Geary

[Sombersainter]

We have lost quite a few matches this year by less than a goal or in the final minute. a team really needs some onfield leadership to steady the ship, calm the nerves and stick to the game plan.

I've heard people argue that while Geary can't kick and panics, that he is a leader of the club. Can it be argued that he is a good leader when we seem to find it impossible to resist when the game
turns against us and we show so little poise in the final minutes or under pressure ? If he panics himself with sloppy turnovers and giving away free kicks in the square, I find it hard to believe that
he is a steadying influence. Isn't this obvious with all the losses ?

[stkfc1]

Reality is Gears and Ross are in our bottom 6 regular players for skills and descion making. And they're our Capt and VC!?

We've backed ourselves in a corner as it's hard to drop your Capt or VC and really neither have deserved regular games, on form.

I think.we stuffed up this season by not rotating more players through. Langlands, Robbo, Austin and Clav should have played. Savage defintley more games. Byrne's should have been given a block of games like Bytel. Try him forward instead of Kent,Hind or Lonie for a game or two. Obviously lack of reserve games hurt but we've stuck with the same group pretty much and some of them have looked cooked the last few weeks and now we don't have alternatives.

For us to be better we need to supersede our bottom 6 players with quality from above, as we get better quality in. You want players like Sinclair being your bottom six.

Honestly I'd move on Gears or take the Capt off him and get him to mentor our next crop but not much game time other than at Sandy. I'd shop Ross around. We'd get something reasonably decent for him. You'd think a late second round?

This is not a knock on what they've done for the club. They battled through tough times and they deserve our respect but the team has to move past them to improve.

Recruiters over to you.

[Teflon]

Reality is Gears and Ross are in our bottom 6 regular players for skills and descion making. And they're our Capt and VC!?

We've backed ourselves in a corner as it's hard to drop your Capt or VC and really neither have deserved regular games, on form.

I think.we stuffed up this season by not rotating more players through. Langlands, Robbo, Austin and Clav should have played. Savage defintley more games. Byrne's should have been given a block of games like Bytel. Try him forward instead of Kent,Hind or Lonie for a game or two. Obviously lack of reserve games hurt but we've stuck with the same group pretty much and some of them have looked cooked the last few weeks and now we don't have alternatives.

For us to be better we need to supersede our bottom 6 players with quality from above, as we get better quality in. You want players like Sinclair being your bottom six.

Honestly I'd move on Gears or take the Capt off him and get him to mentor our next crop but not much game time other than at Sandy. I'd shop Ross around. We'd get something reasonably decent for him. You'd think a late second round?

This is not a knock on what they've done for the club. They battled through tough times and they deserve our respect but the team has to move past them to improve.

Recruiters over to you.

Great post totally agree

[saintsRrising]

Capt Cogs dropped this week by GWS. Our season at present is on the line in our last H&A game. What will the Saints do?

[Scollop]

Capt Cogs dropped this week by GWS. Our season at present is on the line in our last H&A game. What will the Saints do?

Someone created a ‘Ratts’ thread that asked the question whether our coach might be too matey, or blokey and therefore not willing to drop certain players. With the coach perhaps building friendships with guys he sees regularly, like the leadership group, maybe that is an issue.

Especially under hub conditions with everyone living together and where coaches get to see players or bump into players 24/7.

Does Ratts have ruthlessness in his character and can he make the hard decisions?

[saintsRrising]

Capt Cogs dropped this week by GWS. Our season at present is on the line in our last H&A game. What will the Saints do?

Someone created a ‘Ratts’ thread that asked the question whether our coach might be too matey, or blokey and therefore not willing to drop certain players. With the coach perhaps building friendships with guys he sees regularly, like the leadership group, maybe that is an issue.

Especially under hub conditions with everyone living together and where coaches get to see players or bump into players 24/7.

Does Ratts have ruthlessness in his character and can he make the hard decisions?

That is a very valid question.


At the risk of re-igniting the GT debate yet again he favoured "good characters" and those he had close bonds with over those that had perhaps more talent, but whom he either did not like or could not manage. Everitt, Hall and Guerra being but 3 who were dispensed with. Milne was also very close to being tipped out. I can't help thinking that we are seeing a bit of this with Jake at present. Are we really making the most out of our list?

The Tiges could have traded away Dusty, but kept him.


Now to be fair on Ratts so far he is a well above Richo.

1/ We are a better team than last year. But we are too one dimensional in our gameplan and with selections this year we do not seemed to have played as many players as we could have. Geary has been a wonderful player for the Saints, but he is clearly not at the level he was. His former strengths in his defensive game have declined quit markedly from last season.

2/ Blind Freddy knows that we lack 2 quality mids, and that is a huge handicap for any coach.

[The_Dud]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

[CURLY]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

You are so full of s***. He never pulled out of the contest he was in no position to get to it. The free to Oscar Allen was nothing more than a trigger happy umpire making a mistake.

[The_Dud]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

You are so full of s***. He never pulled out of the contest he was in no position to get to it. The free to Oscar Allen was nothing more than a trigger happy umpire making a mistake.

Could have, should have, didn’t.

Time to go

[CURLY]

Nothing worse than a know nothing never played bagging a player for not making the impossible contest.

[The_Dud]

I guess people who put their body on the line when they played recognise those situations, and soft players who automatically shirked contests don’t even notice it.

[CURLY]

I guess people who put their body on the line when they played recognise those situations, and soft players who automatically shirked contests don’t even notice it.

bulls*** your attack on Geary is piss poor. If he pulled out of a contest maybe then you could but your wrong and just being obtuse.

[The_Dud]

I guess people who put their body on the line when they played recognise those situations, and soft players who automatically shirked contests don’t even notice it.

bulls*** your attack on Geary is piss poor. If he pulled out of a contest maybe then you could but your wrong and just being obtuse.

The game has passed him by, contests he would have automatically gone for a few years ago he now hesitates, time to move on

[CURLY]

I guess people who put their body on the line when they played recognise those situations, and soft players who automatically shirked contests don’t even notice it.

bulls*** your attack on Geary is piss poor. If he pulled out of a contest maybe then you could but your wrong and just being obtuse.

The game has passed him by, contests he would have automatically gone for a few years ago he now hesitates, time to move on

Yes perhaps the game has moved past him. But there is no need to get post bulls*** about him. He had no chance getting to that no one would have.

[terry smith rules]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

So once again the same old same old rubbish gets trotted out by posters ( I notice on another post you or someone else said he cost us three goals!)

I went back and rewatched the game (at 6x till the goals came up)

1. There is no way he gets to the leading Darling and if he did may have cost us 50, and at the very least a front on contact free kick

2. When Kennedy is left alone to lead up, he is Howard's man. Geary had already picked up another player and appears late when he realises the ball is going to Kennedy. You can actually see Howard realising his mistake and trying to get back to him, but too late

3. Match up on Allen is obviously wrong and is easily a terribly soft free kick, called for holding, at best there is minimal contact.

Now on the otherside Dud and others I don't hear any of you talk about the mark he took with a few minutes to go in front of Darling in the goal square. And I don't hear anything because most of the Geary knockers are completely blinkered and just look for the mistakes and don't really understand footy and how a defensive unit operates

fqf

[CURLY]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

So once again the same old same old rubbish gets trotted out by posters ( I notice on another post you or someone else said he cost us three goals!)

I went back and rewatched the game (at 6x till the goals came up)

1. There is no way he gets to the leading Darling and if he did may have cost us 50, and at the very least a front on contact free kick

2. When Kennedy is left alone to lead up, he is Howard's man. Geary had already picked up another player and appears late when he realises the ball is going to Kennedy. You can actually see Howard realising his mistake and trying to get back to him, but too late

3. Match up on Allen is obviously wrong and is easily a terribly soft free kick, called for holding, at best there is minimal contact.

Now on the otherside Dud and others I don't hear any of you talk about the mark he took with a few minutes to go in front of Darling in the goal square. And I don't hear anything because most of the Geary knockers are completely blinkered and just look for the mistakes and don't really understand footy and how a defensive unit operates

fqf

Great post mate 100% correct on all points.

[johnearljames]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

So once again the same old same old rubbish gets trotted out by posters ( I notice on another post you or someone else said he cost us three goals!)

I went back and rewatched the game (at 6x till the goals came up)

1. There is no way he gets to the leading Darling and if he did may have cost us 50, and at the very least a front on contact free kick

2. When Kennedy is left alone to lead up, he is Howard's man. Geary had already picked up another player and appears late when he realises the ball is going to Kennedy. You can actually see Howard realising his mistake and trying to get back to him, but too late

3. Match up on Allen is obviously wrong and is easily a terribly soft free kick, called for holding, at best there is minimal contact.

Now on the otherside Dud and others I don't hear any of you talk about the mark he took with a few minutes to go in front of Darling in the goal square. And I don't hear anything because most of the Geary knockers are completely blinkered and just look for the mistakes and don't really understand footy and how a defensive unit operates

fqf

Because some find it much easier to pick the s*** out of a player than see or acknowledge the positive. It's just laziness and a character flaw.

[The_Dud]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

So once again the same old same old rubbish gets trotted out by posters ( I notice on another post you or someone else said he cost us three goals!)

I went back and rewatched the game (at 6x till the goals came up)

1. There is no way he gets to the leading Darling and if he did may have cost us 50, and at the very least a front on contact free kick

2. When Kennedy is left alone to lead up, he is Howard's man. Geary had already picked up another player and appears late when he realises the ball is going to Kennedy. You can actually see Howard realising his mistake and trying to get back to him, but too late

3. Match up on Allen is obviously wrong and is easily a terribly soft free kick, called for holding, at best there is minimal contact.

Now on the otherside Dud and others I don't hear any of you talk about the mark he took with a few minutes to go in front of Darling in the goal square. And I don't hear anything because most of the Geary knockers are completely blinkered and just look for the mistakes and don't really understand footy and how a defensive unit operates

fqf

So are you saying our Captain and most experienced player needs praise heaped on him when he does the absolute minimum expected and takes an uncontested mark?

Talk about setting a high bar!

[The_Dud]

Because some find it much easier to pick the s*** out of a player than see or acknowledge the positive. It's just laziness and a character flaw.

Sorry, did you say something Ted?

[terry smith rules]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

So once again the same old same old rubbish gets trotted out by posters ( I notice on another post you or someone else said he cost us three goals!)

I went back and rewatched the game (at 6x till the goals came up)

1. There is no way he gets to the leading Darling and if he did may have cost us 50, and at the very least a front on contact free kick

2. When Kennedy is left alone to lead up, he is Howard's man. Geary had already picked up another player and appears late when he realises the ball is going to Kennedy. You can actually see Howard realising his mistake and trying to get back to him, but too late

3. Match up on Allen is obviously wrong and is easily a terribly soft free kick, called for holding, at best there is minimal contact.

Now on the otherside Dud and others I don't hear any of you talk about the mark he took with a few minutes to go in front of Darling in the goal square. And I don't hear anything because most of the Geary knockers are completely blinkered and just look for the mistakes and don't really understand footy and how a defensive unit operates

fqf

So are you saying our Captain and most experienced player needs praise heaped on him when he does the absolute minimum expected and takes an uncontested mark?

Talk about setting a high bar!

My case rests if you think that was an uncontested mark.

Watch the game unblinkered

[sks023]

It's not even a debate
Carlisle straight in
To inexperienced down back without him and what the hell has done to lose his spot?

[The_Dud]

Geary is not fast or highly skilled, he hangs his hat on ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’

Against WCE he pulled out of a contest and cost us the first goal.

In the last quarter he panicked in the goal square and gave away a free in a one-on-one contest.

He always looks rushed and panicky, costing us at crucial points in games (ie Freo)

So without ‘hardness’ and ‘experience’ (cool head under pressure) what does he bring to the team at all?

The talk of a contract for next year is ludicrous/terrifying.

So once again the same old same old rubbish gets trotted out by posters ( I notice on another post you or someone else said he cost us three goals!)

I went back and rewatched the game (at 6x till the goals came up)

1. There is no way he gets to the leading Darling and if he did may have cost us 50, and at the very least a front on contact free kick

2. When Kennedy is left alone to lead up, he is Howard's man. Geary had already picked up another player and appears late when he realises the ball is going to Kennedy. You can actually see Howard realising his mistake and trying to get back to him, but too late

3. Match up on Allen is obviously wrong and is easily a terribly soft free kick, called for holding, at best there is minimal contact.

Now on the otherside Dud and others I don't hear any of you talk about the mark he took with a few minutes to go in front of Darling in the goal square. And I don't hear anything because most of the Geary knockers are completely blinkered and just look for the mistakes and don't really understand footy and how a defensive unit operates

fqf

So are you saying our Captain and most experienced player needs praise heaped on him when he does the absolute minimum expected and takes an uncontested mark?

Talk about setting a high bar!

My case rests if you think that was an uncontested mark.

Watch the game unblinkered

Fair enough, he took a mark in front of 2 players, with Paton helping with a nice little block (though nice to see Darling attempting to influence the mark and not just stop and prop). Did you then watch the next 10 seconds and see what he did with his kick?

And 8.24 to go is where Geary cost us the Kennedy goal by letting the ball out of our forward half, starting the West Coast run of goals. You're looking at the wrong part. If this is the kind of effort you're happy with from our leader/captain/most experienced player at a crucial time of a must win game, then again, it's not a very high bar you're setting.

Maybe take the 'C' off his name and then judge his performance, speaking of blinkers...

[outside66]

Our gameplan is all about attacking ball movement - particularly from the back half. The issue with Gears is that when he is apart of the link, our ball movement actually stops. He does not have the skillset to continue the play effectively. The result is that our switch opportunity is wasted and we either try to switch again (which doesn't work because Geary cannot move it quick/precise enough to get the switch moving before the opposition set up) or we kick it down the line. Simply put, our gameplan has moved beyond Geary's capabilities. Imagine if instead of Geary, it was a Roberton, Savage, or Webster who were a part of the link - the ball movement would continue on unhindered because all 3 aforementioned blokes can kick a footy well and have the confidence to do so. I love Geary and what he has done for our club, but time and gameplan evolution has not gone in his favour.

[sunsaint]

I have sat back read this thread with interest without comment because as clearly pointed out unless you have played this game at the highest level you have no right to comment or have an opinion
that said - here is an observation from the stands in regards to the geary/darling marking contest
There had just been an interchange and it was pointed out at the time that geary was taking his time getting back into defence almost caught game watching the ball in our forwardline.

So yes from a tv stand point he was not going to make the contest & yes he was a step short and would have been a solid front on collision. But it did mean that we were caught out with the wrong match ups

Regardless of a few contests the club clearly favours Geary in the side (atm).
Conversely, Carlisle is most definitely on the outer being shopped last year and selection omissions this year.

[Ghost Like]

I have sat back read this thread with interest without comment because as clearly pointed out unless you have played this game at the highest level you have no right to comment or have an opinion
that said - here is an observation from the stands in regards to the geary/darling marking contest
There had just been an interchange and it was pointed out at the time that geary was taking his time getting back into defence almost caught game watching the ball in our forwardline.

So yes from a tv stand point he was not going to make the contest & yes he was a step short and would have been a solid front on collision. But it did mean that we were caught out with the wrong match ups

Regardless of a few contests the club clearly favours Geary in the side (atm).
Conversely, Carlisle is most definitely on the outer being shopped last year and selection omissions this year.

I appreciate what you are saying sunsaint, whilst many would have you believe that not playing at the highest level means your opinion is wrong or not as valid, is a flog. It would be the end of forums, the end of journalism, the end of presidency's.

An opinion is just that, an opinion, true, fair or wrong. A lot of the time made without all the information. That said, we must believe Ratts, Lethers, etc has all the information so we get to critique.

Gears, a player I dreamed could be our Maxwell. Sadly he does not have the cattle to be that, add to that his abilities at his age and he's a liability. Time to let the club & players progress. Thank you for your service Gears.