Yesterday evening at Studio 3 at Crown in Melbourne, the AFL Players’ Association awarded the Madden Medal to one of the many retired players for the season. In addition to this, the AFL Players’ Alumni was officially launched.
The Madden Medal is presented by Open Universities Australia and is awarded to a player which has retired in 2011, which has throughout their career demonstrated on field excellence, off field football achievements, personal growth and community spirit. (more…)
Yesterday afternoon, Geelong premiership captain Cameron Ling announced his retirement from AFL after 12 years in the AFL, after the Cats third premiership in 5 years. (more…)
SportsBet Odds: $4.50 vs. $1.21
7th vs. 4th
Carlton host Geelong at the MCG this round and will be hoping to continue the form showed against the Crows last round. The face however a Geelong team that dismantled Port Adelaide in a very dominant performance at Skilled Stadium. Carlton welcomed back Chris Judd and his impact was felt from the outset and will be looked upon again this week. The Carlton forward line faces a big challenge against a very experienced Geelong back six and it will be very interesting to see how they perform. (more…)
Last Year
Last year Geelong finished second on the Premiership table with 18 wins and 4 losses. The Cats went on to win its second premiership in 3 years in an epic clash against rivals St Kilda.
It was well reported that Geelong needed nothing short of a flag for 2009 to be a success and they managed to deliver. After 2008 questions were asked of the squad that seemingly lost a Grand Final it should have won. 2009 saw the Cats mange its list into the finals and unlike 2008 went into the Grand Final with a fit 22 players.
Backline
The Cats backline in 2009 was again one of its big strengths. Though not as dominant as previous years it still managed to be ranked 4th in the league. This season will see the return of premiership player Josh Hunt to the backline mix.
The loss of Captain Tom Harley will be felt but is covered by the return of Hunt and the addition of Marcus Drum to the list. Scarlett is still a huge key to the backline but with the emergence of Harry Taylor (who in my opinion could have easily received the Norm Smith medal in last years Grand Final) and Andrew Mackie options are aplenty. Milburn is aging and it will be interesting to see how he performs this season. The run of Enright, Kelly and Wojcinski from defence all points towards a good year from the backline.
Jeremy Laidler was given an opportunity in 2009 and provides a Back up to Scarlett and Taylor. Drum who stands at 191cm is also another taller option for the Cats.
Midfield
The biggest strength of the Geelong team is its midfield and the amount of options they have. The names speak for them selves with Ablett, Bartel, Ling, Corey and Selwood are all superb midfielders.
The strength comes from the options that Geelong has Chapman moves through the centre on occasions along with Rooke, Johnson and Byrnes. This season I will be looking for Hogan to get more game time along with Varcoe spending more time in the middle of the ground.
The Cats midfield is another area that again should have a good 2010, the only interesting thing will be what impact the no signing of Ablett will have if any.
Forwards
The forward line is an area for the Cats that is often perceived as the weak link. Despite this Geelong were the second highest scoring team of 2009. Mooney is vital to the structure of the forward line and always pitches in. Geelong benefit from having an abundance of small to medium forwards. Steve Johnson and Paul Chapman being the two most note able.
Tom Hawkins had a better 2009 but still needs to improve and really become the number one tall option. The addition of James Podsiadly also adds another tall option coupled with Brad Ottens. The forward line pressure from Max Rooke, Travis Varcoe and Shannon Byrnes always helps to create opportunities in the forward 50. With Stokes missing until at least round 8 it provides opportunities for the likes of Hogan, Djerrkura, Motlop and Adam Varcoe.
Rucks
The Ruck stocks at Geelong have taken a slight hit after Sydney made an offer to Shane Mumford that the Cats just couldn’t match. Despite this Geelong have Mark Blake who has shown improvement since 2007. Brad Ottens is certainly the key for the Cats in this area and this showed in last season’s finals campaign. Trent West who was backed by Mark Thompson last season again waits in the wing for an opportunity. Tom Hawkins also had a run through the ruck last season which benefited his confidence more than anything but is an option.
Summary
The Cats have one more chance at a premiership with their current list. Key players like Scarlett, Milburn, Ottens and Mooney are all beginning to get towards the end of their carrers. Geelong still have plenty of options across the ground and will welcome back Josh Hunt. The Stokes saga will hopefully have little impact on the list but only time will tell. Top 4 is a must for the Cats to defend to 2009 premiership.
Expected Finish: 2nd-4th
Best 22
FB: Andrew Mackie, Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn
HB: James Kelly, Harry Taylor, Corey Enright
C: Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood, Joel Corey
HF: Paul Chapman, Cameron Mooney, Travis Varcoe
FF: Max Rooke, Tom Hawkins, Steve Johnson
Fol: Brad Ottens, Gary Ablett, Cameron Ling
Int: Mark Blake, Shannon Byrnes, David Wojcinski, Josh Hunt
This afternoon the Geelong Football Club held at a press conference at Skilled Stadium to announce their new captain and leadership group for 2010.
The new captain of Geelong is Cameron Ling, who will be replacing former skipper Tom Harley who retired in October of last year. Ling seemed to the front runner for the position as he has previously held the position of vice captain and acting captain for nine of the eleven matches missed by Harley.
Since his debut in 2000, Ling has played a total of 204 games in his 10 seasons for the Cats and has kicked 113 goals. Throughout his career thus far, he has won numerous awards including; 2 Premiership medallions, All Australian Honours, captaining the Cats to their 2009 NAB Cup victory, a club Best and Fairest award, as well as finishing in Geelong’s top four in the best and fairest on 7 occasions (including the win).
The Cats leadership group consists of the following players: Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey, Corey Enright, Joel Selwood, James Kelly and Harry Taylor. Kelly and Taylor have been the new additions to the leadership for this season.
A look at how last week milestone players went in their respective games.
Brady Rawlings – Played his 200th game against the Saints on Sunday and had a pretty good day at the office. He racked up 32 disposals, 3 tackles and 2 clearances. 10 of his possessions were contested and he also had 3 inside 50s. To top it off his side managed to hand the Saints their second loss in as many weeks and give Rawlings a good finish to his milestone.
Brady Rawlings – Rawlings will be playing his 200th this weekend when he runs out against St Kilda. His career with North Melbourne spans a decade after being drafted by the Roos in the 1998 National Draft. He managed 13 games in his first season and steadily improved his game over the next few years. 2009 has been his best season statistics wise despite having missed two games.
Geelong 15.9. (99)
Hawthorn 14.14. (98)
Hawthorns hopes for 2009 now hang in the balance after a one point defeat to the Cats at the MCG. The Hawks now sit in 10th position with 8 wins and a poor percentage. The Cats who still have injury worries were able to run over the top of the Hawks in the last term kicking 5 goals to 1. The Hard fought victory has left the Cats with more big injuries with both Scarlett and Taylor going down.
Big Moment
The last seconds of this match were the most telling for the game with Joel Corey kicking into space allowing Jimmy Bartel to line up for the match winning point. This will go down as one of the biggest points ever kicked by the midfielder.
Key Players for Geelong –
Joel Selwood – What a game! Selwood ended the match with 42 possessions with 19 kicks and 23 handballs. 9 clearances to go along with his 13 contested possessions. Selwood also had 11 tackles for the match and kicked a goal.
Cameron Ling – His lock down job on Luke Hodge was great. Kept Hodge to only 11 touches for the game while having 20 of his own including a goal.
Gary Ablett – 33 disposals for Ablett in another impressive performance. 16 kicks and 17 handballs he had 4 clearances, 7 inside 50s and a goal. 11 contested possessions and also two scoring assists.
Key Players for Hawthorn
Brad Sewell – A really tough game from Sewell today with 29 disposals for the match. Of these 13 were contested the most of any Hawthorn player. Had 3 inside 50s and also 4 clearances in an impressive game.
Lance Franklin – Had a great game up forward kicking 5 goals and 2 behinds for the game. Had 20 touches including 3 contested marks. With Scarlett down injured had the potential to really hurt the Cats.
Brent Guerra – Had 26 possessions for the match and put the ball into Hawthorns forward 50 8 times for the game. Kicked a goal and also had two scoring assists.
Musings from the Match
• After the game a man fell down stairs after the match and has been taken to the Alfred Hospital in a critical condition.
• This almost puts the finals out of question for the Hawks who are in need of a miracle if they want to figure in September.
• Geelong again faces some issues next week with both Taylor and Scarlett in doubt.
• The Shane Mumford experiment is working so far with another good game.
• Alistair Clarkson is going to speak to the umpires about the unfair treatment of star forward Lance Franklin.
SuperCoach
Joel Selwood was outstanding and his scores reflect this with 185 for the game. Joel Corey was also impressive with 144 points. Scarlett was well down after his injury only having 13 points for the game. Renouf was the lowest scoring Hawk with 11 points. Luke Hodge also had a day he would like to forget with 53 points. Franklin was the best for the Hawks with 121 points. All the likely suspects scored well today.
West Coast -11.11 (60)
Geelong – 15.9 (77)
Geelong are simply too good to be beaten by bottom four ‘contenders’ West Coast. West Coast looked like they were way out of their depth in the first 14 mins when Geelong kicked five goals without seemingly breaking a sweat.
Big Moment
In the last quarter; Tom Hawkins takes a big grab and goals to steady the ship and almost seal the win.
Key Players for West Coast
Dean Cox – Omni-reliable ruck turned midfielder, dominated
Tyson Stenglein – Good job tagging Steven Johnson and picked up 21 possessions himself
Key Players for Geelong
Gary Ablett – It seems nobody can write about a Geelong game and not talk about Gary Ablett, he is in cracking form. Best on ground by a country mile and then some. 43 touches (although allowed to roam free for some time [who knows why?]) is a fair amount of leather.
Cameron Ling – He was tagging, but you couldn’t tell by his stats; 9 tackles and 26 disposals.
Paul Chapman – 3 goals, 24 touches, good enough to get in the bests.
Musings from the match
• Hawkins had a good game for once
• West Coast a proper bottom four
• Geelong tempted fate a few times by not being 100% switched on all day, good teams will take advantage if they do that against them (I can’t see them doing it to a good team).
• Geelong always find a way to win, I would have backed Geelong to win if they were 40 points down at half time
• Cox is way way way too good to be playing for West Coast, he is wasted on them. They would be one of the worst teams in the league without him. He is their best midfielder at the moment!
Supercoach news
Second gamers; Tom Swift and Nathan Djerrkura played okay, nothing to write home about though with SuperCoach scores of 45 and 56 respectively. Although, Tom Swift was playing against Bartel, who played well but not amazingly well, so his score could have been higher if he was playing in a non-tagging role. Whether Swift will always be a tagger is not yet known. I would hate to line up against. Cox and Ablett are obvious targets to trade up to for captaining your side.
