2007 Grand Final

[Twodogs]

Steve Johnson was arrested for D&D and assault last night SEN have said.

[The Coon Dog]

Steve Johnson was arrested for D&D and assault last night SEN have said.

Wasn't it David Johnson?

So many bloody Johnson's in the AFL these days.

[bornadog]

Wasn't it David Johnson?

So many bloody Johnson's in the AFL these days.

yes David

[Bulldog Revolution]

Match-ups will be the key: Eade
9:47 AM Thu 27 September, 2007 | Back

By Rodney Eade,

Geelong: Has a very even side, with not many weaknesses, strong midfield and defence. Steve Johnson’s improved fitness and consistency is the added dimension to their forward line. They play a very good contested brand of football especially at stoppages and in the midfield. Ling, Bartel, Corey, Gary Ablett and Selwood are all very good in this area and then have the nous and ability to spread very quickly from a contested situation.

They will handball backwards first from most situations then players spread quickly into space to receive the ball. This is their normal mode of not only getting out of trouble but also setting up attacks. This actually got them into trouble against Collingwood as the Pies exerted great pressure on the “release” player – causing many turnovers.

The Cats have great foot skills and generally like to move the ball quickly. They will hit-up leading players through the middle and at half-forward, then have many options running past for the handball. Under pressure they will go long towards the goal square expecting a contest from either Mooney or Nathan Ablett.

Their defence is their greatest strength and usually they do not require extra numbers for support .Their midfielders, though, especially Bartel, Corey and Chapman, will push into defence to assist their mates.

Port Adelaide: The Power play a different game and at times will fluctuate between styles depending on the situation. Like Geelong, they are very good at stoppages and rely heavily on this strength to generate their run. Their main focus is to get numbers behind the ball, especially in the back 50.Their midfielders will push back as do the wingers with the half forwards playing up the ground. This assists in generating a great deal of run from defence. They love to share the ball by hand and foot as they swarm forward. They deliver to a fast-leading, dangerous forward line whose members can all kick multiple goals. Port’s biggest weapon is its talent and structure around stoppages led by Lade. He is a master of palming the ball and usually gives his teammates first access to the ball. They will at times slow the game down and move the ball methodically forward. This will happen if the opposition flood or by the Power playing numbers up the ground and they have no-one to kick to. Also, late in quarters they will play keepings-off to run down the clock.

Dangers to –

Geelong: The obvious danger to the Cats is Port’s stars in the centre square and at stoppages. Lade, the Cornes brothers, Shaun Burgoyne and Pearce have a great understanding, so the Cats must at least break even. This is also a strength of Geelongm but the Cats do not rely on it as much as Port. The run out of defence by Port especially Peter Burgoyne, must be checked. Pressure is paramount. Stokes and Byrnes will probably share duty on tagging Burgoyne. With Port’s ability to run and hit targets the biggest dangers to the Cats are Motlop and Ebert. Both are quick on the lead and are good marks. If stopped, the Cats will win.

Port Adelaide: The main focus of Port is the evenness of Geelong. They are a good running side but have good body size. Although they have all-round evenness, they have a couple of stars who can win the game off their own boots. These players must be stopped – Gary Ablett, Johnson, Chapman and to a lesser degree Mooney. Bartel, Corey, Ling and Selwood will still win the ball but if Port can stop the former quartet, Geelong’s goals will dry up. Geelong’s defence is a real strength. If Port moves the ball slowly or under real pressure then the Cats defence will dominate, rebound and set-up forward thrusts. The Power must then take some risks (as they do normally), play on quickly, change direction and get the ball to their forwards as quickly as possible.

Key Match-Ups – Dilemmas

The biggest problem for both coaches will be who to tag and who to let run free – especially in the midfield. Does Ling go to Shaun Burgoyne or Chad Cornes? Does Kane Cornes go to Gary Ablett or Jimmy Bartel? Who to run with Pearce? Who plays on Motlop, Ebert, Steve Johnson? There will be starting match-ups with contingencies if someone gets out of the loop.

Port having four taller defenders (Wakelin, Pettigrew, Thurstans and Chaplin) allows the Cats to play an extra small forward – Stokes or Byrnes, or both at the same time – to accentuate the pace and agility difference. Pettigrew will probably play on Johnson, Thurstans on Mooney, Wakelin on Nathan Ablett. This will give Chaplin the task on Stokes, Byrnes or Kelly. One of these will tag Peter Burgoyne.

At the other end the dilemma for Geelong will be to play on Westhoff. Strange, you say. Harley or Scarlett are the obvious match-ups but both will be needed on more dangerous players – Scarlett for Motlop and Harley for Tredeea. This leaves either Milburn or Rooke. Both are under-sized but have bigger bodies and more experience. The out-of-form Hunt will probably be assigned Brett Ebert – a big job. Port’s half forwards, Rodan and Pearce, will push up the ground. Enright and Mackie are great match-ups who could be dangerous if allowed to run.

In the midfield Ling will sit on Shaun Burgoyne and Kane Cornes must stop Gary Ablett. Corey will probably be asked to be accountable for Chad Cornes; Cassisi will be responsible for Bartel. And one match-up that will have a huge effect on the result is Ottens against Lade.

Result

In what should be an enthralling contest, the Cats have the talent to negate the Power’s X-Factor players. They have more depth in the midfield and enough flexibility in their attack to capitalise on the inexperience in Port’s defence. Geelong’s pressure has been good all year and this coupled with its evenness will get it over the line.

Geelong by 21 points

Norm Smith Medal: Corey Enright

[Twodogs]

Wasn't it David Johnson?

So many bloody Johnson's in the AFL these days.

Errrr. Yes it was. So as it wasnt Brad.

[Raw Toast]

I've got a feeling that Peter Burgoyne will be a big key to this match. He kept Port in it against West Coast with his run from defence and was a bit unlucky for mine not to win the Norm Smith in 04. Media reports suggest he's set himself up for a big one.

The Cats really struggled when Marty Clarke was set back onto Stokes who gave him way to much time and space, and Byrnes did little to quell him. Wouldn't be greatly surprised to see Varcoe come in for Byrnes who didn't have the offensive game Stokes had and tends to get pretty tentative under pressure.

I think the Pies did well in getting Ling out of stoppages for much of the game. I reckon he likes to base his game on beating his opponent at stoppages and the Pies made him look very uncomfortable (he looked super nervous as well). In a way Port present him with fewer difficulties because they need Shaun Burgoyne to spend a fair bit of time on the ball. Wouldn't be surprised to see him go to a hff at the start if Ling moves onto him though. If I were the cats I'd I'd think about moving Ling onto Kane Cornes and maybe even Chad when he's in the middle.

I reckon that while Chad has the potential to break the game open he can also be a weak link in big games by getting a bit tight and trying for too much. Interesting that Harley started so poorly last week - not a good sign for a captain to be fumbling marks early in defence but maybe he'll have got that out of his system.

I'm going for the cats but not with great confidence - I'm not ready for a bloody port dynasty.

[bornadog]

Bold prediction, Geelong will murder Port, they have been the best team all year, finished well ahead of every one on the ladder and rarely teams that are that dominant loose the GF. Port, I still don't know how they got to second on the ladder let alone the GF, we fixed them up when we didn't even have our best team in, they have surprised every one.

Geelong have the best defence in the league and can also kick some big scores, so 40points plus for me.

[Twodogs]

I'm starting to think we werent that bad against Geelong in R17.

[The Coon Dog]

I'm starting to think we werent that bad against Geelong in R17.

How good were we in round 1?

[The Coon Dog]

Great to see the Geelong players acknowledge the children who presented them with their medals. It was in stark contrast to the efforts displayed last year.

Also thumbs up to Mark Williams. Obviously he would have been bitterly disappointed but still found the time to personally congratulate each Geelong player.

[LostDoggy]

Great to see the Geelong players acknowledge the children who presented them with their medals. It was in stark contrast to the efforts displayed last year.

Also thumbs up to Mark Williams. Obviously he would have been bitterly disappointed but still found the time to personally congratulate each Geelong player.

Every single year I watch closely to see how the players treat the kids, last year I was absolutely disgusted, this year the Cats were fantastic. I do the same for the National Anthem, for some reason seeing players with their hands on their hips frustrates me a lot.

I like Mark Williams, he stirs things up a bit, but he was very gracious in defeat.

[bulldogtragic]

Every single year I watch closely to see how the players treat the kids, last year I was absolutely disgusted, this year the Cats were fantastic. I do the same for the Grand Final, for some reason seeing players with their hands on their hips frustrates me a lot.

I like Mark Williams, he stirs things up a bit, but he was very gracious in defeat.

Was a great decision by the PR dept. I was watching it closely, it ran very smoothly making sure the cute PR lady was handing caps to players on their way up and telling them what to do. They earn't their money, i'm sure the media will pick up on it.

[The Underdog]

I have to say that even though it was a rout, i thoroughly enjoyed the GF. Geelong played about as complete a game as football as you could. Didn't stop until there was about 5 minutes to go. Even when they were 100 points up they were chasing and tackling like the game was still alive. I was fairly ambivalent about who would win and didn't much care until the game started but with the way they played I was on the Cats bandwagon pretty early. You could say Port didn't provide much competition but they weren't allowed to by a team that was 100% switched on.

Other observations and good players:
-Max Rooke is a player I never particularly rated but his physicality in the 1st half was fantastic. Hard at the ball and the man, didn't go over the top. Tackle on Thurstans was a beauty. Fell away in the 2nd half but by then the damage was done.
-In the style of Gary Ablett Sr, Steve Johnston may not be that together off the field but on it he has the capability for genius. He's a joy to watch when he's on (except against us)
-Geelong's ability to get a possession out of a contested situation was brilliant. They kept the ball moving and used it well.
-How did McBurney and McInerney get GF gigs? 2 of my least favourite, over-officiating umpires.
-Look for Steven King to go to a bottom club and quietly disappear after 1 or 2 seasons without contributing much, now that he's got some trade value again.
-My highlight of the day was Jake King's speech after winning the GF Sprint. Maybe rookies don't get PR training

[Go_Dogs]

What did Jake King say? I missed that.

[Dry Rot]

I'm starting to think we werent that bad against Geelong in R17.

Anyone else get a bad sense of deja vu watching the Port forwards?