Matchups Vs Geelong

[makemytime]

Righty Ho....1st Vs 2nd...GAME OF THE SEASON...except maybe the grand final

both our teams id say are at near full-strength, should be a cracker of a game

WHICH MATCHUPS ARE CRUCIAL TO US???????

i'd have these as our most important

S Johnson Vs S Fisher - i reckon its the way to go although we lose Fisher's play off halfback, its more important to shut down Johnson who can turn around a game off his own boot. Fisher's ability is unquestionable and I think he should get the job

C Ling Vs Montagna/Dal Santo - clearly our best two ball-carriers and Ling will pick up one. How they cope under the tag will be vital and they must be prepared to break the tag at all costs.

C Jones Vs Gablett - If Jonesy gets a few tackles on Gazza early on and make him accountable the other way, he'll think twice about making his usual run and dash

Roo vs Taylor - Taylor got the job last time in the prelim final and should get the job this time. His long arms are an asset but Roo should win the battle

Kosi vs Scarlett - Kosi has had a great season so far but will have to bring his absolute best against a seasoned veteran with enormous ability. Needs to perform so that Roo is not alone.

[SainterK]

Commented on another thread, I think Scarlett may go to Roo and Taylor to Kosi....

[thirty-seven!?]

The Cats defense is, like ours, one of the best in the competition. But one of their main weaknesses is their players who can play permanently on smaller forwards.

Typically it is Hunt, however he did his ACL earlier this season.

Next in line is David Johnson - but he went off injured in their match against Port, injuring his left leg.

So therefore it will be interesting to see what sort of effect both Milne and Schneids can have on next week's game.

Yes they have players like Harley and Rooke, but they are typically played loose or off half back.

Ideally, we would see Mackie and Harley/ Rooke forced to play a more close-checking/ less attacking role because of the influence of our smaller players!

[skeptic]

Reckon Monty and Ablett will go head to head whilst Jones will tag Selwood.

Hayes VS Bartel

[MasonCJ2]

yep, Taylor to Roo; Scarlett to Kosi; I assume Dawson to Hawkins and Max will need to take Mooney. S Fisher for Johnson looks like a good matchup. Clint Jones to Ablett.

[True Blue Sainter]

yep, Taylor to Roo; Scarlett to Kosi; I assume Dawson to Hawkins and Max will need to take Mooney. S Fisher for Johnson looks like a good matchup. Clint Jones to Ablett.

Agree, I think we need to bring in an additional tall up forward to make Harley accountable. Otherwise, he will be double-teaming Roo and Kosi all day. Mackie also needs to be dragged out of the play, as when he is up and about, they generally play very well.

[Pwoit]

Max on LOONEY -

Bound to get into Looney's head and will make him do stupid things.

Its seems a waste Max on Looney as i dont rate him that much. Otherwise switch Zac onto Looney and Max on Hawkins

[Saintschampions08]

yep, Taylor to Roo; Scarlett to Kosi; I assume Dawson to Hawkins and Max will need to take Mooney. S Fisher for Johnson looks like a good matchup. Clint Jones to Ablett.

Agree, I think we need to bring in an additional tall up forward to make Harley accountable. Otherwise, he will be double-teaming Roo and Kosi all day. Mackie also needs to be dragged out of the play, as when he is up and about, they generally play very well.

If we employ the same strategy we did last year, i think we'll get beaten by about 5 goals.

Roo is our key to winning this match, if the midfield's match or close to match each other, the difference will be him.

I think if Scarlett takes Kosi, that will basically take both players out of the game (assuming Kosi does his job), i don't think he's really good enough to dominate a game against Scarlett...but Roo on the other hand, has the chance...

[makemytime]

I think if Scarlett takes Kosi, that will basically take both players out of the game (assuming Kosi does his job), i don't think he's really good enough to dominate a game against Scarlett...but Roo on the other hand, has the chance...

All we need is Kosi's physical presence and his contest in a marking situation, even if he doesn't mark it, milney and scheider can make a big impact considering geelong's small defenders are pretty flimsy at the moment.... d johnson just went down, im guessing wojinski gets a recall

If kosi can get a goal or two, geeee, scarletts gonna have to play ultra defensive footy

[JABBER]

we must play Geelong one-one they play zones

Roo- Taylor Kosi- Scarlett Ball-Selwood Hayes-Ling
Joey-Ablett Bartell-Dal Corey-Goddard Brynes-Mini
Hawkins-Dawson Chapman-CJ Schneider-Mackie we should free up Fisher
Gram and Milne is due for some goals What makes this a great build up
is there is so many matchup you can have

[aussiejones]

Milne is due for some goals this week.

Roo is a true champ ,hopefully he doesnt need to take his shots from tight angles.

[66 Saints]

Scarlett destroyed Kosi in the final last year, was sitting behind the goals and watched this matchup with interest. Scarlett is the master at unbalancing an opponent just before the ball is to be delivered, a little nudge or a little tug and Scarlett takes front position and makes it look like he has read the play when in fact he has subtely infringed on a player just enough to make sure Scarlett starts the contest with an advantage and his opponent doesn't get a good attack on the footy- but not enough to give away a free. Hopefully Kosi being more settled, experienced and confident in his role at FF will be more aware of this tactic and get away from Scarlett like the Gtrain used to and snag a few.

[squiz]

I would like to see Gwilt play on Rooke.
And its explaned to Gwilt what he needs to do to contain
Rooke's body work on our best players. Ross should
explain to Gwilt this is a defineing time in his career.

[3rd generation saint]

Geelong's forward line does present problems, because they don't have any real power key forwards.
Neither Mooney or Hawkins kick bags of goals.
Their most damaging forwards are the mid size types like Steve Johnson, you might hate him, but he is damn good.
Unfortunately it is these mid sized forwards that have caused us the most grief over the last few years.
We need to get these match ups right and strangle these guys out of the game if we are to win.
Both Kosi and Roo are better marks than anyone they got and we are going to need both Milney and Schneider to be dangerous at their feet.
Max has to be 100% fit, and if not, it may be better team balance for Dempster to come in than Goose as I feel our defence may be a little top heavy with Goose in for Max.
I am apprehensive about Sunday, but hopeful.
One thing we can't do is start like we did yesterday because if we do, the game will be over before it begins.

[StSteven]

Agree. Geelong have beaten most sides in the first quarter then cruise unless they need to turn it on again. They have not worried about big margins.

On SEN this morning Brian Cooke almost admitted they were protecting players from injury etc with an eye on September after alst year's debacle.

[crackers35]

Max on LOONEY -

Bound to get into Looney's head and will make him do stupid things.

Exactly what i've been thinking. If Max can get inside Mooney's head he can get him frustrated and make him stuff up big time and blow his chances.

[Moorabbin Saints]

Dawson/Blake on Hawkins/Mooney
Max on S Johnson (S Fisher could change if needed)
Gilbert on Chapman

C Jones on Ablett (If Gazza dominates change to H2H)
Hayes on Bartel (H2H)

All I can really think of.

[matrix]

someone has to be accountable for joel corey as well.
34 touches last week and 30 of them were uncontested

as well as the obvious ablett who had 7 inside 50s

scarlett 26 touches with 24 uncontested (with 1 contested mark)
milburn 29 touches with 21 uncontested (no contested marks)

too much free reign for me.
smash and pressure

[stkfc1]

The few times I've seen Geelong this year ,is that for some reason other teams seem to wait and see what Geelong players will do, instead of pressuring the person with the ball.They have built a aura around them that causes teams to become reactive instead of pro active WB took it up to them and look what happened Freo does it every time they play them,they just dont have the class to finish them off. Hawks were the same last year.It clearly puts them off their game. This is their Achilles heel for mine and where we can win the game because at the moment no one pressures like we do. We go in with this mind set WE WILL WIN! We just have to,HAVE TO ,be switched on at the first bounce! This has been a problem all year for us.We cannot let them get a 4-5 goal break on us in 1st q. We must match them early because they do come out with all guns blazing. I'm not sure they have the fitness at the moment to go a full 4 quarters of intense pressure. I think we do. GO SAINTS!

[older saint]

INteresting balance required between accountability and being too defensive.

Max on Mooney and Dawson on Hawkins. If Max doesn't play look for Blake on Mooney. I would actually try Gilbert on Stevie J if he plays up the ground a little as i think he will turn Fisher inside out too many times.

Their mids rotate through the forward line a lot. Varco - Baker, Chapman - Ray.
Rooke may go forward and would be Fishers match up

Fear we are a little top heavy down back if Max plays, therefore potentially you may see Blake go forward as a defensive forward making Harley accountable. Scarlett to Kosi and try to run off, Taylor to Roo.

Expect D Johnson to go to Milne. Schnieder could be the X factor or no factor.

Mids Look for Ling to tag Dal - not broken don't fix it. Ablett - go head to head with him with Dal making it a 2 on 1 merry go round. We should have the loseman then. Cj to go to Selwood

Hayes head to head with Bartel.

Look for Gardiner to be played through a bit to try and expose Blake(geel).

[Thinline]

Expect D Johnson to go to Milne.

Expect D Johnson to be out injured.

[SaintBot]

St Kilda
Geelong

FB: S.Baker - M.Hudghton – S.Fisher
FF: S.Byrnes - C.Mooney - S.Johnson

HB: J.Blake - Z.Dawson – S.Gilbert (SM)
HF: P.Chapman - T.Hawkins

C: L.Montagna – L.Hayes – F.Ray – J.Gram
C: J.Selwood – J.Bartel – J.Corey – C.Enright

HF: B.Goddard – N.Riewoldt
HB: A.Mackie – H.Taylor - T.Harley (SM)

FF: S.Milne – J.Koschitzke – A.Schneider
FB: D.Wojcinski - M.Scarlett – D.Milburn

R: M.Gardiner – C.Jones – N.Dal Santo
R: M.Blake – G.Ablett – C.Ling

I/C: L.Ball – A.McQualter – J.Geary - B.McEvoy
I/C: J.Kelly – M.Rooke – T.Varcoe - S.Mumford

St Kilda: NO CHANGE
Geelong: In: D.Wojcinski, Out: D.Johnson (Calf)




I really hope Ben McEvoy can at least compete with Blake and Mumford, both are heavy blokes and will try and push McEvoy out of as many contests as they please. It is important for Ben to hold his own for as long as possible so we can play Gardiner down forward in order to draw Harley/Milburn/Mackie away from double teaming Riewoldt.



I have Blake on Chapman due to Jason's uber-defensive mindset, his tank and his ability overhead. Both Blake and Sam Fisher may struggle with Chapman and Steve Johnson at ground level, therefore we need, more than ever, as many midfielders and flankers to push back and work around the stopages.


Where I believe we can expose Geelong is with our small forwards. If they don't bring in Wojcinski I will be jumping with joy as they really have no other small defenders. Enright, Milburn and perhaps Mackie will be used however they really aren't suitable matchups for Milne and Schneider. Therefore it is a key game for those two, really need one or both of them to fire.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

As far as S Johnson is concerned, we have plenty of genuinely good options. If he plays deep, I'd have Max on him (if he comes up), then there's also Fisher and Gilbert, all of whom are taller than him and quick/mobile. Then there's also Dempster, who is an ideal size match-up and as a last resort (which I very much doubt we'll need) there's Brendan Goddard, who's also taller, just as mobile and just as talented.

[Con Gorozidis]

Paul chapman on blake... geez i hope not. paul chapman has been in the business of tearing the saints a new one in recent years.

i cant help thinking we need another agile defender around 185cm for geelong's small forwards. any suggestions?

p.s sean dempster is 191cm

Sean Dempster #24 St Kilda Saints Age: 25yr 5mth Games: 73 Born: January 20, 1984 Height: 191cm Weight: 89kg Position: Defender

[makemytime]

Paul chapman on blake... geez i hope not. paul chapman has been in the business of tearing the saints a new one in recent years.

i cant help thinking we need another agile defender around 185cm for geelong's small forwards. any suggestions?

p.s sean dempster is 191cm

Sean Dempster #24 St Kilda Saints Age: 25yr 5mth Games: 73 Born: January 20, 1984 Height: 191cm Weight: 89kg Position: Defender

That doesn't seem quite right, dempster had the job on the opposition's smallest forwards all season last year, he can't be that tall!

This is an article from theage, a preview of Geelong's atk against our defence:
geee... we totally forgot about rooke and how he plays a defensive forward role on opposition rebounding defenders, would hate to see fisher get tagged out of the game ...again

GEELONG ATTACK v ST KILDA DEFENCE
GEELONG'S great strength is that its keys in the forward line are not its key forwards. Steve Johnson, Paul Chapman, and more recently Shannon Byrnes are as big a danger, or bigger, than power forward Cam Mooney.

The Saints, like Geelong, play a classic team defence. They defend so well partly because their midfield leaves them so little to repel.

The X-factor in match-ups is who goes with Gary Ablett when he goes forward, as he has in recent weeks. Do they trust Clint Jones to stay with him or does Steven Baker move onto Ablett when he is forward?

STEVE JOHNSON v SAM GILBERT

The most important match-up for St Kilda will be finding the the right choice to sit on Steve Johnson, the most critical forward in the Cats' line-up.

Gilbert was one of the better Saints last week and could be the man for it as he has the height to go with Johnson, who is strong overhead. The most telling issue is having the discipline to stick with Johnson all day as he varies his game so much.

PAUL CHAPMAN v JARRYN GEARY

Like Gilbert, Geary was good last week, though that was against Richmond. Chapman is a game-breaker and needs a tight defender. He loses opponents playing high forward and rotating through the middle. The tag can get lost in the rotation. This is the sort of match-up that can decide the game because Geary is a bottom-six type of player being asked to stop a top-six player.

CAM MOONEY v ZAC DAWSON

The rejuvenated Zac Dawson has not missed a beat with the opponents he has taken this year, but given the relative size of this game Mooney will be his biggest scalp. Mooney is pivotal because of his presence and what he creates outside of straight goals kicked, which is important because he has had the yips on occasion this year. Even Mark Thompson admitted to uncertainty about what goes on in his forward's head.

SHANNON BYRNES v STEVEN BAKER

Since taking Cameron Stokes' place in the side, the pint-sized Byrnes has been kicking regular bags of goals. His ability as a genuine crumber obviates any concerns of the number of goals kicked by Tom Hawkins, provided the big forward is presenting and creating contests for Byrnes to feed off. With Jones taking more onball tagging roles, Baker looks the likely choice. He will be a classic pest, trying to get under the skin.

TOM HAWKINS v MAX HUDGHTON/JASON BLAKE

Hudghton is likely to struggle to be fit for the game with his ankle injury, so even if he plays you would suspect he would not be 100 per cent and therefore more likely to be used on the less threatening Hawkins and to play closer to goal. The option remains naturally to swing onto Mooney if he gets off the chain with Dawson. If Hudghton does not come up, the Saints will likely look to either Jason Blake or even bring in Matt Maguire.

MAX ROOKE v SAM FISHER

This is a similarly critical match-up that will, in all likelihood, be a nil-all draw. Fisher is damaging when allowed to play loose at half-back, so the Cats, through Rooke, will not allow that. Rooke is in exceptional form and creates a lot of opportunity for the small forwards, in particular, by doing a lot of the aggressive defensive forward work. Strong and as tough as the proverbial cat's head he is a more than adequate goalkicker so requires a close look from Fisher, who could be therefore drawn away from the play.