It was a great win last week after a pretty frustrating first half, but you felt at any give stage the dam wall would burst.
There were lots of positives to come out of the game, with Dylan Grimes earning a Rising Star nomination and the form of the second tier midfield. Reece Conca, Shane Tuck and Shaun Grigg were all outstanding. I doubt Shaun Grigg will ever have such a free reign again, but he made the most of it, setting up multiple attacks.
This week we come up against the Cats, who unfortunately are on the rebound after losing to North Melbourne last week.
I think if we were to ever get one over the Cats at their home ground it’d be this week because;
A) Even though it was the NAB Cup, we’ll take a lot of confidence out of that big win we had there only a month ago.
B) They have quite a few players that are underdone or out of form.
C) Just over half their total score in the first three rounds have come from Tom Hawkins and James Podsiadly alone.
I find ‘C’ the most interesting part. Over Geelong’s dominance in the last five years, they’ve become renowned for having an even spread of goalkickers. This season, they’ve been unusually over reliant on their two big men. They’re still a very dangerous duo, but hopefully conditions suit us to an extent as Podsiadly and Hawkins aren’t exactly known for their work below their knees. As silly as it sounds, the absence of the grandstand at Skilled Stadium could make life terribly difficult for tall forwards, and if the weather predictions stay true, there could be a few showers sweeping through. Alex Rance and Dylan Grimes have been excellent so far this season, so I’d expect them to match up on the Geelong talls.
The other forward that will most likely pose a problem for us is Steve Johnson. He’s been a shadow of his former self in the first three rounds, but rarely does he play four terrible weeks in a row, and he’s certainly due for one of his monster games. I like Jake Batchelor for this match up. Jake’s been in great form since coming into the team in round two and I think his ability to defend and then move into the midfield when he is required is a very good asset. Johnson spends a lot of time up the ground, so I don’t think Batchelor will be out of place following him around everywhere.
The Cats have lost James Kelly this week due to a groin injury, so that is a massive relief for the Tigers. Normally he gets under the guard of opposition teams and gives Joel Selwood a relatively big chop-out. On the topic of Selwood, I think Richmond have played the opposition’s best midfielders quite well this year. Richmond now has a midfield that needs worrying about, so instead of trying to stop teams, let’s take them on. I always like Brett Deledio as a guy to go head to head but this week I think Cotchin head to head with Selwood is a great match up. I don’t think the Cats will like that as ‘Cotch’ is going forward and hitting the scoreboard so it’ll be interesting to see how the coaches actually go about it.
The guy I always worry about is Jimmy Bartel. We simply cannot afford for him to run around by himself all day as he is so intelligent and reads the play better than anyone. For his height he’s one of the best players over head in the league and uses that by going into the backline and repelling attacks continuously. Then he goes forward and has his say on the scoreboard. If we’re accountable on Bartel and don’t let him impact the game, it is a massive step in the right direction on game day.
Geelong do have quite a few quality smalls that have good skills and can impact the scoreboard; Allen Christensen, Matthew Stokes, Steven Motlop and Shannon Byrnes. We saw last year Christensen was best on ground against us. He is extremely creative but has started the season a bit slow due to a restricted NAB Cup series. He is one player that could move into the middle due to James Kelly’s absence because his inside work is so good.
I think Ivan Maric and Tyrone Vickery could definitely get the ascendency in the ruck this week. They come up against Trent West who’s looked a little out of sorts and a third game mature ager in Orren Stephenson. West is probably the most dangerous due to his ability to go forward, but Stephenson’s pure ruck ability should not be under estimated.
Geelong’s backline, without Scarlett due to suspension looks a little suspect, but the inclusion of Josh Hunt is big for them. Andrew Mackie copped a massive hit to the face last week against the Roos, and it still seems he’s touch and go to come up before Sunday. Our forward line at times this year hasn’t worked the way we know it can, so we’d need some improvements shown in that area to pose threats to Geelong’s great team defence. Spotting up leads and being precise going inside 50 I think is vital at Skilled Stadium instead of kicking it long and high due to the wind.
The Cats are always a tough prospect at home, but I’m quietly optimistic about our chances this week.
Go Tiges!
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