Sunday, May 3, 2009

Update: Gary Ablett injury sees him out for 2-3 weeks.

Cat fan's worst fears have been confirmed with Geelong staff today ruling out Gary Ablett for 2-3 games with a groin injury.

Full story from afl.com.au: http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/76195/default.aspx

Well that's just great.

Hope no-one had too much cash on him for the Brownlow. I guess there'll be some more value in him yet.

As always I am certain that the club's claims that he will be back in 2-3 are vastly understated and that he will probably b back in 4-5 weeks.

Just as Ottens' injury was supposed to be 2-4 weeks and last year he was said to be ready to come back on in the last quarter of a VFL practice match only to be 2-3 weeks away for 9 weeks.

Video: Gary Ablett Jnr Vs Melbourne - World record fastest goal.

Here it is, video of the lightning fast goal kicked by Gary Ablett in the opening seconds of the game against Mebourne Round 6 2009.

Credit to Channel 7 for the footage and callisto150 for posting it to youtube.


I say it was 9 seconds, as that's when the ball crosses the line. Yet others may argue 13 seconds as thats when the umpire signalled it.

You've got to give it to the 9 second call. If the umpire didn't hear the all clear he could have taken an extra 10-20 seconds to get the confirmation and signal the goal. So 9 seconds it is.

Gary Ablett!!! You star!!!

AFL 2009 - Round 7 - Geelong Cats Vs Sydney Swans

Geelong play hosts to Sydney this week at Skilled Stadium in their round 7 clash.

This match looms as a danger game for the cats with Gary Ablett to possibly miss with a groin injury sustained in last week's game against Melbourne at the MCG. Should Ablett not play, the load will fall upon Joel Corey and Joel Selwood's shoulders with either Paul Chapman or JimmyBartel joining the duo.

Selwood would be looking forward to playing alongside one of his most admired opponents in Brett Kirk.

As usual the danger will come from Adam Bloody Goodes who always seems to play well.

Will Scarlett go to Big Bad Barry Hall? Will Kirk tag Selwood. These appear to be the most mouth watering match-ups on paper.

Last week the Cats nearly kicked themselves out of the game with a 15 goal 21 behind scoreline. If that game was against quality opposition the result would not have been so one-sided.

Hopefully The Big Hairy Cat Cameron Mooney will bring his kicking boots and put through some of those shots from 30-40m out. Tom "Tomahawk" Hawkins also needs to be more confident in front of goal. With Sydney shutting down the game and the weather likely to play a part, there doesn't look like they will get as many chances on goal as in previous weeks. This means that all opportunities need to be taken.

It would also be nice if Steve Johnson could stay inside the forward 50, rather than wafting upfield as he has been doing lately. We get much more value out of him around the goal-square.

Shannon Byrnes needs to lift and would be well advised to take every opportunity that comes his way. Same with Travis Varcoe.

The back 6 lead by Scarlett should be able to keep the Sydney forwards quiet, perhaps even keeping them to 10 goals or less.

In the end this game depends on which Geelong side turns up: The ruthless mob that tears teams apart at the slightest sign of weakness, or the lazy rabble that gets 2-3 goals up and then takes a rest. With St Kilda sitting pretty with percentage hovering around the 200pt mark I certainly hope it's the former.

Geelong to go undefeated all year?

Recently there has been a lot of people talking about putting money on Geelong to go undefeated all season.

This seems like good value at first glance with people getting upwards of $8.

However if you manage to get 1.15 on the Cats for the remaining 16 rounds you will scoop up $813.70. With this option you can back out of a tough game such as St Kilda.

It's not that I'm saying it's wise to do so, but please realise that you are not getting much of a benefit from such a huge risk.

Just be aware of what you're getting yourself into.

Demote Gary Ablett as your Supercoach / Dreamteam captain.

For those Supercoach / Dream team coaches who, like me, had Baby Jesus as their captain it's time for me to give you a friendly reminder to swap him out from the captain's spot.

Personally I'm looking at Jimmy Bartel. Should it rain at Skilled Stadium on Saturday he will be in his element. You could say he's a wet weather specialist.

Don't bother trading Ablett as there's no certainty that he'll miss this week's game. Simply switch him to the bench, that way you can always swap him back on if he plays. If you trade him this week and he plays his price will rise by about $10,000.

If you must trade him I would suggest Bartel or Joel Corey. Paul Chapman and Joel Selwood have had good weeks, but I can't see them maintaining this pace. Takeover Target they are not.

AFL 2009 - Round 7 Tips

I'm back baby!

Time to get the tips back on line.

Was running pretty well last year with the tips with an over 80% strike-rate on certainties and 70% on all tips.

Anyway, lets see if we can regain the magic.

Essendon Vs Hawthorn
Hawthorn have been a bit proppy with the amount of injuries they've had. Essendon has had a bad break with Dustin Fletcher's broken ankle last week. I think Hawthorn will get up over Essendon this week in the vicinity of 5 goals.

Geelong Vs Sydney
It's hard to tip against the Cats this week. Home game. Even with Gary Ablett out for this Round 7 clash I see too much to like about Geelong. Cats home by 7 goals.

Richmond Vs Brisbane
A tough match to call this week. Normally I'd take Brisbane over Richmond any day, but in Melbourne it evens things up a little. I've still got to say Brisbane, by about 4 goals.

Kangaroos Vs Port Adelaide
Kangaroos are useless since Brent Harvey dislocated his elbow. Port usually suck in Melbourne, but after beating Hawthorn here a few weeks back that may have changed. Port Adelaide by 2 goals.

Carlton Vs Fremantle
Carlton to exorcise some demons and pump the Dockers. Not helped by the fact that Freo are duds in Melbourne. The Blues by 10 goals.

Adelaide Vs Western Bulldogs
This should be a close one. Adelaide at home are a formidable task, while the Dogs haven't traveled too well interstate this year. Adelaide can't kick big scores so they need to hold the Dogs to a score under 80pts. Crows too good at home against interstate teams, should win by under a kick. Crows by 5pts.

West Coast Vs Melbourne
Wow. The battle of who could care less. Melbourne were plucky against the Cats this week, but I feel the Cats contributed to that. Melbourne have a terrible travelling record. West coast to save some face after losing the Derby. West Coast by 5 goals.

Collingwood Vs St Kilda
It's just too hard to go past St Kilda. The Magpies may be without 2 forwards, Paul Medhurst & Jack Anthony, with the latter putting that glorious cranium of his to good use. Saints by 4 goals.

My Certainties: Geelong, Carlton, West Coast, St Kilda.

There you have it, my tips for round 6. I'm starting the tally from this week so my current strike rate is 100%.. Cheeky, I know.

Correct Tips Last Round: 0
Correct Tips So Far: 0
Tips %: 1000
Certainties Last Round: 0
Total Certainty Predictions: 0
Total Certainties Correct: 0
Certainties %: 100

Melbourne Vs Geelong - Round 6 2009 - Gary Ablett injured.

Gary Ablett has sustained a groin injury in today's 15.21.111 to 10.8.68 win against the Melbourne Demons. Bomber Thompson said in the post-match press conference that it may see the little champ sidelined for a week as a precaution. Hopefully this does not hamper his chances of finally securing that elusive Brownlow Medal.

It was otherwise a pretty average day at the office for Ablett. After scoring a possibly world record for the quickest goal in an AFL match (estimated to be between 9 and 13 seconds) Ablett racked up 25 possessions, being easily eclipsed by Jimmy Bartel and Paul Chapman with 41 possessions apiece.

Shannon Byrnes, who said in a recent interview that he wants to become a regular in the side let himself down with terrible turnovers and decision making. He failed to add to his goal tally this week, but unsurprisingly added a pair of behinds to his stat sheet. The bloke's kicked more behinds than Muhammad Ali.

Steve Johnson scored a trio of second quarter goals and then proceeded to waltz up the ground where his tendency to attempt the soft shoe shuffle around opposition players got him into trouble on more than one occasion. Normally this would not be such an issue, but when you do it 70m from the opposition goal the resulting free-kick becomes an immediate threat.

It was good to see Joel Selwood making it through a game without blood pouring from his face. On the subject of injuries, David Johnson went into the rooms with what appeared to be a knee injury, but returned to the field in a few minutes. Here's hoping it was just a knock.

All up it was a frustrating display from the Cats. Full credit to the Dees who put up a fight, with Russell Robertson making his way back into the team for this round six game and scoring 3 majors. It may seem petty to complain about a 7 goal win, but we need to get in the habit of destroying teams before we come up against the threat of St Kilda.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Geelong Cats, Gary Ablett & Super Coach / Dream Team

If you are playing any of the fantasy AFL games this year, this was the time to make some easy money by trading for Gary Ablett before this weeks game against the Melbourne Demons at the MCG on Sunday.

Averaging nearly 40 possessions per week Ablett is sure to score above 150 points, which means that those coaches that have Gary Ablett as captain will score over 300 points for a single midfielder.

Even trading him into your Supercoach team for this weeks gamewould have earnt you a tidy profit.

Future movers in the Supercoach world from a Geelong Cats perspective are Cameron Mooney, who has had a slow start but should start kicking bags.

Brad Ottens had a minute impact in round two and should increase his value upon return within a month.

Travis Varcoe has started to have an impact and may well score in the low 100's, as with Shannon Byrnes.

But the real powdered white gold is Gary Ablett. Yes, powdered white gold. I went there.

And we're back!

After a long break, we are back.

The mid-year break, combined with work commitments threw us for a loop.

So far this year we've had the Cats hold out a fast-Finishing Hawthorn lead by Buddy Franklin.

Once Matthew Scarlett was rested in the 4th quarter things fell apart for the Geelong Cats.

Surely the best full-back in the league.

Round two resulted in a disappointing result for the Cats.

Most expected Richmond to get a hiding, but few recall that Geelong don't play their best football at Kardinia Park, nor do they bury teams that should be an easy beat.

Round three was the grudge match versus Collingwood, one of two teams to score a win against the Cats in season 2008.

While the Magpies pulled away early, they lacked the class to go with the Cats for 4 quartersand ended up being brushed aside easily. You can almost feel the pain of Mick Malthouse, Eddie McGuire and Joffa. How sweet it is.

Round four's match against Adelaide Crows was meant to be a danger game for the Cats, but while the crows pushed the away side, they never headed them. If Sherrins were made of asbestos Gary Ablett would have a terminal case of Mesothelioma.

Round five saw the Cats return to Skilled Stadium for the match against Brisbane Lions. Freezing temperatures, hail, and blustery winds didn't help to draw the crowds to Kardinia Park, with only 15,000 loyal fans turning out to see the Cats thump the hapless Lions. Sherrin needs to retain some Mesothelioma attorneys as Garry Ablett racked up another 42 possessions, while also kicking one of the goals of the year from the boundary in the final quarter.

Not to be outdone, Max Rooke bounced one in fromthe opposite pocket. Cameron Mooney and Tom Hawkins also put in strong showings.