Each week, Cats Media looks at the questions, controversies and storylines of the game - focusing this time on the Cats' clash with St Kilda.
Logging the tall timber
For much of 2016, we saw the Cats deploy Harry Taylor, Tom Lonergan and Lachie Henderson together as three key defenders. Whether by design or through a forced hand, this setup was consistent irrespective of how opposition forwards lined up.
A year on and we have only seen glimpses of all three together. Harry Taylor is being used predominantly as a forward in partnership with Tom Hawkins, while Henderson is playing great football as the second key defender alongside veteran Lonergan, who, unfortunately, has been so superb for so long he is receiving no where near the amount of praise he currently deserves.
This week, however, is a rarity. St Kilda present as one of the few sides in the competition who use a three-pronged attack and one which could demand a return to the days of just a season ago.
The Saints are the best contested marking side in the AFL right now, averaging 13.8 per game, It’s largely thanks to tall forwards Josh Bruce, Tim Membrey and the champion that is Nick Riewoldt and on paper, getting the band back together seems the logical move.
Veteran defender Tom Lonergan is still blanketing the opposition's best key forward each week. (AFL Photos)
The Blitz on Saint Nick
That said, taking Harry Taylor out of a clearly functioning forward line might be robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Some would argue that occurred the moment Taylor was moved from defence, but regardless, there is at least one intriguing option which would keep Harry forward:
Send Mark Blicavs to Nick Riewoldt.
The idea was floated on this week’s episode of PodCats, while Cam Guthrie said it’s a match up he’d like to see.
Senior coach Chris Scott was non-committal in his weekly press conference, admitting he too would like to see the 2015 Carji Greeves medallist go to the former St Kilda captain, before adding, “I think it will be more a case of trying to work through where [Riewoldt] is playing, where he’s having an impact, before we get too locked into who the individual match-up.”
With Bruce and Membrey closer to goal, Riewoldt is free to roam and use his elite endurance to tire opponents as he heads back inside 50. His size, marking ability and forward craft make him a dangerous proposition for any defender or midfielder.
Though there may be 230 games’ worth of experience in Riewoldt’s favour, Blicavs’ running ability is as good, if not better. He has improved his impact in the air and at 198cm, has five centimetres on the 34-year-old Saints veteran.
It would certainly be a learning experience for Mark Blicavs, but there’s no denying it’s a fascinating proposition and one we’d love to see play out.
Even at age 34, Nick Riewoldt is the man for St Kilda. (AFL Photos)
Shooting the lights out
With fear of putting the mockers on the Cats, Sunday afternoon will see the most accurate side in front of goal face off against the least accurate.
Geelong boasts a scoring percentage of 69.4%, having kicked 75 goals and just 33 behinds across the opening four rounds of the season. That is some 11.1% better than the Cats’ accuracy at round five in 2016, as the side noticeably struggled to convert throughout the year.
Conversely, the Saints have kicked 49 goals and 58 behinds for a scoring percentage of 45.8%.
Conditions will be perfect under the roof at Etihad Stadium and, in what will be of surprise to absolutely no one, whoever makes the most of their opportunities in front of goal will come out on top. On that front though, it’s advantage Cats.
Tom Hawkins has already kicked 16 goals from four games in 2017. (AFL Photos)
