FlashInThePan

All in all the narrative generally follows the performance. Very few people see it coming, they use perfect 20/20 hind sight to tell the story of how Hardwick or Clarkson, or whoever, was always a genius. If Goody coaches us to a flag everyone will say how they saw the seeds of brilliance even in the dark times of 2019. If he flops, well that is another story entirely. People are already warming up that narrative. As for me, I can see a definite game plan based around winning the ball at the contest and pushing forward aggressively. We had problems with getting spread from the point of contest and we seem to have addressed that now. We were leaking goals due to some poor positioning and an overly aggressive press. We have addressed that too, our back 6 are starting to gel and seem to know where to be. I think May and Lever are a big part of that, they both know how to organise. Our forward structure and entries have been a big factor in our losses. I don’t think that is news to Goody or the tactical geniuses on DL. A really big part of that has been confidence though. Fritsch couldn’t miss in 2018 from within the 50 meter arc. With his confidence down and pressure on him to be the major goal kicker he could barely put it through from directly in front during 2019 and to a lesser extent in 2020. Another factor has been forward half pressure. It seemed like when we eased the press our system didn’t adjust to keep the ball locked in the forward half with reduced numbers. Back to that confidence problem, that played out across the whole field in 2020. Suddenly we were making basic skill errors and turning the ball over way more. I think that was mostly between the ears. This team needs to notch up some wins and get some swagger going. We need to stop worrying about drinking our own bath water and embrace a healthy arrogance, and not give a toss what the media says. I am one who believes we do have the people do get the job done. I see talent everywhere and with quite a few, we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. Kossie, Jackson and rivers all have a ton of development in them. I’m watching Baker carefully next season, he has had flashes of real brilliance but let’s see. Brown was the piece we absolutely needed, the competition between him, Weid and TMac will be very healthy. I see Jackson as something completely different and I’m really keen to see him develop. To say we don’t have a game plan or a recognisable style is just wrong. Sure, it is a work in progress, and sometimes we go to pieces or make a string of basic blunders, but I for one can see what Goody and the coaching group are trying to put together. If they tune it and get results they will be hailed as geniuses, if not well, let’s just wait and see. There is plenty of time to get the knives out and carve into our own when and if that happens.

I couldn’t disagree more. 3 first round picks for Cameron is insane. If that had happened here there would be an epic meltdown from the supporters. The list is totally unbalanced age wise. Trading in a 32 and a 34 year old on top of selwood who will be 33 next year and has had so many knocks and head injuries I’m surprised he is still playing, Dangerfield at 31, Hawkins 33, even Rohan is 30. Taylor and Ablett retired this year and I doubt Steven’s will play again. They had better get it done next year is all I can say. They will be paying back the interest on this investment for about 5 years I’d say. Sorry, I just don’t see it as a great trade period for Geelong, I’d call it a cluster F@$#

The next move must surely be to parlay them up to a first round pick. There are plenty of clubs that have father/son or nga selections and would trade to split picks and points

I agree he is on the old side but to be accurate he is 31 and will be 32 in the next season. Apparently he didn't start playing AFL level until 21 so is likely to have more milage left in his body that the typical 31 year old. All that said, we would have to be thinking of him as filling a gap while one of our kids is getting ready to take the spot, potentially training that replacement. I think Phillips would be a better all round fit but I can see Smith playing a role.

Whoa there big fella, are you calling me a loser?! I don't think I even know you.

We’ll know a lot more than we did when we gave him the current one. i really think the reluctance to really stretch out is natural. For all sorts of serious injuries it takes longer to get over the mental effects than the physical ones. I am confident that if he remains uninjured he will overcome it. If he overcomes it we will hopefully see a return to the Harley of old. You can see the skills are still there.

To me this has been a good outcome already. He is a super talent and I expect that he will play regularly next year once his calves are right. Probably another couple of games this year would be good for him and hopefully help the team. 2021 is where we will likely see some return on investment.

Out of interest, when did Gary Lyon start barracking for the magpies?

I'm so glad a couple of people posted this. I thought i must have been seeing things last night. I was sure it had bounced off Lever's chest but the mark was paid and the commentators didn't say a word. Glad to hear I'm not losing it, or at least if I am I'm not alone

Like many, I need to see a body of evidence before I am piling credit on this list. What I can say though, after watching the replay again last night, is that the hawthorn game was probably the most complete performance I have seen from this team. We literally dominated every phase of the game from contest to defence to marks in forward 50 to forward half pressure to defensive structure. Every part of the game. The next thing we need to master is consistency. I'm as up this week as I was down after the Tigers game. I'd like to see us cement this level of play, confidence is a wonderful thing for a team (and a supporter). If they can nail a few in a row like the Hawks they will bring confidence and belief into every action. On a side note - how good was Langdon?! That bloke can seriously run all day, he was everywhere, providing an outlet, blocking up holes. he is like ANB but with skills and excellent instincts.

I’m so down right now. I really thought 2019 was an aberration. I thought with Burgess and a fit list we would rip it up. I’m so delusional, I think I need to take a break. There must be a serious rot in this club somewhere. That is a seriously talented list and it is completely broken. Something has to change this is just too hard.

Just for the record, he wasn’t sacked by the saints. He blindsided them and did his own deal with freo because they wouldn’t give him the certainty he wanted (according to him).

I’m sorry LN but about now you should probably just admit your post was poorly thought through and move on rather than trying to defend it. Clearly every player’s contract is managed based on who that player is and what they can bring to the team. Injury concerns will of course be a big factor but suggesting that we should negotiate the same contract for both Kent and AVB based on the fact that they simply share that both have had a history of injuries is kind of absurd.

I disagree, he has been a steady builder since his knee reco. He was a top performer last year and is looking like taking it to the next level this year. If Saturday was anything to go by he will be worth $1m by the end of the year. He deserves a solid contract and, personally, I'd like to get it done ASAP. At 600-800k he is a safe investment.

You could be a little mindful of the fact that we were without a recognised ruckman for the whole game, or you could be mindful of the fact that we were missing Gawn, May, Fritsch and Brayshaw. Or then again you could be mindful of the fact that they rotated 4 fresh bodies on for the second half and we still ran them off their feet. But no, go ahead and be mindful of the fact that one of their midfielders who struggles to get a game was out in the last quarter and that they rotated 2 good players off at half time.

I agree with a lot of your post but just want to make the point that until last year May has been a very durable player. He played 17+ games every year until last year and most of his missing games were due to suspension.

For me a top 4 finish is s pass mark. I don't buy in to pessimism and I believe we are every chance to make top 4. From there it is gong to take a bit of luck but I am looking forward to watching this year unfold. On paper this is the most balanced side we have had for a considerable time. Inside bulls, outside runners, solid defence and potentially both tall and small forwards. It is gong to come down to fitness and form. I can't see the point in being pessimistic, for me it just kills the joy. This team could be anything, I'm behind them becoming premiers.

I don't know what to say except that you are missing the point. Raw talent and recruiting it is only one part of it, having strong on field and off field leadership is another part of it, having a great development program is another, so too is having a strong coaching group. You can add to that having a system based approach that allows a 'one soldier down, the next steps in' approach. You can also layer a great medical and fitness group. Further still you need strong sports psychology or a culture that keeps everyone focussed and positive through personal and group though patches. All of those factors play into success, both one off and sustained. Sure, you will struggle to win without talent, but you'll struggle to win without the other factors also, and you'll need to align many or all of those to create a dynasty. As an aside, great teams make individuals look elite. Very few do it on their own in team sport. Sure there are the freaks but many of the teams that are successful over a period of time are not that way because of individual talent. They make each other look good because they are predictable to each other and drilled on where to be and when so they can receive or block. Talent helps big time but so does all the other stuff. It is just to simplistic to focus on just one aspect.

Great article. I am very interested to see what the changes are to the game plan that he alludes to. It does seem significant that they are working on drilling the game plan even before Christmas. This is so much more advanced than we were last year. Hopefully this highly drilled game plan and significantly increased fitness leads to some better outcomes in games this year.

I hate the old school, fixed mindset talk about players being unable to fix skill execution once they are in the AFL system, it is complete rubbish. Skills can be learned and improved at any age and at virtually any level of skill. If we perceive our players to have skill deficiencies then it is absolutely the right thing to develop drills and training aids to assist players to improve. Doing anything but this would be crazy.

Stats generally fall into 3 categories. 1. Lead indicator 2. Lag indicator 3. Vanity metric Unfortunately, this statistical set seems to fall into category 3. Doesn't accurately describe the previous session and equally doesn't appear to predict the next.

I think Fritsch and Milkshake are going to be the key to our forward line. Fritsch is just an awesome decision maker and really hard to match up on. People forget how pivotal Melky was for us in 2018, he led the league for goal assists and effective kicks inside 50, we really missed that in 2019. Having Langdon is going to make a difference also, his run and carry will lead to greater penetration with entries into the forward 50. I’m expecting TMac to be back to his old self, I just don’t know what to expect from Weed I’m just hoping, but if he doesn’t fire I suspect Petty will take it on or Jackson will get his chance early. I suspect Smith will play the Frost role in the back half. He can play tall and he is super fast, not too sure about his kicking but if he is playing frost’s role then the bar for disposal has been set pretty low. Bedford, Kozzie and Spargo to compete for the small forward role. Petracca to play a predominantly midfield role and take it to the next level.

I think what is going on is that the club is taking a look at a range of players to see if they would improve our list. As I see it, that is exactly how they should spend the period before the draft and PSD. Some, like Sam Murray, it looks like we are passing on, others, like Harley Bennell, it looks like we are prepared to bet on. I doubt we will select Brown, but if we did it would likely be for tall depth and he would probably spend most of his time at Casey.

I have this vision in my head of Hunt, Smith and Bennell in the same forward line just wreaking havoc with their speed, agility and ability to mark. Tmac and Weid would have to get the strong marking defenders but all 3 of our 'smalls' can take a mark as well as run very fast. Add milkshake to that mix and i think they could really prove a handful for any defense.

This is going to be a big preseason and year for hunt. If he drops off even a little bit I can see him spending a fair bit of time at Casey. He does have the attributes to cement a spot, both forward and back, when he is in form and firing. I will be watching with interest. I do think with players like hunt we need to give them one specific role rather than chopping and changing. We can see how Fritsch began to flourish once he settled into the forward line.