The latest episode of To the Final Bell has landed, presented by Thirsty Camel.
Premiership Cat Matthew Stokes joins the panel in the absence of defender Zach Tuohy, to discuss the Cats' win over the Bulldogs and look ahead to our matchup with the Suns.
Stokes and Ling Talk Tough Opponents
Former Geelong greats Cameron Ling and Mathew Stokes have looked back on their careers and weighed in on their toughest opponents.
Speaking on the Cats’ weekly podcast To the Final Bell, Ling reeled off numerous star-calibre midfielders who he had difficult battles against.
“I had great matchups with (Nathan Buckley), him and (Ben) Cousins, along with Simon Black, were probably the ones I had the most matchups with and had some really good duels,” Ling said.
While Ling got the better of many champions, it was the faster players that troubled the premiership captain.
He distinctly remembers one occasion where a fleet-footed Shane Crawford got the better of him.
“Shane Crawford torched me so badly one day, just destroyed me,” Ling said.
“25 minutes into the first quarter, Bomber (Thompson) sent the runner out and said we might just break this matchup, you come to the bench.
“Crawford could sustain this speed and then take one seconds break and then do it again.”
“They were all faster than me, I used to play on Shaun Burgoyne at his peak.”
In contrast, many of Stokes’ toughest opponents were renowned taggers and dour defenders, highlighting the different game styles and roles of the two premiership players.
“Once I got going a little bit, Ryan Crowley towelled me up a couple of times, (Steven) Baker got me good a couple of times,” Stokes said.
Stokes also remembers having trouble against Adelaide duo Andrew McLeod and Graham Johncock.
“The guys who were the most attacking half backs were probably the most difficult to play on,” he said.
“(Johncock) was difficult because he couldn’t run and he wasn’t fit, but he knew where the ball was going and they always gave it to him, so trying to oppose him was quite difficult.
“He and Andrew Mcleod on the half back flanks were quite difficult to man up on.”
When questioned about which players would trouble him in today’s game, Stokes picked his former teammate and current Geelong defender Mark Blicavs.
“I’d hate to play on Blicavs, even though he is a full back, he does play on the smalls when he needs to,” Stokes said.
“Watching him from the outside, I’d hate to play on him but I’m glad he was on our side.”
Ling also discussed which current AFL players would be the most difficult to tag.
Carlton’s Patrick Cripps was an obvious choice, but Ling believes he had the size to match up well with him.
“Cripps would be really difficult, but I had the size which would have helped with that, but he is so big and so clever,” Ling said.
With Cripps covered, Ling turned his attention to a pair of Kellys, GWS’ Josh and Geelong’s Tim with their combination of speed, strength and ability inside and outside the contest.
“Josh Kelly would be extremely difficult, you think of him running and finishing beautifully, but he is incredibly good in a contest as well.
“Tim Kelly would be hard, the way he swoops onto the ball at speed,” Ling said.
“You’d have him covered for half a second and then he’d have five metres on you and be gone with the footy.
“I’m very happily retired these days with the way these blokes move.”
In this episode:
2:20 - The panel reviews our win over the Bulldogs
17:20 - VFL Wrap
23:00 - Your questions answered in From the Cheap Seats
33:40 - Matthew Stokes takes the hot seat
47:15 - The panel put the spotlight on their targets in For Whom the Bell Tolls
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