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AFL 2009 ROUND 14; ST KILDA V GEELONG;
MATCH PREVIEW PLUS TV / RADIO BROADCAST DETAILS By Ben Jensen AFL 2009 ROUND 14 ST KILDA SAINTS V GEELONG CATS THE CLASH of the season thus far will be held at Telstra Dome this Sunday afternoon; unbeaten Geelong and St Kilda. Although both sides are unbeaten, the Saints have been smashing sides with such regularity they've a percentage of 177.5%, to the Cats' 149.7%. The Geelong back six will be tested by St Kilda forwards led by Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke, Stephen Milne and Adam Schneider, while the 'Big Hairy Cat' Cameron Mooney will be desperate to atone for recent performances, and should enjoy the confines of Etihad Stadium. Gary Ablett, Paul Chapman and Joel Corey similarly will be keen to 'tear up' the former Telstra Dome in front of a package house and live Channel Seven telecast. For Geelong Matthew Stokes has been recalled from the VFL in place of the injured David Johnson, while the Saints have brought in Raphael Clarke in place of injured Max Hudghton. The match has been seemingly ranked up there with the 2000 Sydney Olympics opening ceremony, such is the hype for this round 14 clash. Damian Watson on the Footy Almanac website has written a great piece on 'big match' precedents over the last ten years: http://footyalmanac.com.au/?author=158. UK based Geelong fans, in the absence of Setanta, will be able to watch the game live thanks to the AFL / Telstra: http://bigpondtv.com/aflliveuk Meanwhile viewers in New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT will not be able to see the game unless they tune into Foxtel's 'Main Event' channel, Seven/Southern Cross and Fox Sports 1 choosing to telecast the other two non-blockbuster games in Sydney-Kangaroos and Fremantle-Carlton. Read on for further review of Key Matchups / Players, Tom Harley's press conference, full team listings, review of the last clash between the two sides and more.
YOUR SAY: WILL THE CATS GET OVER THE LINE?
UMPIRES TBA TIP? Cats by a whisker; 3 points
RUCK Former Geelong skipper and premiership ruckman Steven King will miss through suspension, as will Cat Brad Ottens, who hasn’t played all season. The Saints have former West Coast ‘bad boy’ Michael Gardiner backed up by 19 year old Ben McEvoy to lead their ruck division, with forward Justin Koschitzke more than able to do the job if it comes to that. The Cats rely on Mark Blake, whose form hasn’t been terrific, and cult figure Shane Mumford. As if to emphasise this, the Geelong selectors have named Mumford in the ruck with Blake on the bench. Verdict? Cats hold the edge, just; if they get too far on top, Koschitzke may get diverted from the forward line, making the Cats’ defence job even easier. MIDFIELD The Cats easily have to ascendency here. For what it’s worth, the Geelong midfield rotation of Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey, Cameron Ling, Joel Selwood and Paul Chapman. Corey Enright, James Kelly, Travis Varcoe, Max Rooke and Shannon Byrnes will also have something to say about it. The Saints’ team of Lake Ball, Nick Dal Santo, Leigh Montagna Lenny Hayes, former Bulldog Farren Ray and Sam Fisher are all quite capable but not in the same league as the Cats just yet; maybe they will be come September. Verdict: Cats to control the midfield. FORWARD - DEFENCE One cannot question the potency of the St Kilda forward line this season; interestingly it is the Cats who have kicked by far the highest aggregate score this season, with 1509 points (116 per game) to the Saints’ 1356 (104pg). The more intriguing aspect is what the Geelong defence has let through this season: 1008 points (78pg), to St Kilda’s measly 764 (59pg). For the Cats Cameron Mooney has been generally perceived as misfiring most weeks with 23 goals so far, in his only game at Etihad Stadium he kicked a bag of four against Essendon. Steven Johnson is certainly the pick of Geelong’s forwards, although in the past fortnight it was Shannon Byrnes booting bags of five and four goals. If the Cats get into serious trouble they can usually rely on Ablett to drop into a permanent forward role and kick a few. The Saints have lost tall defender Max Hudghton to an ankle injury, Sam Gilbert filling his spot at full back. He and the other Sam, Fisher, are likely to match-up on Mooney. Zac Dawson, who while he was tormented by Anthony Rocca all those years ago it is often forgotten he towelled up on Geelong forward (Kent Kingsley) the next week so the boy can play. He will probably take Tom Hawkins, who is about due a good game. Paul Chapman loves Docklands, and should get either Brendan Goddard who will try to exploit his pace by running off half-back or tough nut Steven Baker. Stokes is an outside chance to play but will probably miss out in favour of Wojcinski, while Gamble simply won’t play. Nick Riewoldt has tormented Geelong players and fans alike over the past decade; those long arms, well before the ‘chopping’ rule came in, seemed just too strong. Tom Harley’s back up and running however, and with Harry Taylor should be able to handle him. Matthew Scarlett may get a shot at Riewoldt but may find himself on Koschitzke instead. Andrew Mackie is another capable of playing on talls. Someone like Enright, Milburn of maybe even Wojcinski should pick up Stephen Milne. Adam Schneider is another small forward capable of kicking a few in a row, Max Rooke might be suited to him if he doesn’t start up forward. INTERCHANGE Geelong – Blake, Shannon Byrnes, Darren Milburn, (1 of) Ryan Gamble, Matthew Stokes, David Wojcinski St Kilda - McQualter, Miles, McEvoy, Geary, R Clarke, Gwilt, Eddy (3 to go) Comparing the benches, the Cats certainly have the more experienced if not potent line-up. Aside from the two ruckman in Blake and McEvoy, the Cats bench is skewed towards defensive players in utility Darren Milburn, half-back David Wojcinski, key defender Harry Taylor but have also named forward-minded Matthew Stokes and Ryan Gamble. Simon Hogan, the seventh benchman named, is not a realistic chance to make his debut. The Saints went for Andrew McQualter (tagger), Jarryn Geary (half-back/midfield), Rafael Clarke and Ben McEvoy. Robert Eddy and Luke Miles seem to be on the outer while James Gwilt could return. THE COACHES Not much more can
be said of Geelong’s coaching team. Mark Thompson, newly reappointed,
is the best coach going around and has a strong team behind him, mostly
ex-players. St Kilda has Ross Lyon; clearly a talented tactician, man
manager and motivator. They also have former Geelong VFL Premiership
coach Leigh Tudor, who knows a thing or two about the Cats. Wouldn’t
have expected either box to have much influence on the game this Sunday. BETTING GUIDE (As At 1/7/2009) (Check OnThePunt for latest odds)*
* This information does not constitute investment advice. And if you think it does, you may as well invest in Babcock & Brown, Opus Prime or ABC Learning Centres. Suffice to say, don't rely on us, check the latest odds yourself. YOUR SAY WILL THE GAME LIVE UP TO THE HYPE, AND WILL THE CATS PREVAIL?Tom Sim, Geelong; 1/7/2009; 20:13IF,
THE CATS PLAY TO THEIR EARLY SEASON FORM ,THEY SHOULD GET OVER THE Enright was certainly there, Tom - had some 20 possessions. - Ed
MATCH NEWS BY GOOGLE Loading...
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AFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON 2009, ROUND 14 ST KILDA V GEELONG SUNDAY 5 JULY 2009, 15:10 AEST ETIHAD STADIUM
Share this Story with a friend Add to FacebookGREAT FOOTY (AND GENERAL SPORT) WEBSITE - FOOTYALMANAC.COM.AU FEATURING JOURNOS AND SPORTS NUTTERS (THE CATTERY INCLUDED) ALIKE
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NEW GEELONG BLOG - http://the-cattery.blogspot.com
VFL
ROUND 12
GEELONG NAB CUP GRAND FINAL WIN DVD
AUSTRALIAN TV COVERAGE (LOCAL TIMES) Melbourne Seven (Live - 14:00) Replays on Fox Sports 1; available on Foxtel, Optus and Austar AFL RADIO COVERAGE Melbourne
MMM, 3AW KROCK LINK
TO LIVE FEEDS INTERNATIONAL TV COVERAGE (LOCAL TIMES) Africa NIL (Blame ESPN)
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IN:
M Stokes B: Tom Harley - Matthew Scarlett - James Kelly
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ST KILDA IN: R Clarke B: Jason Blake, Sam Gilbert, Zac Dawson |
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Updated 30/6/2009 Player (Injury) Onset; Estimated Return; Notes David Johnson (calf)
- 3-4 weeks NEW |
ST KILDA INJURY LIST
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AFL 2008, FIRST QUALIFYING FINAL SUNDAY 7 AUGUST 2008, 14:40 AEST, MCG GEELONG POWERS INTO PRELIMINARY FINAL By Ben Jensen (In London) GEELONG stamped their authority over this year's finals series, dispatching St Kilda summarily at the MCG in front of a crowd of 71,653. The Cats barely turned up in the final quarter but still won by fifty-eight points, although the win did come at a cost with the likely loss of Brent Prismall for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Out of contract Prismall, who had just about cemented a spot in the side after playing ten of the last twelve, is to have a scan to confirm what is believed to be a dreaded ACL. The Cats play the winner of Friday night's elimination final between Sydney and the Bulldogs at the MCG, in a Preliminary Final likely to be the following Friday at the MCG. MATCH RESULT AND REVIEW - GEELONG POWERS INTO PRELIMINARY FINAL GEELONG 3.7, 7.10, 16.15, 17.17 (119)
DEFEATED GOALS BEST CROWD: 71,653 at MCG UMPIRES: Kennedy, McInerney, Meredith INJURIES: GEELONG: Brent Prismall (knee - out for season); Paul Chapman (described as 'hamstring / quad') ST KILDA: Jason Blake (thumb) REPORTS: Lenny Hayes (St Kilda; by emergency umpire Jeffery) for allegedly striking Joel Selwood (Geelong) in the third quarter |
TOM LONERGAN (CLICK IMAGE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE OF ZAIDEE'S RAINBOW FOUNDATION)
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VFL
ROUND 12
GEELONG TBA
LAST TIME
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BOX HILL HAWKS TBA
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