Geelong have said they will try and play with alot more flair and run this season and it certainly looked that way in the pre season games I saw. They really carried the ball alot and linked up with alot of handballs in one game I saw so we need to be sure that we work both ways and try to close them down. Generally they have been a bit of a shut down side and have played a very accountable style of game where they are happy to create stoppages but I think they will try to add more run. They wont go right away from the old style that served them so well before last seasons disaster because they have so many players suited to it but the way footy is going is forcing them to play with a bit more daring.
I regard them as one of the better defensive sides in the competition so it should be a good test for our slightly new look forward line. Scarlett , Harley and Egan are all quality tall options who can play small as well and with guys like Milburn , Hunt and Wojcinski able to rotate down there to provide run its going to be important that our forward line functions well so that they are kept honest. Scarlett had 34 touches playing loose the last time that we played them and also went onto Johnson and shut him down at a crucial part of the game . Its going to be very interesting to see how they go because they really have alot of versatility down back. I think we need Darcy and Doogs up forward as much as possible so that it forces them to keep their better defenders away from the likes of Johnson and most of all doesn't allow Scarlett to play loose. I think we need plenty of goals from Aker , Cooney , Murph , Robbins and these types with our tall guys basically playing decoy roles to take their best defenders away from our other dangerous players. If they have to play 2 of their 3 tall defenders (Scarlett , Harley and Egan) on Doogs and Darcy then Rocket would be ecstatic IMO. Basically if our forward line clicks we will win because the cats will not only be coughing up goals but they will be less able to run and create.
Geelong will score against us if they get enough supply and I dont think anyone can doubt that. We are missing our bookend and they have a full list of forwards who are all up and firing. I think the match ups will depend on how deep certain players play. I would be pretty suprised if Mooney and Ottens both had the same opponents all game with a mixture of Hargrave , Wight and Grant the likely combination for them. I would probably leave Morris for the dangerous small forwards like Ablett and Chapman. Dont be suprised if Milburn gets thrown forward at some stage. I would love for Ottens opponent whether it be Wight , Grant or Hargy to run him up and down the ground as often as possible to take him out of position and also to weaken him when he rotates into the ruck otherwise we could see him having a big impact in the ruck late in the game. Not overly concerned about them playing a third tall such as Nathan Ablett because we will run them ragged if they play an overly tall and crowded forward line. If they are going to go tall against us then it needs to be quality otherwise they are just playing into our hands and I think in the main we will see just 2 tall forwards
We need a big effort from our engine room against the cats who rely on a solid effort from a group of 5 or 6 guys who are very strong over the ball and love slugging it out with lots of stoppages . We dont want to get bogged down trying to match them here we just want to get first hands on it and move the ball into space. I dont think I would tag any of the midfielders for them because they are generally pretty even . The only smaller running types that I would look at playing defensive types on would be Ablett and Chapman but they are likely to spend most of the game up forward. Wojcinski , Tenace and Byrnes will try and provide alot of the run and carry for them with Wojcinski looking very dangerous off half back or on a wing second year back from a knee reco. The cats will probably look to take West out of the game to try and stop him supplying our runners possibly with Ling who has done the job before with mixed results. Confident we can run them into the ground as long as we win enough of the ball and match them for the contested ball. Dont be shocked if they play David Johnson or a Rooke on Aker just to guard against one of his big stage performances. Johnson usually gets the job on him for the cats.
How do others see the game happening? I am a little nervous but on paper we should get the job done.