2010 AFL Season Preview - Geelong
By Allblack
Did the champ get wobbly towards the end of last season. It looked before the finals that they lost their cloak of invincibility. By the finals they looked back on track but we know from history that it is hard to stay up so long.
Their backline loses its leader this year in Tom Harley but realistically they have enough talent to handle this seamlessly. Scarlett is obviously a superstar and his life is made much easier with the likes of Mackie and Taylor floating around. They have added Drum this year for extra depth. They have quality small defenders as well in Hunt, Wojinksi and Enright. Milburn who can play both ends is a great player. Kelly provides important run from half back. It is hard to see much drop off in performance down back.
The midfield is as strong as you would get in AFL footy. Ablett just gets better each year. Bartel is elite and Joel Selwood as scary as it sounds still has improvement left. Corey is probably a little under rated outside the cats and then you throw in the new cpatain in Ling who is one of the best stoppers in the game and still gets plenty of the ball. Chapman will rotate through the middle as well and does plenty of damage when he is in there. There arent any weak spots in the midfield really although at times you could probably looks at them being a little one paced but it really only nit picking.
The forward line is seen as their achilles heal but with the midfield they have being able to kick as many goals as they do, it is easy for Geelong to cover. Hawkins is coming along and still developing. He shouldnt be under rated for what he has produced at his age. Mooney looked a little less effective last year but still topped the goal kicking. Steve Johnson is a freak and finally seems to have his mind and his body right. Rooke is a really important player up forward and gives a little bit of a hard edge. I thought Varcoe improved last year and should improve more this year. I dont really rate Byrnes, Lonergan or Gamble and think in a perfect world they wouldnt be getting as many games as they do. Stokes loss early in the season will hurt a little bit but his output hasnt been great. It isnt a great forward line but it gets the job done, they were the second highest scoring team last year but I think that is on the back of the best midfield in the land.
The rucks would be a concern as well for the Cats. Ottens is by far their best ruck but his body looks to be really struggling with the rigours of AFl footy and their second ruck in Blake is a plodder who was lucky to get as many games as he did last year. It is kids after that or maybe Hawkins or Mooney to help out. They need Ottens to have a good year.
The coach is the model of what a modern coach should be. He is passionate but even tempered and stays cool enough to give his players their head and put the responsibility for performance and discipline back on the playing group where it belongs. Tactically he doesnt have to do anything wild as he has the talent at his disposal to get the job done and seems comfortable to let other teams try and find a way past them rather than make huge changes to his own game plan.
The Cats are a classy team. They will finish in the top three this year and should be thereabouts come the grand final. The only question mark I guess is motivation and how tiring it can be to stay at the top for a long period of time. Not many teams can do it for long periods and at some stage it may catch up with them. I doubt it will be this year though as most of the star players are still at a good age and the playing group have a health respect for each other.