Will Mooney Step Up?

[OldStyle2007]

A 'solid' game from Cam won't be enough this weekend. I think he needs a big game for the Cats to win

In last years Prelim Final he was quiet and in the GF he kicked his goals after the match had been decided. He was quiet again in this year's Prelim, so I hope he can reverse the trend and play well on Saturday

There are plenty of doubters around about whether he deserved his place in the 2007 All Australian team

A big game this weekend will cement how many see him as either a great forward or a bit player

 

[cat in sydney]

Well, he did kick the first goal in the GF, so I'm not sure he kicked ALL his goals after it had been decided.

But yes, he does need to step up. he needs to start like he did against the Bulldogs in Rd16 - mark strongly, lead fast, etc. Even if he comes up to the wing to get some possies, we need him to get his hands on the ball early and create some spark and confidence.

 

[OldStyle2007]

Well, he did kick the first goal in the GF, so I'm not sure he kicked ALL his goals after it had been decided.

Got me, I should have said 4/5 goals in second half

 

[for gods sake]

Mooney ALWAYS stands up when we need him most.

 

[jim boy]

Well, he did kick the first goal in the GF, so I'm not sure he kicked ALL his goals after it had been decided.

Yeah but he did steal that first goal

 

[Dawn2Dark]

Mooney ALWAYS stands up when we need him most.

If it's against the Kangaroos..

 

[polly63]

Moons needs to lift on last couple but if he plays as well as he did last year I'll be more than happy. Kicked the first, gave Steve Johnson his first, set up Chappy's second, chased hard and presented well from limited opportunities in the first half. Then kept it going in the second half. He'll make opportunities for our crumbers and if he happens to take out a few unsociable footballers on his way to a third medal I'll be even happier.

 

[Tay29]

Croad will probably be playing on him and he pulled up sore again with his foot after the weekend. A jab before the game may help Croad but Mooney must run/lead. He has to be mobile and and force Croad to fight through the pain when he's running. You would expect that Croad will be slower off the mark(and probably over distance) due to his injury. If he does that then I think Big Cam should have a good game. Even better if we can get 4 goals out of him.

 

[Dawn2Dark]

Croad will probably be playing on him and he pulled up sore again with his foot after the weekend. A jab before the game may help Croad but Mooney must run/lead. He has to be mobile and and force Croad to fight through the pain when he's running. You would expect that Croad will be slower off the mark(and probably over distance) due to his injury. If he does that then I think Big Cam should have a good game. Even better if we can get 4 goals out of him.

Sounds good to me!

 

[The Casey Cat]

We need more from him but if his team mates just bomb it too him with an extra player in front of him (possibly Hodge this week) like a lot of last week there's not much he can do.

 

[costanza23]

It's not so much just about Mooney, it's also Lonergan. Between them, they kicked 1.1 against the Hawks in Round 17. Gilham and Croad aren't spectacular defenders, Mooney and Lonergan really need to get at least 3-5 goals between them. Having Gary back should help the supply.

 

[Tay29]

We need more from him but if his team mates just bomb it too him with an extra player in front of him (possibly Hodge this week) like a lot of last week there's not much he can do.

Completely agree. If we kick into the forward 50 like we did on the weekend, we're done and dusted.

I also think we've become a little too predictable in that if someone is in possession 45m out(especially if they are on an angle), opposition teams expect us to pass to someone closer to goal. Spare defenders are waiting for the cross so the pass has to be perfect. Slightly off and 2 or 3 defenders will fly and spoil the ball.

 

[PatrickBateman]

There are plenty of doubters around about whether he deserved his place in the 2007 All Australian team

I think if you look at reasons why he should have gotten his AA selection in front of someone like Reidwoldt... most will come to that conclusion. But hey, AA selection isn't a worthy way to rate a player... proven to be a flawed process..

I honestly think Mooney has lost a bit of passion for the game... His real mungrel / hardness is all but diminishing. His tone in interviews seems really lacklustre too... don't know if anyone else notices that. I saw him pull out of a couple of contests on fri night also(on the ball, not marking). As someone else suggested, he can tend to kick goals in junk time... lets hope he gets on top early in this grand final because it won't be a cake walk this time.

 

[maryjames]

moondog will step on afew hawkheads hit the post get his 2 goals late.cats win

 

[Copernicus]

I sure hope so. If he gets a good start and starts sticking a few (and kicking straight!) he can really inspire the team. He's been a bit 'off' lately, not taking as many solid grabs as we know he can. He just needs to get a bit of fire in his belly. If he can run Croad ragged then that would certainly helped - test Croad's foot out and see if he can keep up with Moons leading up the middle of the ground.

Want to see Lonners get into it a bit, too, provided he's selected, which I would think is close to certain. He played quite well against the Saints but struggled hugely last week. He has to impose himself.

 

[BigKegs]

I sure hope so. If he gets a good start and starts sticking a few (and kicking straight!) he can really inspire the team. He's been a bit 'off' lately, not taking as many solid grabs as we know he can. He just needs to get a bit of fire in his belly. If he can run Croad ragged then that would certainly helped - test Croad's foot out and see if he can keep up with Moons leading up the middle of the ground.

Want to see Lonners get into it a bit, too, provided he's selected, which I would think is close to certain. He played quite well against the Saints but struggled hugely last week. He has to impose himself.

I have been very disappointed with Mooney this year. He was half the player he was last year with most of his goals coming when we dont really need them. It almost seems like his role in the team is to take the best defender rather than that AND kick goals. We would be a much better team if we have 2 big forwards who can kick goals rather than relying on everyone else. He dropped so many getable marks on Friday night and was very reluctant to chase. We're lucky we have a huge spread of goal kickers but he and Lonergan need to step up and do something!

 

[Tristagi]

we don't need to turn into hawthorn here and say Bud... I mean Mooney needs to kick a bag or Mooney needs to step up. Our 22 is better than their 22 so as long as all 22 play and play well and we don't have to carry any passengers we should win

 

[STFUJEFF]

. It almost seems like his role in the team is to take the best defender .

Doggies put there second best defender on him and had Lake out mark and play off Lonnergan.

 

[cat in sydney]

Doggies put there second best defender on him and had Lake out mark and play off Lonnergan.

That's the key.

In Rd16, Lake played on Mooney and got towelled up. He was too slow to keep up with Mooney on the lead.
In the PF, Morris played on Mooney, and Mooney couldn't get a big enough lead and was spoiled several times.

If I was Clarkson, I'd be putting the smaller, faster opponent on to Mooney, knowing that Mooney is not marking well this year in contested situations. He's then covered in both areas.

If he's on Croad, run him ragged with leads up the ground.
If he's on a quicker, smaller defender, he needs to get some of that mongrel back, and use his strength much better and stop complaining to the umps for frees.

 

[Copernicus]

That's the key.

In Rd16, Lake played on Mooney and got towelled up. He was too slow to keep up with Mooney on the lead.
In the PF, Morris played on Mooney, and Mooney couldn't get a big enough lead and was spoiled several times.

If I was Clarkson, I'd be putting the smaller, faster opponent on to Mooney, knowing that Mooney is not marking well this year in contested situations. He's then covered in both areas.

If he's on Croad, run him ragged with leads up the ground.
If he's on a quicker, smaller defender, he needs to get some of that mongrel back, and use his strength much better and stop complaining to the umps for frees.

Yeah, he really needs to stop that. He gets the shaft from the umps, for sure, but I reckon it's got into his head a bit. He just has to keep contesting, use his strength and forget about the umps.

I don't know if Hawthorn have a small back as good as Morris, though - Morris has been hailed as a premier stopper this year. Campbell Brown might fit the bill but he might be too short.

 

[OldStyle2007]

And he needs to start taking some marks well out in front of him with his hands rather than on the chest

 

[thegrach]

Don't forget Brown is carrying a foot injury as well. Hope Mooney sees this as his chance to really have a big one, and not just an easy game against injured opponents.

 

[BigKegs]

And he needs to start taking some marks well out in front of him with his hands rather than on the chest

Spot on. Against the Dogs, he was getting some very good passes coming into him but he always tried to mark on his chest and it ended up being punched away. He's got the pace, he just needs to stick his arms out.