TonyK
CibbuanoYoungsters the right tonic for Cats
November 26th 2006 06:58
We all know how 2006 panned out for Geelong.
A pre-season premiership, convincing wins in the opening two rounds of the season and the tag of premiership favourites created genuine cause for optimism.
The Cats lost 12 out of their next 20 to finish a disappointing tenth.
A season which promised so much delivered so little, prompting an internal review of the club by chief executive Brian Cook.
Coach Mark Thompson managed to survive after months of speculation about his future.
After seven seasons at the helm for a winning ratio of less than 50 per cent, there needed to be sweeping changes at the club if Thompson was to retain his job.
Assistant coach Andy Lovell and football operations manager Garry Davidson were the only major casualties from Cook's review, with former player Brenton Sanderson and former Collingwood football operations manager Neil Balme taking the posts vacated by Lovell and Davidson.
However, perhaps the most important change since Thompson's future was secured back in September came at yesterday's national draft in Melbourne.
This year's draft was touted as the strongest since the bumper drafts of 1997 and 2001 and lived up to its hype.
The Cats selected Bendigo Pioneers midfielder Joel Selwood with their first pick, No. 7 overall.
Selwood, the younger brother of West Coast's Adam and Brisbane's Troy, is a skilful midfielder who won All-Australian honours in 2005 and has proven to be an impressive leader at youth level.
The fact that Selwood has shown impressive leadership qualities as a junior would be attractive to the Cats who have been criticised for their lack of leadership on the field in recent years.
Selwood grew up supporting Geelong and could be a future captain of the club.
Another concern for the Cats has been there perceived lack of pace through the midfield which has been sorely exposed by the likes of West Coast and the Western Bulldogs in the last couple of years.
Thompson and recruiting manager Stephen Wells addressed this deficiency with two of the club's next three picks.
Geelong used selection No. 25 to secure exciting Northern Territory youngster Nathan Djerrkura.
Djerrkura had an outstanding NAB AFL Draft Camp with results including 20m (2.90sec-top two per cent), agility (8.18- top 11 per cent) and beep test (14.3-top 15 per cent).
The Cats secured Geelong Falcons midfielder Simon Hogan with their final selection, No. 57 overall.
Like Djerrkura, Hogan was a star at the NAB AFL Draft Camp.
Hogan recorded the fastest repeat sprint time over 30m (24.67 seconds), finished in the top-four for the 20m sprint (2.91 seconds), had the equal best beep test score (15.04) and the second best time over the three-km time-trial (9.55 mins)
With David Wojcinski the only notable player with any pace in the Cats midfield, Hogan and Djerrkura will be welcome additions and you would expect both to slot into Geelong's 22 at some stage during the season.
Aside from a lack of genuine leg speed through the midfield, Geelong's forward line has been a major concern for a number of years.
Thompson will be hoping promising forward Tom Hawkins, who the club secured under the father-son rule will go some way to addressing this issue.
Had Hawkins been available in the open draft he would have been a top-two pick and could have easily taken the mantle of No. 1 draft pick away from South Australian youngster Bryce Gibbs.
Hawkins is a strong marking forward who showed his class during the NAB AFL U18 Championships where he won the Larke Medal.
With Hawkins joining the club and promising young forward Nathan Ablett expected to sign a lucrative new deal early next week, the Cats have the makings of a strong forward line for the next decade.
While there are some big wraps on Hawkins, you wouldn't expect much of the 18-year-old in his debut season.
It is the likes of Brad Ottens who need to step up and become a more consistent contributor if the Cats are going to push for a finals berth in '07.
Since crossing over from Richmond at the end of 2004, Ottens has managed 49 goals in two seasons with the Cats.
The former Tiger booted 46 majors in 2001 alone and was touted as a future star of the competition.
Since that time the 26-year-old has failed to crack the 30-goal barrier in a season and his career is surely at the cross roads.
Fellow forward Steve Johnson is a class act, but the former Murray Bushrangers product hasn't managed more than 15 games in a season since making his debut in 2001.
On paper a forward line of Ablett, Ottens, Hawkins and Johnson has the potential to create more than a few headaches for the rest of the competition.
However, Hawkins is yet to play a game, Ablett has managed 12 goals in his 11-game career, Ottens inconsistency is well documented and there are major queries over Johnson's body to stand up over the course of the home-and-away season.
Yesterday's draftees represent the future of the club, but if Geelong is serious about being a finals contender in 2007, it is the likes of Steven King, Ottens, Johnson and co. who have been at the club for a number of years who need to step up and translate their potential into consistent on-field performances.
The Cats can't rely on four youngsters yet to make their AFL debut to carry them all the way to their first flag since 1963.
Whether or not Thompson is around past 2007 to enjoy the fruits of his labour, time will only tell, but one thing is for sure, yesterday's draftees are all stars of the future who are capable of playing a major role in bringing Geelong back up the ladder and becoming a genuine force again.
A pre-season premiership, convincing wins in the opening two rounds of the season and the tag of premiership favourites created genuine cause for optimism.
The Cats lost 12 out of their next 20 to finish a disappointing tenth.
A season which promised so much delivered so little, prompting an internal review of the club by chief executive Brian Cook.
Coach Mark Thompson managed to survive after months of speculation about his future.
After seven seasons at the helm for a winning ratio of less than 50 per cent, there needed to be sweeping changes at the club if Thompson was to retain his job.
Assistant coach Andy Lovell and football operations manager Garry Davidson were the only major casualties from Cook's review, with former player Brenton Sanderson and former Collingwood football operations manager Neil Balme taking the posts vacated by Lovell and Davidson.
However, perhaps the most important change since Thompson's future was secured back in September came at yesterday's national draft in Melbourne.
This year's draft was touted as the strongest since the bumper drafts of 1997 and 2001 and lived up to its hype.
The Cats selected Bendigo Pioneers midfielder Joel Selwood with their first pick, No. 7 overall.
Selwood, the younger brother of West Coast's Adam and Brisbane's Troy, is a skilful midfielder who won All-Australian honours in 2005 and has proven to be an impressive leader at youth level.
The fact that Selwood has shown impressive leadership qualities as a junior would be attractive to the Cats who have been criticised for their lack of leadership on the field in recent years.
Selwood grew up supporting Geelong and could be a future captain of the club.
Another concern for the Cats has been there perceived lack of pace through the midfield which has been sorely exposed by the likes of West Coast and the Western Bulldogs in the last couple of years.
Thompson and recruiting manager Stephen Wells addressed this deficiency with two of the club's next three picks.
Geelong used selection No. 25 to secure exciting Northern Territory youngster Nathan Djerrkura.
Djerrkura had an outstanding NAB AFL Draft Camp with results including 20m (2.90sec-top two per cent), agility (8.18- top 11 per cent) and beep test (14.3-top 15 per cent).
The Cats secured Geelong Falcons midfielder Simon Hogan with their final selection, No. 57 overall.
Like Djerrkura, Hogan was a star at the NAB AFL Draft Camp.
Hogan recorded the fastest repeat sprint time over 30m (24.67 seconds), finished in the top-four for the 20m sprint (2.91 seconds), had the equal best beep test score (15.04) and the second best time over the three-km time-trial (9.55 mins)
With David Wojcinski the only notable player with any pace in the Cats midfield, Hogan and Djerrkura will be welcome additions and you would expect both to slot into Geelong's 22 at some stage during the season.
Aside from a lack of genuine leg speed through the midfield, Geelong's forward line has been a major concern for a number of years.
Thompson will be hoping promising forward Tom Hawkins, who the club secured under the father-son rule will go some way to addressing this issue.
Had Hawkins been available in the open draft he would have been a top-two pick and could have easily taken the mantle of No. 1 draft pick away from South Australian youngster Bryce Gibbs.
Hawkins is a strong marking forward who showed his class during the NAB AFL U18 Championships where he won the Larke Medal.
With Hawkins joining the club and promising young forward Nathan Ablett expected to sign a lucrative new deal early next week, the Cats have the makings of a strong forward line for the next decade.
While there are some big wraps on Hawkins, you wouldn't expect much of the 18-year-old in his debut season.
It is the likes of Brad Ottens who need to step up and become a more consistent contributor if the Cats are going to push for a finals berth in '07.
Since crossing over from Richmond at the end of 2004, Ottens has managed 49 goals in two seasons with the Cats.
The former Tiger booted 46 majors in 2001 alone and was touted as a future star of the competition.
Since that time the 26-year-old has failed to crack the 30-goal barrier in a season and his career is surely at the cross roads.
Fellow forward Steve Johnson is a class act, but the former Murray Bushrangers product hasn't managed more than 15 games in a season since making his debut in 2001.
On paper a forward line of Ablett, Ottens, Hawkins and Johnson has the potential to create more than a few headaches for the rest of the competition.
However, Hawkins is yet to play a game, Ablett has managed 12 goals in his 11-game career, Ottens inconsistency is well documented and there are major queries over Johnson's body to stand up over the course of the home-and-away season.
Yesterday's draftees represent the future of the club, but if Geelong is serious about being a finals contender in 2007, it is the likes of Steven King, Ottens, Johnson and co. who have been at the club for a number of years who need to step up and translate their potential into consistent on-field performances.
The Cats can't rely on four youngsters yet to make their AFL debut to carry them all the way to their first flag since 1963.
Whether or not Thompson is around past 2007 to enjoy the fruits of his labour, time will only tell, but one thing is for sure, yesterday's draftees are all stars of the future who are capable of playing a major role in bringing Geelong back up the ladder and becoming a genuine force again.
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Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Cats needed some good young players....but they'll need more than that to have a good 2007.
Just going to go and check out who West Coast got in the draft.
KylieW
Comment by TonyK
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