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.
Showing posts with label Shannon Byrnes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shannon Byrnes. Show all posts
Sunday, May 3, 2009
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.
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.
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.
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