Geelong

[Rik E Boy]

[Mr66]

Your boys look good REB, so long as they don't start playing like Julie Andrews!

[Hondo]

Still looking good .... but the Crows and now the Pies have held them to low scores and close margins

However, with West Coast losing every other week and the Hawks going down by 10 last week - plus the Crows and Sydney up and down - who's left to challenge them?

My only reservation is whether they have peaked to early like the Crows last year .... but they are still flag favs for mine

[mal]

As predicted by myself, they will be top 2 in 2007
Written off earlier this year by most but not me

[Dutchy]

Also worth adding they have beaten the Spread the bookies set in these 10 games also, fair effort, some Cat fans should be very rich

Whose the last team to beat this super power???

[Strawb]

The railways tried and failed not even a strike could stop Geelong yesterday.

[Mr66]

[quote="Dutchy"]Also worth adding they have beaten the Spread the bookies set in these 10 games also, fair effort, some Cat fans should be very rich

Whose the last team to beat this super power???[/quote]

Round 5 @ Kardinia Park, North Melbourne 18.10.118 d Geelong 15.12.102.
And if you're going to brag about a win at least get the score right.
Sturt scored 15.14.104

[Psyber]

Also worth adding they have beaten the Spread the bookies set in these 10 games also, fair effort, some Cat fans should be very rich

Whose the last team to beat this super power???

Round 5 @ Kardinia Park, North Melbourne 18.10.118 d Geelong 15.12.102.
And if you're going to brag about a win at least get the score right.
Sturt scored 15.14.104

Sorry folks my OCD compelled me to tidy up Mr66's tidying up!

[Blue Boy]

Is there a hidden sausage roll in there ???

[ORDoubleBlues]

Certainly very impressive again today and the thing that strikes me is that they seem to want to get the ball on from/out of contests to stop congestion and play a real flow on brand of football that is very good to watch.
Defenders like Milburn, Harley and Hunt are playing with real confidence at the moment and aren't scared to try and take marks in the back half.

Why Matthew Stokes wasn't given a go at AFL level before last season is surprising and he's making the most of his opportunities at the moment. Will be one of the real success stories if the cats can take the flag.
Think that Joel Selwood is just as good a rookie as Chris Judd was, Selwood just doesn't have Judd's pace.
The recruiters who had the balls to pick Andrew Mackie at pick 7 in the 2002 draft deserve a pat on the back as I don't think he was on anyone elses radar to go that early but he's looking better and better all the time and IMHO he can end up being one of the best players in the competition.
Hard to believe that this is David Wojcinski's 9th year on an AFL list but he doesn't seem to have lost any pace despite some fairly major injuries in the past.

[leftlegger]

REB
Have you ever read John Harms' - Loose Men Everywhere. ?

Great book.
I can only wonder what is happening inside Geelong supporter's heads at the moment.
Surely this is the year.

[Strawb]

Good win according the the heraldsun today it is back to business as usual down at the cattery today. The town is pumping and everyone down their is excited as Bruce was seeing wayne carey.

[JAS]

Your boys look good REB, so long as they don't start playing like Julie Andrews!

Agree but after listening to several games online this year it might not be a bad thing if they started acquired some of her singing talents

Regards
JAS

[Rik E Boy]

No leftlegger, haven't read the Harms book. Is it a 'how to hypnotise chooks' type of book or a real one?

About the Singing...notice how the Cats don't appear to be all that excited when they sing the song. Even after the Rooannilation it seemed low (and off) key. They are so focussed it is scary.

regards,

REB

[smac]

No leftlegger, haven't read the Harms book. Is it a 'how to hypnotise chooks' type of book or a real one?

About the Singing...notice how the Cats don't appear to be all that excited when they sing the song. Even after the Rooannilation it seemed low (and off) key. They are so focussed it is scary.

regards,

REB

I did notice that, it reminded me of Essendon in 2000, they stopped singing the club song altogether part way through the season (perhaps sore throats from singing it every week ) and sang it with real gusto after the premiership was won.

[Hondo]

I was reminded yesterday that Geelong's fitness guy is a young guy they got from the Crows at the end of last season

When trying to fathom what's been the difference from 2006 to 2007 for the Cats - apart from confidence and self-belief their fitness and strength is second to none IMO

I'd be interested in other people's thoughts as to how the Cats have got so far ahead with mostly the same playing list as last year

Great turnaround

[JK]

I was reminded yesterday that Geelong's fitness guy is a young guy they got from the Crows at the end of last season

When trying to fathom what's been the difference from 2006 to 2007 for the Cats - apart from confidence and self-belief their fitness and strength is second to none IMO

I'd be interested in other people's thoughts as to how the Cats have got so far ahead with mostly the same playing list as last year

Great turnaround

Fair question Hondo ... From a completely distanced viewpoint (ie, could be entirely wrong), it seems more a combination of added maturity, combined with a good start to the season.

I'm lead to believe (again wouldn't have seen enough) that Bomber has tinkered slightly with the gameplan this season to increase the offensive assault level.

REB's naturally the man to put his finger on this one, but I'd imagine it's not just the one thing has lead to improvement.

[Rik E Boy]

Seeing as we started off with a ten in this thread I'll try and give hondo ten reasons why the Cats have surprised everyone (even us Cat fans) this season.

1. 2006

Last year was a bitterly disappointing season for everyone associated or who follows the Cats as you could probably tell from my angry whiney posts last year. Fans got the feeling that the 'rebuild' that had taken so long had all been in vain. The people most disappointed were obviously the playing group. Perhaps the Cats thought it would all fall into place after our unlucky 2005 exit but the real spur for 2007 was the 5hitburger that was 2006. One thing that many Cat bashers failed to observe though is that last season Geelong started winning on the road. This is one thing that Cats had failed to do in 2004 and 2005.

2. Leadership

Leadership was serverly lacking last season and has done at Geelong for many years. Geelong had many soul searching sessions when everyone had their say and unlike other similar sessions, there were no walk outs as each player to a man faced up to thier own Demons. Look at the difference in Cam Mooney this season. I imagine that it was pointed out to Cam just how important he is to our group and that his frankly pathetic tribunal record last year was simply not good enough. The ban on Steve Johnson showed that the playing group was fair dinkum and has resulted in a fitter and more focussed Dog. This group is finally taking ownership and this leadership has caused the playing group to ignore the growing pressure created by us success starved fans as well as the braying Geelong Advertiser. Another key with the leadership is the club has a skipper who wants to be the leader and not a reluctant captain like King and Graham were before him.

3. Injuries

For the second year in a row we've had a pretty good run with injuries. Even if we addressed leadership and the hunger was there, if you have players out it makes it tough. Geelong have had a few out in Harley, Chapman, Tenace, King, Rooke and now Egan but right now we are one player off from being at full strength. This is a luxury that West Coast, Sydney, Collingwood, Melbourne and St Kilda have simply not had this season.

4. Depth

Geelong are one of the few clubs that still boast a stand alone reserves side in the revamped VFL (VFA). This means that the Cats have fringe AFL players running around in a comp with a similar standard to the SANFL. Geelong win a lot more than they lose and are in the Prelim Final this weekend. Guys like Gardiner, Playfair, Tenace, Callan, Lonergan and King are being forced to shine in this comp. Younger players such as Davenport and Prismall are being taught a winning culture, unlike the collection of young stars being smashed every week at Carlton. Meanwhile, the league boys know they can't put in a 5hit one or they'll be lining up against North Ballarat

5. Draft scam!

Geelong has performed quite well in previous drafts but it might be that the 2007 draft will be the one that gets the biggest tick. Tom Hawkins got all the headlines but in reality he may be up to three years away from being the gun all Cat fans hope he will be. The maturity of Joel Selwood is the biggest story in the draft for Geelong and while I bagged the Power, at least they got Boak who looks the goods. How can Essendon in particular, bypass Selwood and Boak with their dodgy midfield? Someone else who has flown under the radar is Nathan Djekerra who has battled injury this season. I reckon all three will be regular league stars in the future. Selwood is the ace in the pack because he won't be tagged like a Marc Murphy or that leaves Ablett, Bartel, Corey, Ling or even James Kelly unattended. Go ahead and tag him say Cat fans!

6. Stepped up

Nathan Ablett, Andrew Mackie, Mark Blake, Matthew Egan, Cameron Mooney, Brad Ottens, Cameron Ling, Gary Ablett, Joel Corey, James Kelly, Steve Johnson, Matty Stokes, David Wojinski and Tom Harley have all stepped up this season. Many of these players are playing career best football. Name another club that has such an extensive list of players who have stepped up this season. When everyone does their pre-season prediction one of the big IFs is 'will so and so stand up'. With this group, it is easier to identify those that have than those that have not.

7. Belief

Every side needs belief and when Geelong won two matches at our theatre of pain, AAMI Stadium, we suddenly had it. You could tell they were thinking 'if we can win here, we can win anywhere'.

8. Support Staff

Much better in support staff this season is Geelong. I have said many times that Neil Balme was a super-important acquisition for Geelong. Balmey gets underestimated by a lot of people in football but where Balmey goes, results follow. Balme is an effective communicator and is very perceptive too...always seems to know what to say and when to say it. In a season when Geelong have identified the need to let Bomber just coach, Balme is a key. The midfield coaches and fitnesss gurus are also a huge improvement on last season as was pointed out by hondo.

9. Stability

Geelong have been going in the right direction off the field all decade. I was one of the many Cat fans who wanted Bomber's head on a pike last season but I'm glad the football club knows better. Have a look at St Kilda this season. Geelong would have wasted the first half of this season trying to adapt to a new game plan but instead they were winning at AAMI Stadium. I'm still not fully convinced about Bomber as I believe other coaches like Williams and Malthouse in particular are better but if we win the flag we won't care to much about those comparisons. Thank god for Costa and Cook!!

10. The Choker factor

All year long fans of opposition clubs have pointed out our crap finals history and the fact that we are 'chokers' even though we only really 'blew' one flag and that was a very close race in 1992. This group has won a reserves and a pre-season flag and has also won 3 out of 6 finals now. One thing that defintely is apparent about this group is just how hungry they are. We haven't won a flag for over 40 years. Last year was a lemon. This year the more experienced teams have fallen by the wayside. What has seen to be an apparent weakness appears to have become an unexpected ally.

Having said that. We've still won fugg all.

regards,

REB

[MW]

What I find most interesting about Geelongs rise is Mark Thomspon was probably only a "Frank Costa waking up in a bad mood" away from being shown the door, now less than 12 months later, he is coaching the side heavily favoured to take the flag. A lot of credit to Geelongs board for holding onto him.

[JK]

What I find most interesting about Geelongs rise is Mark Thomspon was probably only a "Frank Costa waking up in a bad mood" away from being shown the door, now less than 12 months later, he is coaching the side heavily favoured to take the flag. A lot of credit to Geelongs board for holding onto him.

There's a few instances you could say this about Senior Coaches .. Many media and Power fans (not to mention sponsors) thought Chocko should have been shown the door in 2004 and not only did he lead them to the flag, he looks every chance of doing it again in the future ... Paul Roo's is another that springs to mind.