Geelong this year - Explosive team

[stan]

How good are they. At times Essendon looked alright and didnt do alot wrong, Just the machine that is Geelong was rolling thorugh them. That midfield is scary, the forward line is fast and tough and defence, well its solid as a rock.

[hearts on fire]

Geelong are better than the Brisbane Lions team that won the premierships 01, 02 and 03.

[Wedgie]

Scary part about it was they made a lot of skill errors, improving that aspet and getting a couple of all Australians back and they'll improve.

[Adelaide Hawk]

Geelong are better than the Brisbane Lions team that won the premierships 01, 02 and 03.

I think they need to do more before being compared with the Lions. I'd rate the Lions 2001-03 ahead of Geelong 2007.

[the wonder elephant]

Geelong are better than the Brisbane Lions team that won the premierships 01, 02 and 03.

I think they need to do more before being compared with the Lions. I'd rate the Lions 2001-03 ahead of Geelong 2007.

agreed lions 01 to 04 were nigh unstopable ..this geelong outfit is shaping up to be just as good but until they maintain it 4 3 or more years the lions are better imo .

[am Bays]

The last team to have a season like Geelong did last year - totally dominate it was Essendon in 2000.

Come Rd 2 2001 everyone was saying how far Essendon they are monty's for back to back. However beause of their wasted opportunity in 1999 their "window" was closing come the end of 2001 and we know what happened.

Will Geelong pay for a wasted 2006 come the end of 2008.

I'm not going to rule them out of 2008 premiership race but to declare this season over - well there is a lot of footy to be played yet.

[brod]

The way the Cats started the second term, showed just how well they can play together and how effective they are at what they do.

[Hondo]

Essendon 1999-2001 are a great example Tassie. They were described as possibly the best team of all time in 2000. Within 2 years, Brisbane had 'killed the predator' and started their 3-peat run.

Its amazing how quickly the window closes these days, 2 years ago WC looked like starting a run now suddenly they seem to be on the slide.

Still, the Cats in 2008 look 2 classes above and should deliver back-to-back flags but I think we can safely assume in a couple of years we'll be some other team and Geelong will suddenly look old and Thompson will be off-loading ageing stars for draft picks and the cycle will start again.

And, yes, they will rue 2006 in time .... but if it made them hungrier in 2007 well the supporters would probably take that.

[the wonder elephant]

Essendon 1999-2001 are a great example Tassie. They were described as possibly the best team of all time in 2000. Within 2 years, Brisbane had 'killed the predator' and started their 3-peat run.

Its amazing how quickly the window closes these days, 2 years ago WC looked like starting a run now suddenly they seem to be on the slide.

Still, the Cats in 2008 look 2 classes above and should deliver back-to-back flags but I think we can safely assume in a couple of years we'll be some other team and Geelong will suddenly look old and Thompson will be off-loading ageing stars for draft picks and the cycle will start again.

And, yes, they will rue 2006 in time .... but if it made them hungrier in 2007 well the supporters would probably take that.

totally agree with this post hondo BUT i do have a question 4 you where do you think the crows clock (or window )is atm most would say closed but seeing there performance on sat one could say its still open with 1 to 2 more seasons out of there aging stars i think the door may still be ajar prob not this year but maybe in the next 2 ?your thoughts ?

[Strawb]

Geelong is a young team yes and nearly all the players who's contracts at the end of the year end are looking to sign long term deals with a pay cut to keep the side together. Will Geelong be as good as Brisbane I dunno but i am happy to ride the rollercoaster and enjoy the ride and when the ride goes down I will keep riding. Only time will tell.

[Rik E Boy]

I would be interested (not interested enough to look it up mind you ha ha) to have a look at the trades and drafts that Essendon did prior to the 2001 season. I believe that Geelong has observed what happened at Essendon very closely during that period. At the end of our flag year we offloaded Playfair, Spencer, Gardiner, King, Callan and Scott Thompson. All are sound moves but I personally would have liked to see Thompson get another chance. In the meantime Geelong has drafted some hefty kids and has already blooded three youngsters in the first two rounds of the season this year. Did Essendon do this in 2001? I'm thinking that perhaps they did not but again I don't totally recall this.

Also, when Essendon were dominating the competetion the Brisbane Lions were earning their stripes by making Prelim Finals on a regular basis. They were a hardened finals combination that was ready to step into the breach. I would suggest that there is no combination that meets that pre-requisite this season. Hawthorn have talent but have only played in one finals series. Collingwood has played in a few but again they haven't had as many 'cracks' as the Lions did in the latter years of the nineties. St Kilda is in a similar boat. None of these teams compares with Brisbane because as you have said, Geelong probably doesn't. I believe the gap between Essendon 2000 and Geelong 2007 is smaller than the gap between Brisbane 2001 and Hawthorn, St Kilda and Collingwood 2008.

As always, injury remains the potential furball. Already the Cats have shown that the hunger and mental application is at the required level.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

The last team to have a season like Geelong did last year - totally dominate it was Essendon in 2000.

Come Rd 2 2001 everyone was saying how far Essendon they are monty's for back to back. However beause of their wasted opportunity in 1999 their "window" was closing come the end of 2001 and we know what happened.

Will Geelong pay for a wasted 2006 come the end of 2008.

I'm not going to rule them out of 2008 premiership race but to declare this season over - well there is a lot of footy to be played yet.

No. 2006 was the catalyist for the not only the 2007 premiership but the process of improvement that is still ongoing. If we had done another 2004 or 2005 perhaps this group would have been content to revel in mediocrity but the failure that was 2006 was a real rocket to the playing group.

The Essendon group did not bring through the next generation quickly enough and was dismantled by salary cap pressure. Since then we've seen a Brisbane team sacrifice the coin to stick together to ensure an era. Geelong is a keen studier of recent football history and I believe they as a group prefer the latter scenario.

Bad luck.

regards,

REB

[Hondo]

totally agree with this post hondo BUT i do have a question 4 you where do you think the crows clock (or window )is atm most would say closed but seeing there performance on sat one could say its still open with 1 to 2 more seasons out of there aging stars i think the door may still be ajar prob not this year but maybe in the next 2 ?your thoughts ?

I don't want to distract too much from a Geelong thread

My theory on 'windows' is that not all teams get them, they open up quicker than anyone plans for and they shut down quicker than anyone expects. Shut-down factor is not always a criticism just a reality of the wear & tear from playing finals year after year and the inevitable ticking clock which means that once your team is weighted in favour of guys in their late 20s then things start to fall away.

To answer your questions about the Crows, a window popped up unexpectedly in 2005 and 2006 and supporters can rue those years like the Cats in 2006, Bombers in 1999, Roos in 1998, Port in 2002-2003, etc, etc. I think we are still at least 1 year away from a window possibly opening up again - probably 2. I think Goody and Edwards and McLeod will caretaker the re-building but may miss any resulting success ..... but we'll see!

I think we all have to wait for the Cats to slow up which may not be until 2010. If I had to pick the next 'window' team its the Hawks.

[JK]

I think the Cats at times are a little too unselfish, so I still think they have a bit of improvement in them, which is a damn scary thought when they're already streets ahead.

Pretty sure (no doubt someone can confirm this) that the commentators on Sunday said no Geelong player had kicked more than 4 goals in a game all of last season and so far this year, which is unheard of when you're kicking such high scores so regularly ... Thats incredible balance across your playing group - Whereas some teams could lose their marquee player and it could sway your tip, Geelong could lose Bartel (or Ablett, or Corey, or Ling, or Ottens etc) and the thought wouldn't even enter the mind.

[the wonder elephant]

Essendon 1999-2001 are a great example Tassie. They were described as possibly the best team of all time in 2000. Within 2 years, Brisbane had 'killed the predator' and started their 3-peat run.

Its amazing how quickly the window closes these days, 2 years ago WC looked like starting a run now suddenly they seem to be on the slide.

Still, the Cats in 2008 look 2 classes above and should deliver back-to-back flags but I think we can safely assume in a couple of years we'll be some other team and Geelong will suddenly look old and Thompson will be off-loading ageing stars for draft picks and the cycle will start again.

And, yes, they will rue 2006 in time .... but if it made them hungrier in 2007 well the supporters would probably take that.

totally agree with this post hondo BUT i do have a question 4 you where do you think the crows clock (or window )is atm most would say closed but seeing there performance on sat one could say its still open with 1 to 2 more seasons out of there aging stars i think the door may still be ajar prob not this year but maybe in the next 2 ?your thoughts ?

sorry not trying to detract from geelong but there game style looks a lot like the crows of 2005 when after round 14 people said they were near unbeatable just making a comparision with what game style the cats play and to that the one the crows played in this time ..and i thought i saw a bit of this creeping back on sat for the crows thats all cheers

[the wonder elephant]

oops meant to quote your last post

[Rik E Boy]

....To answer your questions about the Crows, a window popped up unexpectedly in 2005 and 2006 and supporters can rue those years like the Cats in 2006, Bombers in 1999, Roos in 1998, Port in 2002-2003...

Yeah but all the teams you mentioned went on and won a premiership. It's a different story when you don't like the Crows. Then you really rue that missed opportunity. Geelong in the early to mid 90's comes to mind immediately.

regards,

REB

[Rik E Boy]

I think the Cats at times are a little too unselfish, so I still think they have a bit of improvement in them, which is a damn scary thought when they're already streets ahead.

Pretty sure (no doubt someone can confirm this) that the commentators on Sunday said no Geelong player had kicked more than 4 goals in a game all of last season and so far this year, which is unheard of when you're kicking such high scores so regularly ... Thats incredible balance across your playing group - Whereas some teams could lose their marquee player and it could sway your tip, Geelong could lose Bartel (or Ablett, or Corey, or Ling, or Ottens etc) and the thought wouldn't even enter the mind.

No, it was five goals Permstance. But it didn't happen all that often. The exciting thing about the Bomber win was that Cam Mooney got flogged but we still won easily. Happy days for us Catters mate. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!

regards,

REB

[JK]

Indeed they are mate ... Cheers for the correction, 5 goals still isn't a lot ... There's several sides out there that to get over the best opposition would rely on someone have a day out in front of the sticks ... Geelong probably has at least 6 blokes capable of bagging 5 or more but don't have to rely on that given the even spread of contributors across the field - They play the consumate team game imho.

[Booney]

The last team to have a season like Geelong did last year - totally dominate it was Essendon in 2000.

Come Rd 2 2001 everyone was saying how far Essendon they are monty's for back to back. However beause of their wasted opportunity in 1999 their "window" was closing come the end of 2001 and we know what happened.

Will Geelong pay for a wasted 2006 come the end of 2008.

I'm not going to rule them out of 2008 premiership race but to declare this season over - well there is a lot of footy to be played yet.

No. 2006 was the catalyist for the not only the 2007 premiership but the process of improvement that is still ongoing. If we had done another 2004 or 2005 perhaps this group would have been content to revel in mediocrity but the failure that was 2006 was a real rocket to the playing group.

The Essendon group did not bring through the next generation quickly enough and was dismantled by salary cap pressure. Since then we've seen a Brisbane team sacrifice the coin to stick together to ensure an era. Geelong is a keen studier of recent football history and I believe they as a group prefer the latter scenario.

Bad luck.

regards,

REB

Hey Admin!

Is it possible to keep two running tallies for REB and Wedgie's posts?

1 to keep a track of posts made in other forums,then a tally for the ones they use to rub our face in the total dominance Geelong have/are displaying?

We can only (fingers crossed) hope (this is a jibe,as teams who earn such success deserve it) the confines of the salary cap,and the pressure of player managers who will advise their clients to 'make hay while the sun shines' (as we know,AFL careers and the $$ that go with it can be fickle) tears at the very fabric that holds the Geelong Fc together and brings them back to the pack.

History (Essendon-Brisbane as REB quoted) suggest it will.Can the Catters be the first to buck the modern day trends? Time will be the only judge.....