A.F.L. Thread II

[benchmark00]

I love Thompson as coach, but his new 'relaxed ****yness' persona is interesting. If he had been doing it for the last 4 years it'd be fair enough. But it kind of has mainly emerged this year. To me that suggests Ablett's possibility departure has had an effect.

I reckon it's an inadvertent concesson that there's a doubt that his team is the best in the league. In the past he just let the players do the talking knowing they're the stand out team in the league, now it's like he's resorting to mind games to try and get the opposition unsettled.

 

[Jono]

YOu're probably right, but why now and not last year when the Saints beat them and ended up higher on the ladder?

 

[Jono]

Actually it makes sense now, since the Saints have beaten them twice this year PLUS Collingwood beating them. There's arguagbly two teams challenging their mantle rather than just one this year.

 

[benchmark00]

YOu're probably right, but why now and not last year when the Saints beat them and ended up higher on the ladder?

Not sure. Maybe because they've lost a final it's all come to a head.

The Ablett thing has obviously had some effect though. There's no doubt he's sick of talking and hearing about it.

 

[benchmark00]

Actually it makes sense now, since the Saints have beaten them twice this year PLUS Collingwood beating them. There's arguagbly two teams challenging their mantle rather than just one this year.

Yeah. There's an air of desperation about it I reckon. Might be reading a bit too much into it though.

Maybe his kids have been pissing him off and he's off his game, who knows.

 

[Jono]

Whole FC panel tipped Collingwood btw.

Anyone watch On The Couch or One Week at a Time? Similar sentiments?

 

[benchmark00]

Watched OWAAT. Quartermain and Walls backed Geelong, Darcy backed Collingwood.

 

[Matt79]

I'm going to the Prelim, but I've got a sick feeling I'm going to leave shattered like I did in 07. When the ****s on OWAAT start talking about giving Bartel and Ling run with jobs on Swan and Pendlebury, to free up Ablett, Selwood, Chapman, Kelly, and Corey to be creative, it sounds intimidating. I just hope Geelong come out still thinking they're playing Freo and try to be all fancy, and that we smash them in the first quarter - once we're in the game I'll back us, but worried we might get jumped early and then never really recover.

One way or another, I'm going to become the first mod to get banned for what's going to happen in this thread over the next two weeks.

 

[benchmark00]

Close to 100k people expected at the game. I'd imagine around 60k of them will be Collingwood fans.

Seeing as though we'll have so many of them in the one place we should compromise the 40k Geelong fans and neutrals and blow up the stadium.

Greater good for the greater number etc etc.

 

[Jono]

Nah **** off, I plan on being there.

 

[benchmark00]

This plan gets better by the minute. Any chance you can get Rafael Nadal and Jake King there with you?

 

[pasag]

I'm going to the Prelim, but I've got a sick feeling I'm going to leave shattered like I did in 07.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Mr Casson]

I reckon it's an inadvertent concesson that there's a doubt that his team is the best in the league. In the past he just let the players do the talking knowing they're the stand out team in the league, now it's like he's resorting to mind games to try and get the opposition unsettled.

I like it tbh.

 

[superkingdave]

Brady stiffer than Swallow and Boomer imo. The other two better obv but Rawlings year stacks up very well against the guys picked in his position.

Averaged about 27 possessions while having some standout shutdown games on the likes of Rioli, Lecras etc

AFAIK doesn't have his own website though.

 

[Matt79]

I just looked up the "Swallow Website". Hes almost unrecognisable in some of those pics!

 

[vic_orthdox]

As much as he's given us grief about still having it all to prove in PF and GFs, and being jealous of the Cats - and he's right on both counts, if not about the "hatred" - I think he might be feeling that with the age of the Geelong team and maybe Ablett heading north at the end of the year, this might be the last time they'll be an absolute top tier team for a few years, and hence, he can maybe feel the chase's breath on his neck, and is getting a bit edgy.

Thought Dale Thomas was pretty good just now on Footy Classified, albeit pretty tightly controlled as you'd want the week before the Prelim. He says it's not a deliberate tactic, and maybe it is simply he's maturing as a person, but I think it's been exactly the right thing for him to pull back on the media stuff a bit and let his football do the talking - helped by the fact he's had his best season to date. Still only 23, which actually kinda surprised me when they said it.

Think it's basically been a bit of a thing to motivate his own players, rather than actually getting at Collingwood. Geelong have prided themselves as taking everything as per normal, but I think Thompson wants that to change and get a higher intensity out of the players and highlight that the stakes are higher. Think that was especially so with the talk regarding "hatred".

 

[vic_orthdox]

I love Thompson as coach, but his new 'relaxed ****yness' persona is interesting. If he had been doing it for the last 4 years it'd be fair enough. But it kind of has mainly emerged this year. To me that suggests Ablett's possibility departure has had an effect.

I think it's simply that because Geelong has been so consistent and good over the past four seasons, he's allowed himself to say what he really thinks rather than trying to say the "right" thing that everyone expects. For example, when Lloyd was questioning him about Melbourne's team, or in post-match interviews.

 

[vic_orthdox]

YOu're probably right, but why now and not last year when the Saints beat them and ended up higher on the ladder?

Acknowledgement that the really important games from about Round 18 onwards are the KO games.

EDIT: he also did it last year to his own players at the 150 year function. Think it's all another method of doing that.

 

[Mr Casson]

What a shame Footy Classified isn't on tonight instead. Would be interesting to see how Hutchy is feeling after last night.

 

[vic_orthdox]

What happened? I missed it.