Is Geelong more of a failure than University, St Kilda and Freo?

[Boxhead_31]

I really can't understand the negativity towards Geelong. If it wasn't for us, the game wouldn't be as great as it is today.

If it wasn't for Geelong, every game would resemble a little league game. It was Charles Brownlow in the 1870's who decided to play players in the positions they do today. Up until then, everyone ran around in one large pack as they do in those little red vs blue Auskick games you see at half time in every AFL game. Geelong won 2-3 premierships in a row in the VFA as a result of Brownlow's master stroke, and as a result every club started to do it.

If it wasn't for Geelong, handball would never be used as such an attacking weapon. It wasn't until the 1963 flag when Geelong, with Polly Farmer, used handball to run rings around Hawthorn and win a flag. After that, every team started to do it, and blokes like Greg Williams and Scott West made a career on the back of it.

If it wasn't for Geelong, the game would've suffocated under the boring flooding, low scoring crap that Sydney and West Coast bored the rest of the competition into submission with. Geelong decided to play fast attacking football, whisking the ball through the corridor at lightning pace. As a result, they have won 50 of their last 53 games, including a grand final win by 20 goals, and now other teams are copying us, making today's game very attractive and more likely to attract fans from overseas markets.

So instead of criticising Geelong, you should all get on all fours and kiss our feet, as if it wasn't for Geelong, Aussie Rules would just look like another rugby clone.

Conan you must quickly leave Bay13 we can't be having such thoughtful and factual posts such as yours here in the bay the natives will get restless

 

[STC]

Poignent Biff, very poignent. We often hear about Richmond, St Kilda or Footscray but for all of their 110 odd years in the comp they have really yet to make their mark. I still think of them as the only team poor enough to hand Malthouse 2 of the most most undeserved premierships in modern times.
Sigh, what coulda been. But in a way you need teams like Geelong just to pick you up when you are feeling pretty ordinary. As they say, "Atleast we ain't Geelong".

Mate, let's have this discussion again when Freo win a flag. Just one.

 

[Boxhead_31]

Any other speds want to use the oh so brilliant "you support Melbourne" comeback?

Sure I'll have a lash at the risk of being labelled a sped though not excatly sure what a sped is might be something to do with the speed culture of the west coke eagles

 

[Hoffy95]

I firmly believe that Geelong are the biggest underachievers in VFL/AFL. They are the oldest football club with Melbourne but lag behind 12-7 in flags and Melbourne hasn't even bothered the scoreboard for 40 odd years. Their insipid grand final performances are worse than Collingwood because at least Collingwood put up some sort of fight but Geelong are beaten usually 3 minutes into the first quarter. Yeah okay they fluked a flag in 07 because they were playing the Collingwood of SA and someone had to win.

Good on you Biff for finally putting Geelong in the gun.

How'd that Collingwood of SA go against your mob the game before?

Doesn't say much for North does it?

Oops.

 

[Hoffy95]

Being the only club from a one team town for the best part of 85 years in the VFL for starters

And? Your club is the only Tasmanian based team, what's your point?

We've got access to the same pool of players everyone else has. In fact for a long time when money was barely a factor it was difficult to lure players to Geelong, so it has actually been a disadvantage if anything.

Depends if Hawthorn make the top 4 or not

A good side would do so and prove that the prior year wasn't just a fluke. What a joke they are if they can't.

 

[Chewy]

I and my family had booked a hotel in Geelong 08 GF and I can tell you that we, along with the rest of Geelong were heartbroken and devastated after the loss. There was no parade...just shock and tears. The next day at Skilled was like a wake.

Happy days!

 

[Chewy]

We've got access to the same pool of players everyone else has. In fact for a long time when money was barely a factor it was difficult to lure players to Geelong, so it has actually been a disadvantage if anything.

For years (before the draft) Geelong had a great local pool of talent to draw from. That's why they've always been reasonably competitive, although never really that dominant, as Biffinator has correctly pointed out.

Many, many players (country boys) have been lured to the Geelong FC purely because it's a country town and away from the big smoke. Gary Ablett Senior, for starters...

 

[conanthelibrarian]

I firmly believe that Geelong are the biggest underachievers in VFL/AFL. They are the oldest football club with Melbourne but lag behind 12-7 in flags and Melbourne hasn't even bothered the scoreboard for 40 odd years. Their insipid grand final performances are worse than Collingwood because at least Collingwood put up some sort of fight but Geelong are beaten usually 3 minutes into the first quarter. Yeah okay they fluked a flag in 07 because they were playing the Collingwood of SA and someone had to win.

Good on you Biff for finally putting Geelong in the gun.

It does help that the grand final is played on their own home ground though. Maybe if the grand final was played at Skilled Stadium, we'd have won 12 flags or more too.

As for that crap about Geelong being beaten 3 minutes in the first quarter of the grand final, even in our biggest grand final loss in the last 15 or so years, we were in front at 1/4 time. So much for that theory.

 

[Tyler Durden007]

Happy days!

As for you following comment, zoning was a very even playing field for every team. It was why Geelong built a great team in the early 90's only to be foiled by the AFL's WA favouritism policy, with added "body enhancement therapy" - I know as someone close to me was involved at WCE from 90-97.

So is a club that has had their lowest pick ever at #7 better than tankers who've bottomed out and won the same amount of premierships over their current journeys? The answer can only be yes.

And Biff.. FFS, get a new opening genre, you're as tired as a Terry Wallace post game press conference

 

[catspremiers2007]

For years (before the draft) Geelong had a great local pool of talent to draw from. That's why they've always been reasonably competitive, although never really that dominant, as Biffinator has correctly pointed out.

Many, many players (country boys) have been lured to the Geelong FC purely because it's a country town and away from the big smoke. Gary Ablett Senior, for starters...

Please continue on naming the 'many many' players who chose Geelong because it's a country town. (and don't make them up)

 

[GuzzLG]

Agree with the sentiments of this thread. We have dominated Geelong since day 1.

VFL Scores from Rd 1, 1897
Geelong 0.0 0.4 1.5 3.6 (24)
Essendon 3.2 3.4 6.4 7.5 (47)

Who knew that it would set the scene for the next 112 years?

 

[Biffinator]

lolwut?

And for the record, Carlton has never really dominated any era in the same vein as Collingwood or Melbourne. We were just consistently good, save two noticeable periods (the 50s and 00s). Slow and steady wins the race.

Jonoman, do I really need to lecture you on Carlton's history? Fair dinkum.

What about Worrall?

Three flags in six years and a very close second? (68 -72)

Three flags in four years (79 - 82)

If that is not dominance, what is?

Biffinator.

 

[siamang]

Geelong did their bit to save us from the interstate teams that were ruining our game. Now that the likes of Sydney and westcoast are back where they belong, we can once again breathe easily.

I firmly believe that the 2007 flag was the most meaningful for its fans, more than any of the other flags won in recent times.

97-franchise club, no soul
98-franchise club, no soul
99- won it 3 years before=meh
00-dispassionate bummer bandwagoners, won in 93 anyway
01-03-franchise, no soul
04-lol franchise, no soul
05-
06-burger franchise, no soul
07-founder club with passionate supporters breaks a long drought. Some old folks waited a long long time for this one.
08-bradbury tassie fat ****s fluke a premiership but dont really care that much. You could tell most of their players didn't really care, particularly Franklin.

So really, 07 was the most deserved flag of at least the past decade and helped the competition. Well done geelong, well done.

 

[Bay Pie]

Look at the Cat nuffy's flock to this thread.

Hahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahaha. This reminds me of the Ali v Foreman rope-a-dope.

Biff 1
Cat Nuffy's 0

 

[Biffinator]

Not to mention the most attacking sides ever to grace the field, particularly in 1989 and 1992. Kicked cricket scores every week.

Gawd I am so bored reading the mundane Geelong respones to this thread.

Only Tex 21 has made me laugh (and well done, as usual). Not one of you has really tried to refute the thesis.

Yes, Geelong supporters are all too easily pleased. This mindset, in turn, exacerbates the Hometown Hero syndrome in their playing list - just read the clown above.

Who cares about bread and butter home and away results. It's all a handful of dust if you don't bring home the silverware at the end of September.

I am going to introduce a new measure: it's called the Fitzroy Premiership Ruler.

Premiershipwise, you're either under it, equal to it, or have cleared it.

Geelong is under it.

But don't worry: Bruce Lindner kicked eight goals against the Bears in 1989. What a game to remember.

Biffinator.

 

[Biffinator]

Bay Pie - thanks for the comment.

As we both know, you are deeply respected by the Bay 13 Geelong Community.

Both Collingwood and Geelong have been in existence for the same amount of time.

You have double the number of premierships - but hey, don't forget Geelong kicked some big scores in the 1992 home and away season.

It must be very hard for you not to be condescending to a supporter-base that mythologies the on-field achievements of David Mensch, Bruce Lindner or Gary Ablett senior.

How do you manage it?

Biffinator.

 

[jonoman89]

Jonoman, do I really need to lecture you on Carlton's history? Fair dinkum.

What about Worrall?

Three flags in six years and a very close second? (68 -72)

Three flags in four years (79 - 82)

If that is not dominance, what is?

Biffinator.

We have dominated short time periods, but we've been the most consistent premiership winners in the comp with little time between drinks. Our current dry strech would be one of the longest - a testament to our continual competitiveness.

Collingwood and Melbourne absolutely dominated, but have been useless for 50 years. Carlton has always been up there.

 

[STC]

We celebrate flags. We have one. A flag is not mediocre.

Believe it or not, I'd rather see one premiership win and 10 losses than to see no wins at all. In my lifetime I've seen one out of 6 - how many have you seen Biff?

 

[market]

Biff - the "Fitzroy Premiership Ruler (FPR)" an agreed measure that can be used within the Bay to determine a clubs status, in relation to premierships etc....

So this objective measurement shows the Cats are "below" the FPR at this point in time, hardly a good advertisement for "the greatest team of all"?

By the way, you do realise in 1992, rounds 7, 8 and 9, the results for the Cats were
Round 7: Carrara - Brisbane 11.9 (75) def by Geelong 37.17 (239)
Round 8: Skilled St - Geelong 32.18 (210) def Adelaide 12.15 (87)
Round 9: MCG - Essendon 17.22 (124) def by Geelong 28.13 (181)

Thats a lazy 37 + 32 + 28 = 97 goals in 3 games..........

Geelong - Perhaps the greatest Home and Away team EVER!

 

[DivideandMultiply]

If it wasn't for Geelong, the game would've suffocated under the boring flooding, low scoring crap that Sydney and West Coast bored the rest of the competition into submission with. Geelong decided to play fast attacking football, whisking the ball through the corridor at lightning pace. As a result, they have won 50 of their last 53 games, including a grand final win by 20 goals, and now other teams are copying us, making today's game very attractive and more likely to attract fans from overseas markets.

Several things wrong with this passage.

Our midfield moved forward in a wave (flood?), the defensive flooding was attributable to Sydney and Adelaide.

We played predominantly man on man in defence and were a pretty entertaining team to watch.

Second you stole part of your game plan from us (the high handballing part), borrowing from others is what all teams do. At the moment it seems Hawthorn has had the bigger impact on playing styles and St Kilda are far more entertaining (as was Hawthorn in 08).

1 flag is a poor return for your recent home and away form (love how you mentioned that), so whatever, no doubt another team will beat you when it counts in september and Gazz will again miss out on the Brownlow.

 

[catspremiers2007]

Biff,
http://www.afl.com.au/ladder/tabid/74/default.aspx
you're a flog.

 

[DivideandMultiply]

Not to mention the most attacking sides ever to grace the field, particularly in 1989 and 1992. Kicked cricket scores every week.

This is exactly the attitude Biff was reffering to.

Who won the flags again in those years, please remind me?

 

[STC]

This is exactly the attitude Biff was reffering to.

Who won the flags again in those years, please remind me?

For starters, we weren't the best team in 89. Secondly, congratulations, you beat us in the early 90s. One might say that given the strength of the West Coast team from 05-07, one flag is also quite a poor return. You also lost a GF, remember?

Still, I just don't see where a guy like Biff is coming from. Melbourne never beat us in a GF. They have had no (remotely) recent success. We have, one premiership is a hell of a lot better than none. That Geelong team that lost 4 GFs from 89-95 underachieved. This team remains to be seen, but we've already done one amazing thing.

 

[Generalissimo]

I think Biffinator has set a new record for saying the least amount of stuff in the most number of words.

 

[themuddy#3]

Om Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom.


That was me taking the bait.

During my time following the Cats we have lost 4 premierships, won one, made consistent finals, havent got anywhere near a spoon, played great games and put some of the leagues best ever players on the park.

I love our team no matter how many times my heart gets broken on September. It's a roller coaster ride, but we are financially stable, have a good win/loss record and arent going anywhere.

Love it.