Zen and the Art of Contested Possession
With about 4 and half minutes left to play, and Geelong trailing,
a strange calm came over me. It may have been my body reacting to the stress
and tension of another close final against Hawthorn – some sort of defensive mechanism
akin to a dying man’s euphoria – but it all suddenly became clear.
“Geelong will win this,” I announced to my drunk, skeptical friends.
And with that I sat back and watched the final minutes of the qualifying final–
including Isaac Smith’s after the siren shot on goal – in perfect equanimity.
Prior to this epiphany, or possibly minor stroke, I was
anything but calm. I was confident pregame that the Cats had Hawthorn covered,
but as the game progressed it became apparent that it would be an arm wrestle.
As a spectacle it was as gripping as AFL gets. As a player it must have been as
tense as AFL gets. Tellingly, the Geelong players, and its game plan, stood up.
The two styles of play were almost diametrically opposed but
equally matched; each built to counter the strength of the other – Geelong’s
built on contested possession and repeat forward entries, Hawthorn’s on luring
the opposition forward and then attacking on the rebound into the open space
behind. Hawthorn’s personnel matches their game style perfectly; Geelong’s is
starting to catch up.
Sydney offer a different challenge – they pride themselves
on contested possession and often bring an extra number to the contest, hoping
to outweigh opposition teams from the stoppage. This can leave them exposed to quick
ball movement and spread from the contest, and again it will be vital that
Geelong get their share of clearances and the outside players get on their bikes
to wide expanses of the MCG.
It’s easy now to forget how different Geelong was last year,
how outmatched they were. The big off-season recruits weren’t just flashy
spends, they were necessary pieces to let the team domino into position. And
domino they have.
This is a very different Geelong team, not only from last
year, but from 5 or 6 weeks ago. Post-match Tom Hawkins said it didn’t matter that
they got 17 points down to the Hawks – that it could have been more – they felt
like they could win from anywhere: This is a team of believers.
The unnatural calm I felt in the dying minutes against
Hawthorn has stayed with me, like I’ve reached some type of Zen posture with The
Cats and their fortunes. Perhaps it’s because I always thought Geelong would be
better in 2017 than 2016, that it would take this season for the group to gel
as a team, and for new teammates to learn to trust the game plan, and to trust each
other.
But what was and what will be are not what is. Geelong is close
enough now. And Geelong is good enough now.
posted by the captain at 3:35 pm
5 Comments:
I envy your inner calm Dalai Captain - I was producing more logs than a Canadian lumberjack throughout the game and especially at the end. I thought the football gods had taken notice at the glee I had taken from Porkins' after the siren winner against the Hawks a couple of years ago and were paying me back in spades.
I agree that the Cats are close enough and good enough. Sydney tuned us up last time, but I think our best is good enough to beat them, especially at the round MCG, as opposed to the oval KP or the teeny tiny SCG, where their game style holds up better. Get through them and the Dogs or GWS are gettable in the big dance.
Amen to you both.
I am also convinced that our best is plenty, if our composure is there, we can go the whole way and round out the decade in style.
Captain you are quite right, it is an amazing turn around from where we were last year and what makes the Cats transformation even more impressive is that the competitive opposition are many and have improved leaps and bounds as well.
What a wonder this year could be. Dan Menzel, if he gets this flag, could be the football story of a generation. The same could almost be said for Josh Cowan. Those two are firmly in my best 22. As is Jimmy Bartel, the ice cold, go to man in a crisis. Any talk of him not playing is pure bullshit.
3 sleeps, can't wait to meet the Swans in what sould be a ripping contest.
Go Cats.
...fustercluck...
Who gets the arse if Henderson comes in? My guesses were Kolo, Ruggles or Cowan. (I'm hoping all the noise about Jimmy is just media shit). I'll settle on Ruggles due to a few shit kicks in the Hawthorn game. God I hope it's not Jim.... Or does Henderson pay the price for getting injured at the wrong time?
The B Man.
Henderson in, Kolo out for mine. Henderson is a definite in I reckon - he is too good, and too versatile to be left out. Though I hope Scott saves the "Hendo forward" trick for if we are 5 goals down turning for home - not as an opening gambit. Leave that sort of "try something different to upset the opposition" shit to Blight.
When I first heard the "drop Bartel" suggestion I immediately did the "Chris Scott seeing a free kick go against Geelong" face, and nothing I have heard since has convinced me otherwise. For a final like this Jimmy is top 5 first picked, top 3 if the weather forecast turns wet.
Speaking of free kicks, will Aliir ever be called out on his massive number of pushes in the back? He is an impressive talent but jesus christ, I've seen more legitimate marking attempts during high school kick to kicks than I have with that joker.
Menzel in doubt now according to the AFL media, not the Cats website (yet). Could this be another attempt to psych us out? YES and YES.
This is a year of the Cat. Time to flog the shit out of the Swans, and I think the Dogs can get over the line in another bruising encounter suiting us.
All that stands in our way is a sluggish start coming off the week off.
GO CATS and thanks for the articles and comments guys, keep it up!
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