Opinion Rd 13 Bye week - Luved , Liked, hated so far in 2022.

Who is the most improved player this year based on expectations from where they started.

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    62
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dazbroncos

dazbroncos

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Oct 9, 2010
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With the week off, we gotta do something.

So here goes nothing.

8-4 is a good spot 12 rounds in. Currently Top 4 before the byes kick in and probably higher than expected given the end to 2021.

What have you luved, liked or hated about how we got here so far. Can be on or off field but must be GFC related.

This is not intended to be about " I hated CS for dropping Menzel in 2017.. or " I hated Trent West being called a #1 ruck in 2012" or " I luved trading for PFD "

Keep it to 2022.

I luved the job Steve Hocking has done moving things around off field this year. It seems the change in coaches, the shifting of responsibilities has helped facilitate the shift in gameplan and has us playing better footy - not faultless footy - but better overall. We can still defend but are scoring better and more effectively.

To the same point - I hate we get opened up at times and cant get a grip on it.

Luved Zuthrie and Atkins developing and showing that its worth continuing to pump games into " potatoes" as there are times when it pays off and while starches are not always the most palatable things in a good diet... they are needed and can become a very important component.

GO Catters
 
Loved SDK seriously by far the best thing about 2022 so far by such a margin it isn't even funny.

Like the new game plan. Yes it isn't always going to work or look pretty but it is a massive improvement and will at least give us a chance in finals.

Hated our ability to completely shit the bed for 20-30 minute periods which has cost us games.


PS. do we really need a poll which should be completely 1 sided :laughing:
 
Loved SDK

Liked the fact that we have had glimpses of Dempsey, Stephens, Neale and Knevitt

Hated that we still don't seem to have a forward that will compete in the air to bring the ball to ground to give more opportunities to the smalls like Stengle and Close. Intercept defenders love playing against us because they take uncontested marks very easily. Think Taylor GWS last year, McCartin in round 2, Alliir in the final, Sicily on Easter Monday etc. Hawkins and Cameron have both been fantastic at times, but neither want to compete in a marking contest by splitting a pack. Hawkins prefers to wrestle and his feet never leave the ground and Cameron is great both on the lead and over the back. When we struggle to have midfield dominance and we just go for the get out kick down the line, we just don't have an option that will create a 50/50. Ratagolea has been tried in this exact role that I'm talking about but isn't up to it. Neale is probably a bit green this year but long term would be ideal. SDK would be great at it but is probably more important elsewhere. Jack Henry could be the wild card in the back half of the year. A forward line of Hawkins, Cameron, Rohan, Stengle, Close and Henry is my wish come finals time.
 

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Disliked- Injuries that aren't major, but enough to keep players from playing ( Rohan, Henry, Menagola, Stanley, Dangerfield) but every club has injuries for the most part.
Teams getting on a bust and we are unable to stop it
Midfield is hit and miss.

Liked the ability to suffer injuries early in a game and still win and games we play poor but have enough talent to win.
The forward line of Jezza, Tomahawk, and Stengle with Rohan just coming in will only get better.
Tom Stewart's form as a quarterback role
Selwood and no doubt has lost any pace he had, just keeps going week after week and performing.
we are 8-4 and 3 of those losses we shouldn't have had, with home games coming up, and soft draw top 4 should be the aim.

Loved the development of the young guys in SDK, Atkins, Zuthrie (finally), and games given to Ollie, Neale, Knivitt, Cooper
 
Loved: Samuel da King. It's the obvious answer and the correct one. He was always going to be a beast, but who could have predicted the speed of his rise?

Liked: Tom Atkins. He's enjoying the improved, faster, game plan and is a big part of why it's working.

Hated: The team's tendency to go to sleep for 10-15 minutes and giving up a string of goals.
 
Likes

Jezza turning on beast mode and putting teams to the sword single-handedly

Atkins going from 🥔 to unbelievably reliable contributor and Mr Fixit

SDK as intercept and contested marking machine

Brad Close elevating his game several levels from goalsneak to important link player

A tweaked gameplan that involves more ‘go’ and less ‘whoa’

Dislikes

Bad kicking costing us a top 4 spot

Injuries - still worried about Henry’s foot; Holmes, Menegola and Dangerfield.

A lot of Miers form and Ratugolea before his injury - need these guys to move into the core of the next generation or we will need to replace them

Francis Evans - when he arrived I thought he had Chappy qualities; haven’t seen any of that this year
 
LIKES

* SDK and Stengle - whatever happens for the rest of the season, a huge positive will be finding two future AA guns
  • Cameron back to fitness and winning games off his own boot. Brilliant to watch and comforting to know we’ll still have years of him in the side once Hawkins retires. Really hope he wins the Coleman
  • Stewart back to his best, I was genuinely worried about his foot injury late last year and whether he’d get back to this form let alone so quickly
  • Atkins and Zuthrie have transformed themselves from fringe players to b22
  • New and improved gameplan is good to watch, we’re only 80 points off being the highest scoring side in the comp and I daresay our poor accuracy is what is costing us in this area
  • Selwood has a bit more gas left in the tank than I thought heading into the season. Has played some genuinely good football and been pivotal late in close wins v Pies and Dogs
  • I’ve always been a Stanley fan but this seems like his most consistent season. Been in our bests list a number of times. With Conway developing, I hope Rhys signs on again for 2023
  • Fantastic to see young players rewarded for good VFL form. I don’t expect Dempsey, Knevitt, Neale etc to play a part in our hopeful finals campaign but it’s great to see them get some game time.

DISLIKES
  • Injuries have killed us. Devastating that Henry, who I tipped for AA this season based on his form last year, basically hasn’t had a run at it all year. And that Holmes was struck down when he was genuinely breaking out. Hope we can get something out of Danger and Menegola too. I think we can beat anyone at full strength, but we haven’t looked like having a fit list all year.
  • Inability to stop teams from getting a run on is quite concerning, in multiple games this year the opposition has kicked 4+ goals in a row. If that happens in a final it’s almost game over.
  • Likewise, our inaccuracy has been incredibly frustrating at times. We 100% should have iced the Hawthorn game with better goalkicking and we had more shots than the Swans yet lost comfortable. Hawk and Jez are two of the better set shots in the game but they both inexplicably have games where they kick 1.3 or 0.4 which can be the different between a win or a loss.
 
Likes...
  • Considering the pick up of someone at Stengle's level would normally cost a first round pick, he's not just been a bonus but in a "if you stretch things long enough" way, partially offsets the 3 we forked out for Cameron. Is the goal sneak we've looked for with Miers and Close (though each - especially Close - have their own advantages, aren't finishing opportunists like he is). And while we're on the topic, his contested marking on the weekend was yet another string to his bow.
  • Cameron fit and firing. We saw what he was capable of last year, but now we're getting it most weeks. Love that he's a different forward to Tom and they complement each other brilliantly.
  • SDK going from "give him a couple of games" to "first 22" to "integral part of backline" to "2nd most important player down back" (and arguably most important long term). Outside of Selwood and Stewart (who was a mature ager), I've never such rapid development in a Cat before.
  • Yeah, you can argue we'll never win a flag if our midfield has the likes of Atkins running around, but he's stepped up again this year. You can never question his efforts (like Dahl) but the stupid mistakes that we saw last year have been reduced, which makes him so much more effective.
  • Zuthrie's no longer a depth player. Injuries to others have given him a decent crack in the seniors, and he's no longer warming a seat. He's hard in the contest, he's winning his share of 50/50s, and his skills are pretty sharp. I hope they find a way to keep him in.
  • Seeing the likes of Stephens, Knevitt, and Neale get a taste of senior footy. Hoping Stevens gets a look in later in the season, and while Conway would be awesome to see in the firsts, happy for him to build quietly in the VFL this year.
  • I didn't mention Dempsey above, because he's the one that could be the most exciting. I'm bullish on Stephens making it despite but some less-than-stellar games early on, but I think Ollie's got the highest ceiling of all of them. Yeah, it's at least 2-3 years away (if not more) but we'll all be keeping a close eye on him.
  • The new gameplan: Faster play at times is hurting us. We're not a team that defends well against rebound footy, and it's caught us out a couple of times. But... something had to change, and we've had our own devastating patches that have won games too. Regardless of how the rest of the season goes, I hope we keep using a more aggressive style as the kids come through.
  • Special mention to Kolo, who's also vastly reduced those crappy disposals (Blicavs, please take note when playing back - it IS possible!)
Dislikes...
  • Losing to Hawthorn. Considering the crap they served up in the weeks after, absolutely inexcusable (and would've had us comfortably top 4).
  • Our cobbled together midfield is underwhelming. Selwood simply should not be the top performer, but too often he is. As much a list problem as anything else. Holmes is super promising, Parfitt's a solid role player - but it's not enough. See Bulldogs game, 2nd and 3rd quarters.
  • Narkle's had some chances this year and blown them. The Bulldogs game was just... He's not the answer, sadly. That said, maybe a second club will kick him into gear, as he's got everything except the intensity.
  • Injuries. Every team has had them, but losing Ceglar, Stanley, and Ratugolea was just taking the piss. Menegola out for the first half hasn't helped our midfield woes and how we won last week with no Henry, Stewart, and Kolo in the back-line is beyond me. Holmes hurts the most, as this guy needs to have as many games pumped into him as possible.
  • Miers under-performance has been offset by Stengle... but to be fair, I think our midfield issues are also a mitigating factor. Playing deeper forward against the Crows, he kicked 3 goals (yes, weak opposition) but this week against the Bulldogs, he's back up-field and... well, not doing great.
  • There's been a few other under-performers. O'Connor's gone backward, Danger is Danger (I know, we're not getting back the 2016/2017 model), Dahl is done. The trouble is our depth just isn't there to cover them, so we're either playing younger players or moving deck chairs. Kudos to the MC for going with younger players more times than not.
I think that's about it. Certainly higher than where I expected, especially with some of our injuries. I'm just going to enjoy the ride into the finals this year with zero expectation.
 
Nice and short one from me.

Loved.
SDK, Cameron and Hawkins together, Stengle, playing the kids, Zuthrie and the young backline synergy.

Liked.
Atkins continued improvement, Close improvement, being in every single game we've played with 5 goals in a BS game being the biggest margin, Scotts coaching moves and input from the new supports.

Disliked.
Poor kicking at goal, losing games we really can't afford to lose, injuries, umpiring, lack of "next gen" midfield option showing themselves.
 
Loved:

SDK
Tommy Atkins in beast mode plus improved skills. A heart and soul player like Rooke.
Close hands
Stengle doing just about anything he likes
Stewart killing it

Liked:

New gameplan. Not perfect but gives us a shot.
Kolo's improvement is tangible. The oppos know he is around.
Joel seems more positive in attitude
Introducing and sticking with some younglings. Shows the door is open if you are good enough
Blitz roaming role is a winner, and his skills and impact have improved noticeably
Covering well for injuries
Zuth +

Disliked:

Dawks (especially the loss)
Richmond
Fadeouts (fitness? new gameplan issues?)
Hawk not taking his shots. He needs to practice every one under game pressure pre finals
Short steps
Injuries, but they are part of the deal
Umpiring - too much interference and inconsistency.

Overall 7.5/10 for the year so far considering what we looked like in February cf now.
 

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foxdog50 said:
The actual most improved has to be Atkins...
But SDK been unreal from the start so in a way his not the most improved if that makes sense? As this is his first real go at it?
Click to expand...
The poll says based on expectations.
Surely no one expected SDK to be an absolute gun from the get go.

But your right that Atkins has improved immensely. I’ve always liked him but gee he’s taken it to a new level.

Loved - SDK and Stengle.

Liked - Faster ball movement.

Hated - Inaccurate goal kicking, teams piling on goals in a short period and injuries.
 
Lack of Stengles is disappointing, I too echo the rise of SDK and Atkins and to a lessen extent Zuthrie as being the highlight of the year so far …if we can somehow combat that 20-30
Mins lapse that has been appearing throughout the year in the second half we should have an interesting finals pending the fitness of the list.
 
SDK, Stengle and Zuthrie, new kids on the block like Cooper and Neale.

Basically everything that indicates that this club is focusing on youth and future.

Player selection has been reasonably adequate compared to the mayhem selection in past (Dahlhaus, Higgins) although we'll see who gets to play the remaining season.
 
Like all the additions and development at the club- youngsters and Stengle.
Like returning to watch live footy in pretty normal fashion- K.Park looking great, mcg -brilliant, heck-I even enjoyed going to marvel.
Stewart he’s clearly our next captain -yep? And he is growing easily into the role.
And would like us to adjust to circumstances in a game more quickly so teams don’t get a run on against us. Interestingly the dogs had plenty of time to catch us and didn’t- so pleased with the adapting in that game.
oh and yep- losing to the hawks was annoying.
So pretty cheerful all in all.
 
Loved
SDK progressing so rapidly and looking to become a trademark reliable Geelong KPD.
Stengle - a great value recruit offering another much-needed goal-scoring threat up forward. Only young so should have plenty of time with us as well.
Cameron kicking bags.

Liked
Introduction and glimpses of other new players - Holmes, Stephens, Dempsey, Neale.
Improvement of Atkins and Kolo.
That we have remained competitive despite looking like a bit of an ad-hoc side with a threadbare midfield. Have been competitive in all games probably bar the Sydney game this year even in losses.

Disliked
Continuing to hand games to Higgins, Rohan and Dahlhaus on a first-preference basis. They should be on a special "use only in an emergency" list.
The continued regression of Dangerfield. Been going on for years, but he's really a very faint shadow of what he was several years ago. Never was a great user and now that his other attributes are deserting him he's quite limited.
MoC and Miers also not giving us much, and Narkle not coming along has been disappointing as well.
Inconsistency within games - dominating quarters and then going missing for another 2 or 3.

We've been okay for what we are. We're very clearly not a side that will do much in finals. But we've been competitive while introducing young players who look promising, which is a good thing. I'd prefer we tipped it a little more towards youth and stopped giving games to some so we could make room for more sustained runs by those younger players.
 
Strange Cat said:
Lack of Stengles is disappointing, I too echo the rise of SDK and Atkins and to a lessen extent Zuthrie as being the highlight of the year so far …if we can somehow combat that 20-30
Mins lapse that has been appearing throughout the year in the second half we should have an interesting finals pending the fitness of the list.
Click to expand...
See above 10:36 am
 
Loving the inclusion of some younger players, SDK and Stengle at the forefront, hopefully Holmes picks up from where he left off once he gets back. Also giving debuts to all of Stephens, Dempsey, Knevitt and Neale. Even if most of them have headed back to the VFL, giving them a taste of the highest level will do them the world of good when it comes to working on their game in the reserves.

Our games have been a lot more enjoyable to watch so far as well for the most part, so big tick for the changes there.
 
Like: quiet achievers offield

No controversy : Hocking, contracts, new and exchanged coaches, extended warm welcome to young players, community values (among the first clubs to promote, thanks to Frank) treatment of staff, inclusion of women and leadership in general. An inspirational club that attracts and retains players.

Amazing: Joel Selwood. Always offield, and on field a huge ability to lift us over the line.

Improved: Chris Scott's pressers. Finally telling us something we didn't know. More open about game plan, injuries and what that means to selection.

Dislike:
Admin/marketing debiting membership fees when they have been instructed not to do so. Take our money but we can't attend BECAUSE
Car Park gridlock (thanks COGG) and the failure to provide more than a handful of disability car parks, or police them for false users.
 
Two Planks said:
Hated that we still don't seem to have a forward that will compete in the air to bring the ball to ground to give more opportunities to the smalls like Stengle and Close. Intercept defenders love playing against us because they take uncontested marks very easily. Think Taylor GWS last year, McCartin in round 2, Alliir in the final, Sicily on Easter Monday etc. Hawkins and Cameron have both been fantastic at times, but neither want to compete in a marking contest by splitting a pack. Hawkins prefers to wrestle and his feet never leave the ground and Cameron is great both on the lead and over the back. When we struggle to have midfield dominance and we just go for the get out kick down the line, we just don't have an option that will create a 50/50. Ratagolea has been tried in this exact role that I'm talking about but isn't up to it. Neale is probably a bit green this year but long term would be ideal. SDK would be great at it but is probably more important elsewhere. Jack Henry could be the wild card in the back half of the year. A forward line of Hawkins, Cameron, Rohan, Stengle, Close and Henry is my wish come finals time.
Click to expand...

Having Rohan back helps in this regard. Danger also does this when he rests forward.
 
Biggy_Boy said:
Loved
SDK progressing so rapidly and looking to become a trademark reliable Geelong KPD.
Stengle - a great value recruit offering another much-needed goal-scoring threat up forward. Only young so should have plenty of time with us as well.
Cameron kicking bags.

Liked
Introduction and glimpses of other new players - Holmes, Stephens, Dempsey, Neale.
Improvement of Atkins and Kolo.
That we have remained competitive despite looking like a bit of an ad-hoc side with a threadbare midfield. Have been competitive in all games probably bar the Sydney game this year even in losses.

Disliked
Continuing to hand games to Higgins, Rohan and Dahlhaus on a first-preference basis. They should be on a special "use only in an emergency" list.
The continued regression of Dangerfield. Been going on for years, but he's really a very faint shadow of what he was several years ago. Never was a great user and now that his other attributes are deserting him he's quite limited.
MoC and Miers also not giving us much, and Narkle not coming along has been disappointing as well.
Inconsistency within games - dominating quarters and then going missing for another 2 or 3.

We've been okay for what we are. We're very clearly not a side that will do much in finals. But we've been competitive while introducing young players who look promising, which is a good thing. I'd prefer we tipped it a little more towards youth and stopped giving games to some so we could make room for more sustained runs by those younger players.
Click to expand...
I agree with all that except the part in your dislikes where you say Dahlhaus, Higgins, Rohan are played as a first preference.

Dahlhaus is only getting a game due to injuries. Higgins has been "sore" for a suspiciously long run of games. Rohan came back through the vfl.

I would have listed the above as a like for the opposite reasoning.
 
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