1 on 1 versus Geelong

[boydogs]

We have an opportunity on Friday to take on the best performed side over the last 2 and a bit seasons. There are several reasons why we are a good chance to win:

- Higgins and Hargrave should come in. We missed Higgins and Hargrave and were a player short in our narrow win against Melbourne
- We are a good side when it comes to clearances which Geelong are used to dominating
- Our rucks are better
- Historically we play well against Geelong. The year we had 3.5 wins for the season we beat Geelong twice
- The game is at our home ground
- Geelong are not renowned for their zone which has caused us problems this season
- We match up particularly well

I have listed below possible 1 on 1 matchups and bolded which player I believe to be the better of the two. I have us in front 13 to 9 – have a go and see what you come up with – we may be a better chance than you think

Geelong – Out Wojcinski, In Ablett
WB – Out Murphy, Addison, In Higgins, Hargrave

LBP: Hargrave v Chapman
FB: Lake v Hawkins
RBP: Morris v S Johnson
LHB: Gilbee v Kelly
CHB: Williams v Mooney
RHB: Harbrow v Stokes
LW: Cross v Bartel
C: Boyd v Ablett
RW: Eagleton v Enright
R: Hudson v Blake
F1: Cooney v Ling
F2: Griffen v Selwood
LHF: Higgins v Corey
CHF: Hahn v Harley
RHF: Johnson v Taylor
LFP: Akermanis v Mackie
FF: Welsh v Scarlett
RFP: Hill v Milburn
Int1: Minson v Mumford
Int2: Everitt v Rooke
Int3: Giansiracusa v Varcoe
Int4: Picken v Byrnes

[Happy Days]

RHB: Harbrow v Stokes
F2: Griffen v Selwood
LHF: Higgins v Corey
RFP: Hill v Milburn


Think you're just about on the money, except for the above.

[dog town]

Milburn wont play.

[bulldogtragic]

I would love to just see us play the way we did in late Sept 2008. Just convert when we need to!!!!!

If they bleed, we can kill them.

[The Coon Dog]

- Higgins and Hargrave should come in.
So should Chapman & Ablett! :eek:

[boydogs]

So should Chapman & Ablett! :eek:

Didn't realise Chapman didn't play this week - was listed in their team on Thursday
I'm hoping that Ablett is a touch rusty having been out longer as Cooney and Murphy were for us. No doubt Geelong's are better ins though

[boydogs]

Originally Posted by gogriff

RHB: Harbrow v Stokes
F2: Griffen v Selwood
LHF: Higgins v Corey
RFP: Hill v Milburn

Think you're just about on the money, except for the above.

Perhaps you are right, though I hope that at least on Friday night you are not ;)

[Scorlibo]

Hey Go Griff I've done the same thing except only bolded where I thought there was a clear advantage.

LBP: Hargrave v Chapman
FB: Lake v Hawkins
RBP: Morris v S Johnson
LHB: Gilbee v Kelly
CHB: Williams v Mooney
RHB: Harbrow v Stokes
LW: Cross v Bartel
C: Boyd v Ablett
RW: Eagleton v Enright (not in form)
R: Hudson v Blake
F1: Cooney v Ling
F2: Griffen v Selwood
LHF: Higgins v Corey
CHF: Hahn v Harley
RHF: Johnson v Taylor
LFP: Akermanis v Mackie
FF: Welsh v Scarlett
RFP: Hill v Milburn
Int1: Minson v Mumford
Int2: Everitt v Rooke
Int3: Giansiracusa v Varcoe
Int4: Picken v Byrnes

2-6 their way.

I don't think we've got much if any hope in winning but if we lose by less than 30 points I'll call that a win.

We need Griff to fire up, it's been a long time since his last good performance.

[mjp]

Geelong are actually beatable - but we have to prevent their defenders from helping one another (and their midfield out). This is easier said than done of course, but the way Eade isolated Higgins on Milburn early in the game during the PF last year is representative of what we need to do.

Harley, Taylor and Mackie can all be 'got' if forced to play one-out. Missing Murphy will be tough for us to overcome though.

[boydogs]

Hey Go Griff I've done the same thing except only bolded where I thought there was a clear advantage.

LBP: Hargrave v Chapman
FB: Lake v Hawkins
RBP: Morris v S Johnson
LHB: Gilbee v Kelly
CHB: Williams v Mooney
RHB: Harbrow v Stokes
LW: Cross v Bartel
C: Boyd v Ablett
RW: Eagleton v Enright (not in form)
R: Hudson v Blake
F1: Cooney v Ling
F2: Griffen v Selwood
LHF: Higgins v Corey
CHF: Hahn v Harley
RHF: Johnson v Taylor
LFP: Akermanis v Mackie
FF: Welsh v Scarlett
RFP: Hill v Milburn
Int1: Minson v Mumford
Int2: Everitt v Rooke
Int3: Giansiracusa v Varcoe
Int4: Picken v Byrnes

2-6 their way.

I don't think we've got much if any hope in winning but if we lose by less than 30 points I'll call that a win.

We need Griff to fire up, it's been a long time since his last good performance.

I would go our way with Aker, Minson and Gia and more even with Williams given his good game last week. I also disagree on Selwood v Griffen as in my original post

Combining Cross v Bartel, Boyd v Ablett, Cooney v Ling and Griffen v Selwood we need to match them - being 3-0 down in clear advantages as you have recorded in these key midfield posts will go a long way to our demise

[mighty_west]

So should Chapman & Ablett! :eek:

Good, we would prefer to beat them with their best players in!!!!

:cool:

[Mantis]

Harley, Taylor and Mackie can all be 'got' if forced to play one-out. Missing Murphy will be tough for us to overcome though.

With our current structure how & with whom do we try and isolate these guys?

[BulldogBelle]

Geelong are actually beatable - but we have to prevent their defenders from helping one another (and their midfield out). This is easier said than done of course, but the way Eade isolated Higgins on Milburn early in the game during the PF last year is representative of what we need to do.

Harley, Taylor and Mackie can all be 'got' if forced to play one-out. Missing Murphy will be tough for us to overcome though.



If we bomb forwards we will be in serious trouble (Game 1 v Geelong last year when Milburn took countless marks in our F50)

We really need to lift our workrate to beat them though

We need to run in numbers with our ball carrier...I didnt see much of this against Melbourne, we did it well against Adelaide last week. And our flea brigade forward line simply needs to present and sprint into space...wish every player had Murphy's inteligence for the game ;-)

If Hargrave is 100% right then he is the match up for Steve Johnson...if not then Morris is...

Callan to come back in against his old club

I dont really rate Mooney and I dont rate Hawkins that much, they are just given goals on a silver platter by their mids. Williams and Lake should be able to take care of them.

We went with Geelong for 3 quarters down at Kardinia Park last year, and we could have beaten them in the prelim if we kicked straight.

[angelopetraglia]

I don't give us much hope at all going into this week against the Cats.

Agree that before this unbelievable run of theirs begun (what is it now ... 50 out of 53?) we actually did match up against them very well (we had won 3 of the previous 4 and lost the other game by a point).

Another thing to keep in mind is our percentage (that will be important in such a tight ladder), we are exactly 60 points ahead at the moment. If we are to lose, we do need to minimise the damage.

There last three victories against us are by margins of 29, 61 and 75 points.

[Sedat]

Geelong are actually beatable - but we have to prevent their defenders from helping one another (and their midfield out). This is easier said than done of course, but the way Eade isolated Higgins on Milburn early in the game during the PF last year is representative of what we need to do.

Harley, Taylor and Mackie can all be 'got' if forced to play one-out. Missing Murphy will be tough for us to overcome though.
Of course the above scenaio is predicated on us being able to break even or win the midfield battle. Massive game next week for our starting 4 mids and our ruckmen.

[LostDoggy]

Our midfield looked pretty slow and hesitant yesterday and I can't see them turning around and playing their best football this week. What a shame I was looking forward to this earlier.:(

[mjp]

Of course the above scenaio is predicated on us being able to break even or win the midfield battle. Massive game next week for our starting 4 mids and our ruckmen.

Yeah - but isn't that true of every game?

We WILL win our share of the ball (though Geelong will smash us in the possession count 'cos that is how they play) but if we allow the Geelong backs to work as a collective then we will not have a chance.

It is the effectiveness of our forward line that will determine the result.

[Sedat]

Yeah - but isn't that true of every game?

We WILL win our share of the ball (though Geelong will smash us in the possession count 'cos that is how they play) but if we allow the Geelong backs to work as a collective then we will not have a chance.

It is the effectiveness of our forward line that will determine the result.
Totally agreed with your original post, mjp - Geelong's backs peel off their designated man to create a numerical advantage and kill the contest time and again. But isolated one-out, their backs are as vulnerable as any team - just that it rarely happens because the supply of dangerous ball into their defensive 50 is often compromised due to the intense pressuring from Geelong's mids (something that St Kilda has perfected this season so far as well).

Going back to last year's PF, our back 6 was actually better one-out than their back 6 on the night, but unfortunately their forward line got an almighty supply of ball compared to our forward line - the exact same thing happened in the GF except they missed their chances (having nailed them the week before against us). I just don't think, no matter how well our defence plays as a collective group, we can hold them to a losing score unless we can cut the supply from the middle (or unless they kick 11.23 from 60 inside 50's and we kick 18.7 from 40 inside 50's).

[Desipura]

Hate to say it, with the current form we are in as well as Murphy out injured, I give us no chance!

[BulldogBelle]

Totally agreed with your original post, mjp - Geelong's backs peel off their designated man to create a numerical advantage and kill the contest time and again. But isolated one-out, their backs are as vulnerable as any team - just that it rarely happens because the supply of dangerous ball into their defensive 50 is often compromised due to the intense pressuring from Geelong's mids (something that St Kilda has perfected this season so far as well).

Going back to last year's PF, our back 6 was actually better one-out than their back 6 on the night, but unfortunately their forward line got an almighty supply of ball compared to our forward line - the exact same thing happened in the GF except they missed their chances (having nailed them the week before against us). I just don't think, no matter how well our defence plays as a collective group, we can hold them to a losing score unless we can cut the supply from the middle (or unless they kick 11.23 from 60 inside 50's and we kick 18.7 from 40 inside 50's).


If our players stand flat footed whilst the Geelong players converge and outnumber our players then we are in loads of trouble

If our players who dont have the ball work hard to provide support, ie moving into a recieving position then we will have a better chance

Will our guys work as hard as the Geelong players? Will our guys provide numbers around the contest? Will our guys play smartly by running into space and provide options for the ball carrier? Will our guys look for the right option when attacking? Or simply bomb forward? Do our guys have the belief that Geelong arent invincivable, and know that talent doesnt seperate the teams, work ethic and teamwork does?

[LostDoggy]

Massive cop out ahead...

When we lose this one I will blame it on two 6 day turnarounds!