Close Enough if they’re Good Enough
Let’s keep this brief and to the point: The Cats are as well placed as one could be placed to have a tilt at the flag. Consider:
The Cats have had the week off after winning straight through to the preliminary final, something that the past eight premiers all have in common. The path to the flag, it would appear, goes via a top four finish and earning the second week of the finals off.
The Eagles, by contrast, have had two physically bruising encounters back to back, firstly against the Magpies and then that brutal game against Carlton where the Blues seemingly kidnapped the time keeper to give themselves an unlikely chance in an unlikely 36 minute final term. Two tight, to the line games like that also drain the players mentally, and they may feel like they’ve played their Grand Final already.
Also, the Eagles have had to travel to Melbourne, back home to Perth and will now have to come back to the MCG, a ground the Cats love. Plus, looking ahead another week, getting a Saturday day game at the MCG for the Prelim is an excellent dress rehearsal for the big dance.
Often this time of year comes down to whose list is the fittest. As we saw, Carlton badly missed Kreuzer and Gibbs (and Waite) on Saturday night, while West Coast gained a few more injury concerns, namely MacKenzie (unlikely), LeCras (probable) and Kennedy (someone please send WCE a bag of tennis balls this week). Meanwhile, the Cats are, with the exception of Denzel, Vardy and Joel Corey’s never-healing groin (loved the Gra Gra B reference!) have a full, well rested, and managed-to-the-minute list to choose from. (Please step forward, Mr Darren “Ol’ Dirty Bastard” Milburn.)
And finally, the big one, the Cats have experienced all this before. The Eagles should be happy about returning to finals and winning a final, but maybe they’ll be pleased with just that. They might not have the belief that they belong yet. The Cats, on the other hand, have the belief, experience and a chip on their shoulder. (Beating Hawthorn, West Coast and Collingwood in a finals series, the rest of the top 4 I might add, would be a pretty satisfying effort, no?)
The Eagles are very good, don’t get me wrong, but Geelong is better. This whole “don’t jinx it”, or “keep a lid on it” mentality, stops now. It is behind us and beneath us. The Cats are close enough if they’re good enough.
We should be proud and confident in this team – for the past 5 years they’ve given us nothing but good reasons to be.
Let’s keep this brief and to the point: The Cats are as well placed as one could be placed to have a tilt at the flag. Consider:The Cats have had the week off after winning straight through to the preliminary final, something that the past eight premiers all have in common. The path to the flag, it would appear, goes via a top four finish and earning the second week of the finals off.
The Eagles, by contrast, have had two physically bruising encounters back to back, firstly against the Magpies and then that brutal game against Carlton where the Blues seemingly kidnapped the time keeper to give themselves an unlikely chance in an unlikely 36 minute final term. Two tight, to the line games like that also drain the players mentally, and they may feel like they’ve played their Grand Final already.
Also, the Eagles have had to travel to Melbourne, back home to Perth and will now have to come back to the MCG, a ground the Cats love. Plus, looking ahead another week, getting a Saturday day game at the MCG for the Prelim is an excellent dress rehearsal for the big dance.
Often this time of year comes down to whose list is the fittest. As we saw, Carlton badly missed Kreuzer and Gibbs (and Waite) on Saturday night, while West Coast gained a few more injury concerns, namely MacKenzie (unlikely), LeCras (probable) and Kennedy (someone please send WCE a bag of tennis balls this week). Meanwhile, the Cats are, with the exception of Denzel, Vardy and Joel Corey’s never-healing groin (loved the Gra Gra B reference!) have a full, well rested, and managed-to-the-minute list to choose from. (Please step forward, Mr Darren “Ol’ Dirty Bastard” Milburn.)
And finally, the big one, the Cats have experienced all this before. The Eagles should be happy about returning to finals and winning a final, but maybe they’ll be pleased with just that. They might not have the belief that they belong yet. The Cats, on the other hand, have the belief, experience and a chip on their shoulder. (Beating Hawthorn, West Coast and Collingwood in a finals series, the rest of the top 4 I might add, would be a pretty satisfying effort, no?)
The Eagles are very good, don’t get me wrong, but Geelong is better. This whole “don’t jinx it”, or “keep a lid on it” mentality, stops now. It is behind us and beneath us. The Cats are close enough if they’re good enough.
We should be proud and confident in this team – for the past 5 years they’ve given us nothing but good reasons to be.
posted by the captain at 10:10 am
10 Comments:
Aaarrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhh! It's time to bring the pain! (In my nest Mr-T voice) Go you bloody good things! GO CATS!!!
Out Menz, in Smithy.
Duncan to be sub for mine, unless they play silly buggers and there is a late change. Shan Shan is lurking on the emergency list, but he would have to get past Milburn and Mooney to manage that. Good luck with that fight little fella
No need to worry. I'll play before Shan Shan does. No silly buggers there. Just need a random defender other than Scarlett, Taylor or Enright to ping something so that Milburn can play the GF. Thanks a lot Scotty.
The B Man.
Did we ever have any reason to doubt?
-Tee from Vancouver
Fuck the media bias in Perth! In Channel 7's report on today's game, they still managed to focus 80% of the spot on the losing team! What's worse is that throughout next week there'll be nothing more than a minute each night to cover the GF. Instead, we'll probably get live crosses to the Ego's Mad Monday and theatre footage from every player's post season surgery or scrape and clean. What a bunch of parochially blind, self serving wankers! No wonder Tee pissed off to Canada!
-Basso Divor
PS I can't wait for the roaring silence at work on Monday! GO CATS!
Pies should have fallen to the Hoax on Friday night!!
Be sure to wish Charlotte the best of luck for me Basso. I bet she refuses to wear her clash pantyhose on Saturday, such is her Magpie arrogance.
Out of the prelim comes one burning question: Who are you and what the fuck have you done to Hatchet?
Is anyone else enjoying the post-season unravelling of the St Kilda Football Club more than I am? Didn't think so.
Go you Cats!!
...fustercluck...
The following is an interesting blog that I subscribe to, written by the owner of a nightclub that I used to play at:
"Show me the Money"
Last week saw a public outcry over a man losing his job for someone whom his bosses felt was more qualified and better equipped.
Now I’m not a football follower by any means and I don't know Mark Harvey from a Harvey apple. Frankly I would rather spend my weekends lazing on the couch with a gin martini and a copy of Anne Rice as opposed to a beer and the footy but the sheer coverage prompted me to explore how so many people can get so worked up over one man’s fate.
This year it appears that little boy AFL has finally reached puberty. Gold coast and GWS are only the pubic hair on the scrotum, the crack in the voice, for what waits beyond with the coming free agency is manhood in all its glory. For years the clubs have trumpeted player loyalty but now it seems the mighty dollar is just too tempting an apple. Case in point, a young boy from the western suburbs Callum Ward grew up barracking for the bulldogs and as a kid kicking a football in a park, would dream of one day getting the chance to play for the team he loved. His dream realised he then proceeded to wipe that dream away with a Kleenex and throw it in the bin….for money. Welcome to adulthood.
Don’t worry Callum, you’re not on your own; your brothers have the Vaseline at the ready and are preparing to go on strike because earning, on average, almost 4 times more than the common man for doing the thing you dreamt about since you were a small child apparently isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. But if you “men” of the AFL think you’re all grown up then sit down, pay attention and look at the blackboard as your American cousins give you a lesson in innocence lost.
The NBA is on strike and it would be hard to imagine many sympathetic listeners to their plea. Averaging around $4mil a season with the top players earning around $14mil (and this is without the other millions in endorsements) in a time of financial recession in most American cities. One can only imagine at which point they lost their love of playing and replaced it with the love of money. The free market is hardly that in todays global capitalist economy and free agency is somewhat of an oxymoron.
So why is it different for a coach to move because the money was too good to pass up? Is it because the club and the coach demand loyalty from their players and yet seem somewhat hypocritical when the roles are reversed? Is it because this particular case was all done so smoothly behind the scenes? Surely it makes sense to have someone better to do a job before you sack the current one.....
Anyway this is far more football than I ever care to learn/discuss/remember so I am going back to my Martini and listen to some Joey Negro
-Tee from Vancovuer
I have been as critical of the MRP as anyone, but they better rig it to get Pod off or I will go mental. Losing Menzel, Johnson and Pod in the space of two matches prior to a GF would be too much to handle.
Johnson will be ok to play. As soon as I saw him walk I knew he'd be right. I'd be surprised if Pod got suspended for that. Looked an ok bump to me.
The B Man.
Podsiadly & Kelly have been cleared. Bad luck Moons. Step up Darren I say. Duncan you were too quiet on Saturday.
The B Man.
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