guess we will see ..because id say most would agree ..when our best players are all 30 plus we will then be very vulnerable.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Hit the draft.

Hard.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Hit the draft.

Hard.

We have now take a long walk off a short pier.

 

[Gavin Excell]

6th - 8th

Clubs focus is of field

 

[David the Cat]

I ran into Mick Malthouse recently and asked him how he thought Geelong would go this year.

He said he'd looked at the draw and couldn't see us losing a game this year.

 

[King Cold]

Hit the draft.

Hard.

We already have.

The 2016 haul was an absolute ripper, and we didn't have a first round pick that year.

National Draft
Pick 26 - Brandan Parfitt
Pick 40 - Tom Stewart
Pick 43 - Esava Ratugolea
Pick 60 - Quinton Narkle
Pick 69 - Ryan Abbott

Rookie Draft
Pick 16 - Jack Henry
Pick 33 - Zach Guthrie
Pick 48 - Jamaine Jones
Pick 53 - Sam Simpson
Cat B - Mark O'Connor

 

[Landgraft]

This sounds more like a main board thread. Make it happen.

Why would anybody choose to wade into that cesspool?

Hit the draft.

Hard.

Someone hasn't been paying attention.

 

[Landgraft]

We already have.

The 2016 haul was an absolute ripper, and we didn't have a first round pick that year.

National Draft
Pick 26 - Brandan Parfitt
Pick 40 - Tom Stewart
Pick 43 - Esava Ratugolea
Pick 60 - Quinton Narkle
Pick 69 - Ryan Abbott

Rookie Draft
Pick 16 - Jack Henry
Pick 33 - Zach Guthrie
Pick 48 - Jamaine Jones
Pick 53 - Sam Simpson

2016 offseason we also signed Mark O'Connor as a Cat B rookie.

Our 2017 rookie list was those guys + Parsons, a very impressive group of rookie listed players to have together at the same time. Plenty of those guys have their critics, but considering the expectations normally placed on rookies I think it was a superb group.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

I'm thinking 7th or 8th again this year. It will be interesting to see if Dalhouse & Rohan can give our forward line more grunt. TBone was pretty much doing it alone by the end of the 2018 season. The young players need to step up big time of we're going to win a flag, and I mean big time. The interesting factor will also be seeing how Kelly goes after the club wouldn't trade him. Will the Sav Rat 'arrive'? The talents there to be a great team, but getting it all to click into that devastating unit might take a better coach than the one we've got.

 

[you pick one]

Taylor, Ablett, Scooter, Henderson, Smith

All possible and if Kelly goes,Cocky turns out to be a bust and Savrat's not the answer we hope he will be at CHF we will be getting some of those early draft picks some are longing for sooner rather than latter.

 

[Max Milburn]

Taylor, Ablett, Scooter, Henderson, Smith

This shows how good a place our list is in, as we have good replacements for all of these players.

 

[Seeds]

This shows how good a place our list is in, as we have good replacements for all of these players.

We have no forwards. We have resorted to players who should be defenders in the forward line.

 

[fpm84]

Harry, Scooter and Ablett to start with, then depending on form and injury Henderson and I'm doubtful Cocky will ever play a full season. Smith won't have the patience to play a full season in the VFL if he's forced to on form.

No chance any of Scooter, Smith or Henderson retire. People have forgotten how reliable Hendo is due to his injury interrupted 2018 but he will be best 22 for a few more years yet.

Even if Scooter and/or Smith fall out of favour with our match committee, both would comfortably find new homes elsewhere even if as mature-age rookies. If Jordan Murdoch can land a three year deal elsewhere...

As for Cockatoo, he will get a new deal even if he doesn't play a single AFL game this year. More talent than the likes of Cowan and McCarthy combined who we invested years in.

 

[lionbear]

I have selected premiership for the simple reason if things go right we can win it and I honestly believe that, and need to believe that in January.

 

[goyoucatters]

The 2016 haul was an absolute ripper, and we didn't have a first round pick that year.

National Draft
Pick 26 - Brandan Parfitt
Pick 40 - Tom Stewart
Pick 43 - Esava Ratugolea
Pick 60 - Quinton Narkle
Pick 69 - Ryan Abbott

Rookie Draft
Pick 16 - Jack Henry
Pick 33 - Zach Guthrie
Pick 48 - Jamaine Jones
Pick 53 - Sam Simpson

Given our first pick that year was midway through the second round, that is an incredible list.

Long-term injury notwithstanding, I'd have at least six of those players (Parf, Stewart, Rata, Narkle, Henry and Zuth) already pegged as 100-gamers for the GFC.

And, as Landgraft pointed out, MOC was a Cat-B acquisition in that draft as well.

So I figure we're looking at potentially 7 of 10 2016 draftees (including three rookies) as very solid senior players in the hoops.

With hope still alive for the remaining trio as well.

Wells gets a whack on here from some. And he's made some reaches and got some wrong, no doubt.

But, as his long history with us shows, when he nails a draft year, he really nails it.

IWWT.