Week 1 NAB CHALLENGE

2015 is the first year that I have been a member of the Geelong Football Club after supporting them for 30 years.  I plan on writing this biased, un fact checked and grammatically incompetent  blog each week. These are my stories. (Cue noise from Law and Order)

 

Week#1 NAB Cup vs. Gold Coast Suns @ Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville QLD

 

So up to the sunny Tony Ireland stadium(which is actually quite cloudy) in Townsville the cats will go to take on the increasingly seasoned Gold Coast Suns. I am expecting big things from the GC this year with the list they have assembled and the concessions granted by the AFL. Finals is a very achievable goal for the Suns and should have been achieved by the group last year had a certain G. Ablett not gone down with season ending shoulder injury.

The suns got the cats in the home and away last year in what was probably the best win in the clubs short history so they hit the field knowing if they play good footy they can win this game.

This year for me is all about the cats and with the ring of “Straight sets..” in my ears I write this full of confidence for the year ahead. I'm like a 10 handicap golfer confidently striding to the first tee , the 18 holes ahead of me are all a clean slate of possible greatness.

The reason I’m confident about 2015 is the Cats core of dependable All Australian  senior players. Bartel, Hawkins, Enright, Kelly, Taylor, Lonergan, Stokes and led brilliantly by Joel Selwood the captain of the national side. These guys have been to the well many times before and know what is needed to be a premiership side on and off the track. All the noise coming out of the club is that they are demanding the same from the younger brigade coming through. They will be stung by the manner in which they exited the finals last year. Chris Scott included. And so they should be.

Can they turn it around this year? Or like so many pundits annually predict is this going to be the year that cats finally slide back to the middle of the field.

I don’t think the slide will occur this year but I think the pre-season will give us an indication as to whether the Scott era will be a dynasty or a brief flicker of a career that seems to be the trend of the day with clubs seemingly ready to sack a coach. With the cats tough start to the year it’s going to be crucial that they hit the ground running and pick up as many wins as possible early on.

 

 

4.30 Game time.

First impressions. GC look fit. The Cats look ready.

            When your right your right and as per usual the cats older players namely Jimmy Bartel and James Kelly lead the way and a super fit Tom Hawkins dominates the forward line kicking two and missing a couple for good measure.

            The score board wont say it but the Cats were the team that played the better footy however GC managed to capitalise on there opportunities when the cats younger players turned the ball over with skill errors under pressure on the defensive side of midfield. All the fist gamers looked a strep off the pace of AFL footy with the exception of the Cockatoo and the impressive boy from Colac Darcy Lang who got the footy took the game on and when he made the always going to happen skill error under pressure he willed himself  to the next contest forced a turnover and picked up another possession for his troubles.

Gold Coast by a point.

Second Quarter.

Break in transmission cheers for that foxtel, why not reel out some ads …........ GC by 2pts two minutes in.

            The cockatoo takes a strong grab ala Jimmy Bartel and shows silky kicking skills in a rare highlight for the cats in the second term. The conditions look brutal and the cats wilt as the GC turns it up a notch only letting the cats off the hook with poor goal kicking accuracy kicking five straight behinds.

            Contested ball and clearances are yet again are a concern for the cats getting absolutely smashed by the GC midfield and delivery into the forward line is nonexistent with each defensive rebound stopped by the suns pressing up the ground and sent back into the overwhelmed Geelong defence time and time again.

Gold Coast up by 18pts. Should be up by 40.

            If the second term was a golf hole the cats put it in the piss off the tee and then three putted.

Third Quarter

            Gregson kicks a goal early and is lively and Chris Scott gets one back in the coaches box after being thoroughly outcoached by Rocket Eade in the second term.

Guthrie shows poise and class when he steps through traffic and kicks a Mums delicious Sunday roast goal of the day and the kid from Colac Darcy Lang is easily the most impressive of the young fellas with a mark and goal to go along with his bag of touches.

            The cats clawed their way back into the game and will go into the last with a sniff and a 10 point deficit. Result is meaningless all the final term can do is produce an injury to a star player and create a talking point.

            Both teams should be competitive this season from the standard of footy seen so far in taxing conditions.

Gold Coast by 10pts

Last Quarter.

The kid from Colac puts his magnet in the must play round one section of the coaches whiteboard with his second from a clever Stevie Motlop cross but the cats look tired early in the last and the 10 point margin looks enough unless the cats can lift or get Stephen Dank on the phone.

Mitch Clarke finally impacts the game and does it big time with a “Ritchie” kicking two in two minutes putting the cats up by 2. If that kind of play becomes the norm for the big fella he could definitely be a 40+ goal a year player.

Great last quarter of footy by both teams but in the end the Gold Coast too good and too strong in the tropical conditions.

Final score Gold Coast Suns by 8pts

 

Darcy Lang the Coca Colac kid was the standout for me amongst the cats with less than 50 games to their names. He knew where to run to find the footy and used it fairly well in the tricky conditions. His second and third efforts stood out more on a day where it was easy to slack off and blame the heat and he seems to have developed  an understanding with Stevie Motlop. The silky one crossing two goal assists Lang's way both with no look across the body passes.   

Mitch Clarke ticked a few boxes and like a good race horse will be better for the run, he shouldn't be judged on this game and just needs to play some regular footy.             The Cockatoo showed a glimpse as did Gregson and should both debut this year if they continue to develop. Prepared to forgive the rest of the less experienced guys who were all pretty average at best.

The danger signs that emerged at the end of last year are there again for the cats with Chris Scott outcoached (yet again) and the cats losing the contested ball and clearances, areas identified by the club for improvement, improvement that was just not evident.

Fair to say the Irish experiment failed miserably with the big Pod only involved in one passage of play which resulted in giving away a free kick 40m out directly in front. The question has to be asked, why even play the kid in 33 degrees? He blew up quicker than a balloon animal at a clown convention.

I can't really take much out of the contest other than to say when the cats usual suspects moved the ball they looked the better side but with too many passengers and players not willing to get the hard footy the rot that set in at the end of last year looks to have continued .

So back to the Cattery next week where we will take on another middle tier side with a new coach in Adelaide . Time to raise the bar.   

Go Cats!