Hey Cats fans! Welcome to our new weekly match preview column. The Friday Forecast will feature on geelongcats.com.au every week when the Cats play. It will be published earlier in the week on the odd occasion that we play on a Thursday.
We will also have a new wrap-up column every week titled Mighty Monday. But let's get started with our preview of the first week of the NAB Challenge.
OPPONENT: Gold Coast
VENUE: Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville
DATE AND TIME: Sunday, March 1, 3.40pm local time (4.40pm AEDT)
BROADCAST/TELECAST: Radio – K-Rock 95.5 and Crocmedia via regional relay stations; Television – Fox Footy
WEATHER FORECAST: Partly cloudy, 33 degrees
FIVE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS WEEKEND
1. SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
The clash with Gold Coast will give Cats supporters the chance to see how experienced players like Harry Taylor, Tom Hawkins, Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly and Corey Enright are travelling. It will also give them the chance to see youngsters like Dean Gore and Nakia Cockatoo in action for the first time. The Suns, meanwhile, will be without former Cat Gary Ablett in their first game under new coach Rodney Eade. But their squad features emerging stars like Harley Bennell, Brandon Matera and Tom Lynch, along with the No.15 pick in last year's national draft, Jarrod Garlett, and former Hawthorn player Mitch Hallahan.
MUST READ - Cats blown away by new draftee
2. MITCH CLARK
The former Brisbane Lions and Melbourne big man will pull on the blue and white hoops for the first time this weekend in what will be his first game at any level since round four, 2013. There is plenty of excitement around the Cattery about the impact that Clark can have this season, both up forward and in the ruck. "The entrance of Mitch Clark is going to be a huge one," two-time premiership player Cameron Mooney said on CatsTV. "It was all about 'Hawk' [Tom Hawkins], basically, in that forward line. He needs some help. It was very obvious for the opposition where the ball was going to go – 33 per cent of the time it was going to Hawk, which is a huge number. So [Mitch] is going to be a huge acquisition."
MUST READ - Why Scott wanted Clark
3. KOLODJASHNIJ v KOLODJASHNIJ
Kade Kolodjashnij played 18 AFL games in his first season with Gold Coast last year and finished fifth in the NAB Rising Star award. Now his twin brother Jake, who spent last season honing his game in Geelong's VFL team, is keen to step up and match those feats. Jake is expected to see quite a bit of game-time in the AFL this year as the Cats begin to plan for future changes to the makeup of their ageing backline. This weekend's game presents him with the chance to make an early statement about being up for the job.
MUST WATCH - Kolodjashnij looks for AFL gig
4. TIRED BOYS AT THE END OF THE GAME
As Corey Enright explained to Cameron Mooney in our exclusive CatsTV interview, the players' training loads don't decrease now that the NAB Challenge has started. The amount of work they put in at Simonds Stadium on Thursday afternoon, when they were put through around 90 minutes of match simulation drills, was an example of that. So don't be concerned if a few of the boys appear to be jogging on the spot late in the game. It will simply be a combination of the immense amount of the work they have been doing during the week and the hot and humid conditions in Townsville.
MUST WATCH - Corey Enright talks preseason, 300 games and life after football with Cam Mooney
5. BIG MEN FLYING
Experienced ruckman Dawson Simpson and Irish rookie Padraig Lucey have spent the summer battling against each other on the training track, and they were at it again when the Cats rounded out their preparations with a very solid training hit-out on Thursday afternoon. On Sunday, however, they will be working as a team, rotating through the ruck position and aiming to give their fleet of midfielders first use of the ball. It is a big year for both players. Simpson needs some solid performances to extend his career into 2016, while Lucey is aiming to prove he has what it takes to make the grade in the AFL after only picking up the sport two years ago.
MUST READ - Irish Cat Padraig Lucey prepares for his debut
