Two Down, or, Who Got Next?

Note: Before I begin, let me just say it’s a pleasure to be a Geelong supporter at the moment. And it’s not just the winning; it’s the way they’re playing. They are a machine and I don’t reckon there has ever been a better team to watch. As I said, an absolute pleasure at the moment.

The two biggest tests of the season, back-to-back, without our two most irreplaceable midfielders (I didn’t say best, necessarily, but most irreplaceable) finals like pressure (well the first half against the Dogs at least) and The Cats stood up in the best possible way. So, to paraphrase a certain loudmouth braggart from the future, who else wants some?

I get the feeling that both the Dogs and Hawks really set themselves to come after Geelong and were subsequently affected in negative, but albeit different, ways. The Dogs came in looking to test themselves against the best and came up a long way short, and after another 4th quarter fade out against freaking Carlton, I’d imagine their confidence has taken a beating. The Hawks, on the other hand, made a game of it but may have been looking ahead to the Geelong game last week when they lost to St. Kilda (who then lost to West Coast, hilarious!) and now have to back up against an angry Collingwood on Friday night.

The Cats sit two and half games clear with Richmond, Melbourne, Sydney, North Melbourne and West Coast to come; call me crazy, but I think we can pretty much stick a fork in top spot. And, despite their worries, it’s going to take something special for the Dogs and Hawthorn to fall out of spots 2 and 3, although in which order (however irrelevant that may be) is still up in the air. But who finishes in fourth place, otherwise known as “the round one finals fisting”?

The only thing I can tell you is that it’s going to be one almighty shit fight. Sydney is currently fourth and has a one game break on North in fifth position. Then come Collingwood, Adelaide, Brisbane and St. Kilda, all only 2 points behind. Richmond, in tenth place, is 2 points further back, but is a mortal lock to finish ninth. And, interestingly enough, the teams even further down the ladder seem to be the ones hitting some form; Carlton, Essendon and even Fremantle (to a certain extent). As I said, shit fight.

Looking at that list, are there any teams worth fearing? The obvious one is Collingwood, and people are always going to be worried because of Geelong’s last two games against them, but they have lost 4 of their last 6, including Essendon bending them over last week, and may not make the finals at all. Plus, Anthony Rocca is out for the remainder of the season, which hurts their structure, even if he doesn’t play all that well. And, thanks to Tee and his inside man, we now have the training/tapering theory that may go some way to explaining such a ‘down’ performance.

Sydney is limping their way to another finals series, which, considering how quickly teams fall off these days (Eagles, Port) is a remarkable feat, but with Barry Hall and his counselling, Nick Davis and his problems, and Adam Goodes seemingly trying to take the heads off as many AFL players as possible, Sydney is one incident away from a Dr Phil visit, or at least a sitcom, possibly titled, “Two and a half Dickheads”

Adelaide and Brisbane, after looking fairly good for a fair while, have fallen apart faster than the second half of ‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story’. And St. Kilda? Pffft. Those assholes couldn’t beat a bongo drum at a backyard 18th birthday in Byron Bay.

Regardless, Geelong has 5 weeks to rest and rotate players in an effort to find, and field, a fully fit, best 22 come September. To this end, the minor injuries The Cats are faced with now have come at an excellent time; important players have time to rest and recuperate and play before finals. Plus, the next tier of Geelong players are being exposed to high pressure, high stakes football (hats off David Johnson for his effort), so in the event of a finals injury (knocking all sorts of wood here), or another end of season prune, the VFL guys wouldn’t be coming in completely out of the cold, and failing miserably, a la Stuart Dew.

They also need to find a position for “To The” Max Rooke (sorry that was awful). The Cats have about 20 of those ‘best 22’ spots sewn up, with the remaining competition probably for a forward role and someone who can swing between wing and half-back, and while I think Max is probably in their best side (especially for finals) he hasn’t yet nailed down a position. Is there room for him and Wojack? For both Stokes and Varcoe? Gamble and Lonergan? Does Brent Prismall’s destiny lie on the Gold Coast? At least two of those players will have to make room eventually, and who knows, perhaps someone will pull a Shannon Byrnes and walk into the ’08 finals team at the right time, you know, as long it’s not actually ‘Monty’ himself.

Either way, there’s five weeks to figure it all out (and please, feel free to leave your suggestions for a best 22) so in the meantime, as someone once suggested to me, kick back Saturday night, murder a couple of tins and enjoy the show. Despite Richmond’s recent, decent form, (and Mrs Watson entertaining the thought of putting some money on them) do not be fooled; they were as loose as a Krakour brother after about 8 drinks against Brisbane and were let off the hook. If they pull that shit against Geelong it will be another smacking.

Let the good times roll.