Why Geelong should win the flag..

[Dutchy]

strange days Clarrie...

West Coast have only won 6 of their past 13 and with Judd and Fletcher having injury problems, Cousins likely to hit a flat patch shortly and defence has conceeded over 100 points in 4 of their last 5 games Im not convinced, there comes a time where going deep into September for a couple of years can effect the team - e.g. Brisbane, Collingwood of late, playing those extra 5-6 games and reducing your preseason can be tough...WCE also dont have a consistent avenue to goal which is a worry also, interestingly their average losing margin this year is 34 points, when they get beaten they get beaten well....7 of their 12 wins have been against teams in the bottom 8....

Im not convinced they are the power they were....

[Rik E Boy]

Boys, I'll be one very unhappy Cat if we blow this one. Everybody keeps saying we'll fall over, we are due for a loss, they'll choke etc but as has been pointed out, the current Geelong group has no connection whatsoever to the group that went to the well four times and came back with bubkus.

Geelong also has no connection to last year's Adelaide side or the St Kilda side of 2004. You'll notice however that I've hardly been online boasting about the Cats great season so far. I am just enjoying the ride so far but I am old enough to remember the heartbreak of four grannies that went the wrong way. 1995 was a particurlarly galling game of football for me...a game? Don't you bloody believe it, it was more than a game - I bleed Blue and White and I had to get the **** out of there that day away from my (Carlton supporting) missus and away from Roy and HG's Cat piss take..I still hate those bastards even today...a true Cat never forgets. Even though we should win the flag, the same thing probably was the case in 1992. In 1994 we by rights shouldn't have made it to the playoff and we were nothing more than the second best team in 89 and 95.

While there are several good reasons to get on the Cats for the flag, many supporters have that nagging feeling that we might fall over again as some posters have expressed. My views..

HAWTHORN: The most dangerous of the lot in my view from a Cat perspective. We don't have a great match up for Buddy (not many teams do mind you) and their midfield is good too. They have the best foward line of the major protagonists.

PORT: A good side but we'll smash them. I don't fear the Power at all. Next week will see if they've moved up a gear since we won at AAMI earlier on.

WEST COAST: A lot of people are saying 'oh West Coast v Geelong= West Coast flag'. WRONG. I WANT us to play West Coast in the Grand Final. Why? There foward line is a joke, we match up on their midfield, Judd is not fit, Stevie Johnson and Ablett Jnr have a good record against them...and it's time to lay a few ghosts.

ROOS: Another team that has a good record against the Cats. This week will again tell plenty. For some reason or another Geelong has failed to respect the Roos and have paid the price. Our last two games against them have been absolutely insipid efforts. The Roos loss at Cat Park started our run and we'll be dead keen to smash them in August AND September...and I think we can.

SYDNEY: Another team that plenty of punters are prepared to write up. I have a sneaking suspicion it might be a Geelong v Sydney Grand Final. Hall isn't fully fit and he's such a key to their side and when he is fully fit a fully fit Scarlo has owned him. A number of players in the Red and White haven't continued on the improvement trail such as Ablett, Buchanan, Schnieder and Davis.

In short, we haven't lost to West Coast or Sydney all year and we have matched up well on them in the past when they were power teams and we were mid-table plodders. We know what to expect with them. If we play Hawthorn...all bets are off! I'm yet to be convinced that we know as much about Clarkson's game plan as we should have. Having said that, they only beat us by four points in Tassie on a day when our three tall forwards didn't get a kick.

regards,

REB (resumes

[Dutchy]

well put REB...

people are quick to forget in '05 Cats where 5 seconds from a the Grannie....and who beat them? the eventual premiers

[Rik E Boy]

...no mate that's five seconds from the PRELIM.

regards,

REB

[mighty_tiger_79]

well put REB...

people are quick to forget in '05 Cats where 5 seconds from a the Grannie....and who beat them? the eventual premiers

not everyone forgets that

[Dutchy]

...no mate that's five seconds from the PRELIM.

regards,

REB

HUH?

[MW]

While there may not be any players left over from those four (my god...four) losing grannies in the late 80's, early 90's, make no mistake the media hype about the GF losses going into the game (if the make the GF) will be huge so the players will have no choice but to think about it.

After saying that, out of all the teams in the eight, I hope they go on and win it. (Unless the Crows can sneak in of course).

[Hondo]

...no mate that's five seconds from the PRELIM.

regards,

REB

HUH?

Do you mean the game where Nick Davis kicked 5,000 goals in the last 2 minutes?

If that's the game, then that was a 2nd week final (whatever they call that now) leading in to the Prelim where Sydney came from behind (again) to beat the Saints at the G

[Dutchy]

...no mate that's five seconds from the PRELIM.

regards,

REB

HUH?

Do you mean the game where Nick Davis kicked 5,000 goals in the last 2 minutes?

If that's the game, then that was a 2nd week final (whatever they call that now) leading in to the Prelim where Sydney came from behind (again) to beat the Saints at the G

ahh yes OK, apologies...maybe Im getting confused with '96 and that Lockett goal to get Sydney in

[Pup]

West Coast have only won 6 of their past 13 and with Judd and Fletcher having injury problems,

They had a terrible patch where they lost to St Kilda and Brisbane at home as well as getting thumped by Port and beaten by Essendon in Melbourne, but in the last month they have improved, they beat Sydney at home, Smashed the Dogs, lost to a more committed Fremantle and then beat an impressive Kangaroos, so you can argue that they are gaining momentum at the right time of year.
On the injuries, Judd is clearly not right but cannot get any worse as the season goes on from all reports, and he still takes the best opposition player even when he is playing forward. Fletcher on the other hand has been injured but has been available for selection for the past three weeks but can not (Before this week) get a game purely because the Midfield is performing really well.


Cousins likely to hit a flat patch shortly and defence has conceeded over 100 points in 4 of their last 5 games Im not convinced

Why is Cousins likely to hit a flat patch shortly? He has played at this high level for near on 5 years now. I cant see why he is going to be flat at this time of year after missing the first 15 weeks. in fact i see him doing the opposite. My only fear for Cousins would be his hamstrings, if he stays fit, i think he will be continue to excel.
The Backline has been under-performing no doubt about it (with the exception of Darren Glass) but it is not their weakness and would still be pretty confident that it can shut down a good forward line.

there comes a time where going deep into September for a couple of years can effect the team - e.g. Brisbane, Collingwood of late, playing those extra 5-6 games and reducing your preseason can be tough

Brisbane had been playing finals for 5 years including 4 Grand Final wins, and their side was considerably older (Lynch, Pike, Ashcroft, Hart,etc) so their decline was understandable and too be honest i dont think you can compare Collingwood from 2002,and 2003 to this West Coast side because WCE are clearly superior. West Coast have a younger side than Brisbane and a much better side than Collingwood. This would only be WCE's third year playing deep in September if they make it.

WCE also dont have a consistent avenue to goal which is a worry also, interestingly their average losing margin this year is 34 points, when they get beaten they get beaten well

I agree that their forward line is their weakness, but it does get over hyped, Their forwards over 190cm have kicked the second most goals for the season with only Hawthorn in front of them. So their big men cant be going to bad can they?
One thing i do agree on is when they lose (Apart from Sydney) they seem to lose convincingly especially over the last 2 years.

7 of their 12 wins have been against teams in the bottom 8
Im not convinced they are the power they were

They have beaten Sydney twice, once in Sydney once at home, The Bulldogs at both, Adelaide in Adelaide, Collingwood, in Perth, Kangaroos at TD and at Subiaco. amd dont forget have had a dreadful run with injuries, when they played Port only 6-7 weeks ago they had 25 players to pick from. Embley, Fletcher, Wirra, Cox, Chick, Waters, Steinglein, Nicoski, Cousins, Hansen, Kerr have all missed games of footy some at a regular basis. I think writing them off is pretty dangerous because at the moment they are in the box seat for second spot..

[smithy]

...no mate that's five seconds from the PRELIM.

regards,

REB

HUH?

Do you mean the game where Nick Davis kicked 5,000 goals in the last 2 minutes?

If that's the game, then that was a 2nd week final (whatever they call that now) leading in to the Prelim where Sydney came from behind (again) to beat the Saints at the G

ahh yes OK, apologies...maybe Im getting confused with '96 and that Lockett goal to get Sydney in

Only 9 years out....

[mighty_tiger_79]

...no mate that's five seconds from the PRELIM.

regards,

REB

HUH?

Do you mean the game where Nick Davis kicked 5,000 goals in the last 2 minutes?

If that's the game, then that was a 2nd week final (whatever they call that now) leading in to the Prelim where Sydney came from behind (again) to beat the Saints at the G

ahh yes OK, apologies...maybe Im getting confused with '96 and that Lockett goal to get Sydney in

wasnt that a point?

[Dutchy]

this aint getting any better!!!

[stan]

WEST COAST: A lot of people are saying 'oh West Coast v Geelong= West Coast flag' WRONG. I WANT us to play West Coast in the Grand Final. Why? There foward line is a joke, we match up on their midfield, Judd is not fit, Stevie Johnson and Ablett Jnr have a good record against them...and it's time to lay a few ghosts


REB (resumes

REB you really are a tool. Nobody has said this. Most people dont even think WC will make it this year. Your the only one who has said this. You might as well put this with your weekly shite you put on here because thats all that it is.

[sydney-dog]

Cats, looking at all the stats, I agree they look strong, however

since 2000, these stats have continuously proved the footy public wrong, Port Power are the only side to win a flag after winning the minor premiership since 2000

Let's look at the other sides

West Coast, agree at the moment not playing at their best and are struggling to get their best side on the deck, however, they have a host of big game players, and are proven over the journey

Sydney, once again, proven over the journey, their style of play may upset Geelong

Hawks, well they may be a repeat of the baby bombers, they have plenty of x factor and will play with no fear

Geelong, they will possibly go in to the finals on the back of a long winning streak, with the pressure of being minor premiers, with the pressure of not performing in GF's, this will have an impact one way or another

The Cats a far from over the line

[Wedgie]

WEST COAST: A lot of people are saying 'oh West Coast v Geelong= West Coast flag' WRONG. I WANT us to play West Coast in the Grand Final. Why? There foward line is a joke, we match up on their midfield, Judd is not fit, Stevie Johnson and Ablett Jnr have a good record against them...and it's time to lay a few ghosts


REB (resumes

REB you really are a tool. Nobody has said this. Most people dont even think WC will make it this year. Your the only one who has said this. You might as well put this with your weekly shite you put on here because thats all that it is.

Ive heard it heaps of times too, I think you're a bit harsh calling him a tool just because you haven't heard what a lot of others have. I don't think you should be calling other poster's regular contributions "shite" either as a lot of us enjoy REBs contributions and its gives us a place to stick our tips too.

[Rik E Boy]

WEST COAST: A lot of people are saying 'oh West Coast v Geelong= West Coast flag' WRONG. I WANT us to play West Coast in the Grand Final. Why? There foward line is a joke, we match up on their midfield, Judd is not fit, Stevie Johnson and Ablett Jnr have a good record against them...and it's time to lay a few ghosts


REB (resumes

REB you really are a tool. Nobody has said this. Most people dont even think WC will make it this year. Your the only one who has said this. You might as well put this with your weekly shite you put on here because thats all that it is.

A lot of people have fargen stated this online you feckin idiot. Try reading other people's posts instead of coming out with pathetic personal attacks. If I wanted to hear from an arsehole I would have farted.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

Cats, looking at all the stats, I agree they look strong, however

since 2000, these stats have continuously proved the footy public wrong, Port Power are the only side to win a flag after winning the minor premiership since 2000

Let's look at the other sides

West Coast, agree at the moment not playing at their best and are struggling to get their best side on the deck, however, they have a host of big game players, and are proven over the journey

Sydney, once again, proven over the journey, their style of play may upset Geelong

Hawks, well they may be a repeat of the baby bombers, they have plenty of x factor and will play with no fear

Geelong, they will possibly go in to the finals on the back of a long winning streak, with the pressure of being minor premiers, with the pressure of not performing in GF's, this will have an impact one way or another

The Cats a far from over the line

West Coast were minor premiers last year so that's two of the last three are premiers. Geelong has stood up to Sydney and West Coast over the last few seasons when they were playing better and we were playing much worse. Sydney hasn't defeated Geelong in Victoria since 1999 I think it is. You're right though, no team is 'over the line' in August.

regards,

REB

[mighty_tiger_79]

i want us to play the Eagles in the GF then ill collect on my G/f quinella!!!!!!!

[stan]

WEST COAST: A lot of people are saying 'oh West Coast v Geelong= West Coast flag' WRONG. I WANT us to play West Coast in the Grand Final. Why? There foward line is a joke, we match up on their midfield, Judd is not fit, Stevie Johnson and Ablett Jnr have a good record against them...and it's time to lay a few ghosts


REB (resumes

REB you really are a tool. Nobody has said this. Most people dont even think WC will make it this year. Your the only one who has said this. You might as well put this with your weekly shite you put on here because thats all that it is.

Ive heard it heaps of times too, I think you're a bit harsh calling him a tool just because you haven't heard what a lot of others have. I don't think you should be calling other poster's regular contributions "shite" either as a lot of us enjoy REBs contributions and its gives us a place to stick our tips too.

I think you missed my "point" there wedgie. I guess I probably should have put in a or something. Alot more piss than poo taken. Mainly stiring the pot in reference to the point about WC beating Geelong in a GF. Im aware of some tips made by "experts" about the eagles being able to do this. Perhaps I should make my sarcasm more detectable as now that I look back its probably not clear. Appoligies REB although im sure you got the "point".

And the joke about his rubbish being "shite".....thats because he calls it his rubbish....<enter humour here>...

anyway play on.