How Geelong Stays Competitive

[Jaded No More 58,113]

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Cats staying in the window because 

Benefitted by having stars like Selwood and Hawkins play 300+ games 

Playing at your genuine home ground 

Attract players who want the country life but in an AFL system. Smith and Cameron 

Atrract players who want to come home … Dangerfield, Rohan, Higgins 

Shrewd recruiting - Stengle 

Shrewd trading - Tuohy, Stanley 

Local knowledge - Henry, Atkins and Stewart 

Add to that some of the best father sons combos to come out of the AFL. 

[Winners at last 4,742]

I hate Jee-long (clap/clap/clap).

• Scott
• Selwood
• Rohan
• Hawkins
• Cameron
• their stupid home ground
• their stupid supporters

 

[Deeko2 698]

I want to start this with advising everyone that I despise Geelong more than anyone…. But, I have to admit, I do really respect them.

One of my best mates brothers was playing there during the flag years whom he lived with and another player.

Mid week, every week there’d be a bbq at there house where nearly all the players would be there. One or two quiet ones, some good banter then back home. 

It’s easier done in Geelong being so close to one another compared to players living all over the shop in Melbourne.  Hearing  stories like this and learning of all there mateships would make it a very attractive team to play for.

Furthermore, if the clubs looking to recruit you, you’d have the confidence knowing they’re going all in - every year - giving you a high likelihood to be there at the pointy end.

The biggest reason they’re so competitive in my mind is that Hawkins seems not to age and is still demanding double teams giving a lot of space for Cameron to roam. I still think Hawkins is there most important player and once he goes so does a lot of there firepower.

They’re doing this year what they should have been doing the last three in moving quick forward to get one on ones and repeat entries. They’re forwards are too good to have many off games and the pick up of Stengle has been amazing. He’s added so much up forward.

There midfield doesn’t inspire. That’s what I’m hoping let’s them down come Sept.

[Dee*ceiving 915]

5 hours ago, deegirl said:

That the Away fans are allocated such a tiny amount of seats is extremely annoying as it's totally counter to the argument that the 'big' clubs shouldn't play down there because the ground doesnt have the capacity.   There will never be enough seats for the Away side so it doesnt matter if Collingwood or North Melbourne play down there.   And yet it's always the same group of Melbourne-based clubs who are forced to play there.

But the counter argument is that the 'bigger' Vic clubs will pull a bigger crowd v Geelong at the MCG than the 'smaller' Vic clubs. 

E.g

Collingwood/Essendon/Carlton/Richmond v Geelong at the MCG; 

will bring a bigger crowd than; 

Melbourne/Nth Melb/Western Bulldogs/St Kilda v Geelong at the MCG

[deegirl 1,306]

1 minute ago, Dee*ceiving said:

But the counter argument is that the 'bigger' Vic clubs will pull a bigger crowd v Geelong at the MCG than the 'smaller' Vic clubs. 

E.g

Collingwood/Essendon/Carlton/Richmond v Geelong at the MCG; 

will bring a bigger crowd than; 

Melbourne/Nth Melb/Western Bulldogs/St Kilda v Geelong at the MCG

Why does everyone keep using logic on me?  I want to be able to hate Geelong in demented peace 😁

Edited August 1, 2022 by deegirl

[IRW 1,246]

23 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

well, if you look at their recruiting since they lost won a premiership, they've used free agency brilliantly to top up or force a trade for key players who are free agents, and then picked the eyes out of trades etc.

been a very good wheeler and dealer

I thought there was a ban on saying nice things about the Cats or is it just Selwood,Dangerfield and Scott?

[Demonstone 19,297]

5 hours ago, CYB said:

19 hours ago, John Crow Batty said:

4 games this season against WC and North helps.

I know right? How does that even happen for a team that finished top 4. It is absolute BS.

It's because the fixture is partly based on the finishing positions on the ladder.

WC were 9th in 2021 and Collingwood ended up 17th.   

There was no way of telling that WC would implode so spectacularly this season or that Collingwood would surprise us all by performing as well as they have.

[Little Goffy 12,624]

Losing Ablett to Gold Coast for salary cap reasons may have been a turning point for the culture; those who remained had this clear imprint that for a team to be successful the money had to come second. Following that up with the third in the string of premierships in the very next season would have been a real 'learning'.

Another perk of so many mature players is they take very little looking after. In the era of soft caps on footy department spending, every wise head not only doesn't require so much attention, but will also help the younger players find their habits and set standards. Just like what we recruited Cross and Lewis for, for example. They've got 15 of them!

I also wonder how it affects a culture to have, year in year out, the majority of your weekly team looking at the season as if it could be their last roll of the dice.

Anyway, they are looking very good right now, and they'd want to, because it is surely their last roll of the dice this time!

[Stiff Arm 4,412]

This has got to be the dumbest shaped 'oval' of all time. Looks like a flat tyre on my car 

[ElDiablo14 3,133]

21 minutes ago, Stiff Arm said:

This has got to be the dumbest shaped 'oval' of all time. Looks like a flat tyre on my car 

Looks like a botched racing track!

[D4Life 2,301]

Unfortunately the Cats are a well run club and coached team.

Aside from lifestyle they do have a significant salary cap benefit at the top end:

- Cameron instead of a million a year from GWS join us for $800k a year, crack at a flag and you can sell your $4M Sydney house and get something better for $2M overlooking the water! 
 

Multiple the above calculation by 5 players and Geelong have an extra $1M in their cap per annum! Allows them to have another two good players on their list!

Also applies for salaries related to soft cap!

[John Crow Batty 8,258]

2 hours ago, Stiff Arm said:

This has got to be the dumbest shaped 'oval' of all time. Looks like a flat tyre on my car 

When they redeveloped the west/southern stands and could have reconfigured the playing surface to conform to AFL standards. That would also have allowed the eastern side stands to have more room for expansion away from the road. But in their wisdom they decided to keep it  peanut shaped to maintain their unique advantage. Surprising the AFL signed off on the current layout knowing full well that it does not conform to  AFL ground standards.Not only are wings distorted but the pockets as well. None of the four are the same. 

Edited August 1, 2022 by John Crow Batty

[FritschyBusiness 1,455]

9 hours ago, deebunked said:

Interesting point about Jeelong not known for  chasing after big money tall ruckman.They seem to manage ok.

Gawn  is on 900k?  with three more years to go.

He could be cooked by next year. Thats alot of cap space.

We must keep LJ .

 

He's not on anything close to 900k

[COOLX 140]

So much for a level playing field , Essendon , Carlton , Collingwood and Richmond don't have to play the Cats at their home ground.

Why Geelong seemingly get quality and experienced players is that they are highly unlikely to end up in the bottom eight due to the easy home ground advantage kills. Playing West Coast twice happened to be an advantage to them , no one would expect the  Eagles would be that sh.t . Perhaps to even up the competition all sides should keep their 1st rounder for at least 2 yrs.

[Sir Why You Little 34,579]

4 hours ago, Stiff Arm said:

This has got to be the dumbest shaped 'oval' of all time. Looks like a flat tyre on my car 

There is no wing on the right side. 
But that’s ok says the AFL and Government 

And they can own the entire precinct outright 

[Dr. Gonzo 22,486]

8 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

There is no wing on the right side. 
But that’s ok says the AFL and Government 

And they can own the entire precinct outright 

I think they actually brought the boundary in by a few metres on that side when building the new stand rather than making it wider.

[layzie 28,935]

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I think they actually brought the boundary in by a few metres on that side when building the new stand rather than making it wider.

That would make sense, that wing always hugged up hard to Moorabool St and that footpath is quite narrow. 

[mauriesy 6,811]

14 hours ago, John Crow Batty said:

Surprising the AFL signed off on the current layout knowing full well that it does not conform to  AFL ground standards.

The AFL rules only say that a ground must be at least 135m long and 110m wide. GMHBA is 171m x 115m.

Edited August 1, 2022 by mauriesy

[Dr. Gonzo 22,486]

1 hour ago, mauriesy said:

The AFL rules only say that a ground must be at least 135m long and 110m wide. GMHBA is 171m x 115m.

How could you play on a 135m long ground? The centre square would be 7.5m inside the 50m line at each end.

A good article here about ground sizes. As I mentioned a few weeks back although Geelong is thought of as a small ground it isn't really - it's a narrow ground but longer than the MCG. This length plays into how the Cats play it as much as the width.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-16/cody-and-sean-afl-analysis-how-much-do-ground-sizes-matter/101154950

[mauriesy 6,811]

58 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

How could you play on a 135m long ground? The centre square would be 7.5m inside the 50m line at each end.

You probably couldn't play an AFL match on such a ground, but I was simply replying to the proposition that GMHBA "doesn't conform to AFL standards". It does.

[Sydney_Demon 1,175]

On 7/31/2022 at 2:42 PM, Sir Why You Little said:

Let’s see if he pens the same pulp in 8 weks time

Not sure what your point is? He isn't saying Geelong is the best team and will win the Premiership (at least not in this Article).

On 7/31/2022 at 2:51 PM, ElDiablo14 said:

That may be the case but it is also unfair to let star players take too many pay cuts. I believe the likes of the NBA or NFL have a minimum salary (max contracts) for star players, so you can't underpay them too much in order to stack up stars in your team.

I couldn't disagree more. Players should get paid what the market'a prepared to pay, not more or less, with the qualification that there should be minimum pay & conditions for every player and overall payments should be at a level that doesn't bankrupt a club. i.e. exactly what we have now. We are being asked to sympathize with star players who 'only' get A$1 mio a year. What a joke!

On 7/31/2022 at 7:33 PM, Red and Blue Flame said:

Could say the same for any interstate side, yet plenty currently occupy the bottom 10.

In no way comparable. The interstate sides have to fly interstate every 2nd week which is particularly tough for the WA teams. Geelong just drive up the road in an air-conditioned bus. Probably easier than players playing at Home. Geelong also play lots of games at the MCG (2 Home & 3 Away in 2022).

As it's turned out Geelong have a particularly soft draw this year. The 5 sides they play twice include West Coast & North. The other 3 are Port, Western Bulldogs & St Kilda. Now I know a lot of that is random variation year-on-year but I can't understand why they've been given such an easy travel schedule. 9 games at GMHBA (a big advantage because of the unique dimensions of the ground and lack of Away supporters), 5 at the MCG, 2 at Marvel, so 16 games in Victoria and only 6 Interstate. Of the 6 Interstate Trips only 1 to Adelaide, 1 to Perth. I also find it hard to accept that they were given home games against both Melbourne & Brisbane and 6 of their 9 games at GMHBA are back-to-back with 3 of their last 4 at GMHBA.  

On 7/31/2022 at 7:52 PM, DubDee said:

Some bizarre points from Jake - firstly that Dusty is getting paid way more than Hawkins. Hawk is 35 and no-one thought he would even be playing at this age let alone playing very well.  Dusty is coming off 3 norms. Couldn't think of a worst comparison. The other two examples are Selwood who may retire this year or next and Danger who is 32.  Of course you get paid less when you get older, it is not some sort of team ethos. Danger and the like raked in the coin in their prime.

He doesn't say Dusty is overpaid and he explains why more senior players including Hawkins are paid less. Reading through the article, I can't see any bizarre points. I thought is was well-written and made total sense.

On 7/31/2022 at 7:54 PM, DubDee said:

I hate the Cats with a passion but I don't understand these type of comments.  Do you not think they are entitled to a home ground?

In finals they don't even get to play at home even when they've earnt it due to the AFL wanting money, which I think is unfair

Of course they're entitled to a Home Ground. I'll tell you what's a lot more unfair than Geelong not getting to play Finals at GMHBA. Every Interstate Club having to play the Grand Final at the MCG. Geelong play lots of H&A games at the MCG (5 this year), so the MCG isn't foreign territory. I assume because the bigger Clubs hold sway with the AFL, Geelong got home games at GMHBA against top teams Brisbane & Melbourne this year wheras they played 2 home games at the MCG against the ordinary Essendon & middling Richmond. Unlike Melbourne & St Kilda they don't need to give away home games to Alice Springs & Cairns or play in Tasmania like Hawthorn & North.

On 8/1/2022 at 9:49 AM, Dr. Gonzo said:

It's no different to us always playing Port, Freo, Gold Coast etc in NT. Should we be forced to play Essendon, Carlton or Richmond at home in Alice Springs because the other clubs think it's unfair? Geelong hosts the big club's at the G once or twice a year because they make more money than if they hosted us or North there. That's the reality.

Excellent point. The AFL is supposed to be all about equalisation, but in fact it's largely about maximising revenue. Both Melbourne & St Kilda hosted 'home' matches against Port this year in Alice Springs & Cairns. If it was about fairness then those games should have been against Victorian teams with Port having to play against both teams in Melbourne. How is it that richer Victorian Clubs can refuse to be involved in these  games and the AFL just goes along with it?

I know this thread is about Geelong but I'm still [censored] off about the preferential treatment of Interstate Clubs during 2020 & 2021 Finals. I mentioned Port above who got to play 2 away games at neutral venues in 2022. In 2020 & 2021 they also received Home Finals because there weren't COVID lockdowns in Adelaide at Finals time. The same applied for West Coast in 2020 & Brisbane last year. Why should non-Victorian & NSW clubs have received an advantage?

Edited August 2, 2022 by Sydney_Demon
Typos

[monoccular 16,120]

On 8/1/2022 at 9:30 AM, CYB said:

I know right? How does that even happen for a team that finished top 4. It is absolute BS.

I know some of this has to do with luck, but we have played 3 of our double games against top 8 while the Cats have played 2 teams in the top 8. The other top 4 teams have a similarly easier draw.

Bottom line is we won the premiership so we are destined to have the toughest draw. But it was a bit of luck that made it harder. 

 

On 8/1/2022 at 11:27 AM, spirit of norm smith said:

Cats staying in the window because 

Benefitted by having stars like Selwood and Hawkins play 300+ games 

Playing at your genuine home ground 

Attract players who want the country life but in an AFL system. Smith and Cameron 

Atrract players who want to come home … Dangerfield, Rohan, Higgins 

Shrewd recruiting - Stengle 

Shrewd trading - Tuohy, Stanley 

Local knowledge - Henry, Atkins and Stewart 

 

On 8/1/2022 at 11:28 AM, poita said:

The number one factor in Geelong's favour is the lower cost of living. The cost of buying a house in a nice area 20 - 30 mins from Kardinia Park must be significantly lower than the cost of buying the same house 20 - 30 mins from the MCG. Of course you will play for less money if your living costs are reduced by the same (or greater) amount.

Maybe since Sydney get extra cost of living allowances, then Geelong should have a lower salary cap in line with their lower cost of living?  I would love to see Chris Scott's response 😲

[Chook 14,559]

22 hours ago, Stiff Arm said:

This has got to be the dumbest shaped 'oval' of all time. Looks like a flat tyre on my car 

Absolutely hideous.

[layzie 28,935]

3 hours ago, mauriesy said:

You probably couldn't play an AFL match on such a ground, but I was simply replying to the proposition that GMHBA "doesn't conform to AFL standards". It does.

Of course, just seems strange that those are the standards. 

[Jaded No More 58,113]

You should receive an automatic ban if you post anything nice about Geelong.

Seriously, it is not OK to like, support or heap praise on that club.