Simonds Stadium, Thursday March 20 @ 7:10pm
The Cats will host the Adelaide Crows in their first game of the season, kicking off the second leg of the split opening round. Geelong came agonisingly close to another Grand Final last year and have spent a gruelling summer preparing themselves to go one step further in 2014. Their first assignment is a difficult one, facing a Crows outfit keen to redeem themselves after a disappointing season last year and strengthened by new recruits Eddie Betts and James Podsiadly. The entire playing group will be eager to put all the preparation into practice and seize the first opportunity to secure four premiership points. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the career of club great Jimmy Bartel, who will play his 250th game. Bartel is a skilled, courageous player who is a leader both on and off the field. He will become just the 12th Cat to reach this significant milestone, an occasion his teammates will want to commemorate with a win.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Round 17, AAMI Stadium
Geelong: 14 - 8 - 92
Adelaide: 14 - 10 - 94
Geelong were heavy favourites in the last encounter between these two teams having lost just three games for the season. The game progressed as many had predicted in the opening half and the Cats lead by a game high 30 points after back to back goals midway through the third quarter. Adelaide fought their way back into the match and kicked eight of the next 10 goals. Despite two set shot chances in the final minutes of the match Geelong were unable to hold off the fast finishing Crows, who achieved a narrow but memorable victory.
KEY MATCH-UPS
JOSH CADDY vs PATRICK DANGERFIELD
Patrick Dangerfield is brutally strong, blisteringly fast and undoubtedly one of the best players in the competition. Last season he ranked 9th in the AFL for contested possessions, 8th for inside 50s, 4th for hard ball gets and finished 5th in the Brownlow Medal. He wins the ball in heavy traffic, breaks through congestion with strength and speed, and punishes opposition with clean, effective disposal.
Josh Caddy is an emerging talent who appears to have grown not only in size but in confidence over the preseason. He shares many qualities with the Adelaide star, in particular his thirst for the contest and explosive power. Caddy is set to spend more time in the heart of the Geelong midfield in 2013 and will be able to watch one the best in the business up close when he lines up against Dangerfield.
JAMES PODSIADLY vs TOM LONERGAN
James Podsiadly poses a real threat in the new look Adelaide forward line, possessing speed and agility that bely his age. After playing 83 games over four years with Geelong, Thursday night will be his first match for the Crows and the first against his former club. Kardinia Park is a familiar venue for Podsiadly but the circumstances are unusual.
It will be equally peculiar for Tom Lonergan, who would have line up against Podsiadly countless times on the training track but never in a competitive hit out. Injuries to Tom Lynch and Taylor Walker mean that the J-Pod will be Adelaide’s primary marking target. Geelong too have had their forward stocks depleted by injury and Harry Taylor will likely be required at both ends of the ground at different stages of the match. If Lonergan can hold down the key defensive post it will not only disrupt the Crows’ attack but allow Chris Scott to use Taylor in a variety of roles.
DID YOU KNOW?
Jimmy Bartel has one of the most decorated and enviable resumes of any Australian footballer. He is a dual All Australian, a TAC Cup, VFL and three time AFL premiership player, a Brownlow and Norm Smith medalist, but never a Geelong Best & Fairest. He has finished runner-up twice (2006, 2007) and third on three occasions (2008, 2009, 2011) however, so is by no means underrated at Geelong.
