To pick or not to pick, that is the Cats' big question with four premiership stars staking a claim to return for their preliminary final against Brisbane.
Josh Barnes joins the show to chat about the Cats and Lions prelim and previews Friday night's Swans v Port match as well.
They say it's a good problem to have premiership stars itching to get back into the Cat's team. But who comes back into Geelong's twenty three to take on Brisbane in a prelim and who doesn't, and if some do, who misses out? Hello and welcome to the Herald Sun Footy Podcast. I'm Andy Bellaz and I'll be joined by Josh Bars coming up to discuss just that, and we'll also take a look at the Swans and Port prelim. But first Hawkens Guthrie Stewart deconing who comes back and who doesn't.
He's Josh and.
There's one Victorian team left in it. It's Geelong. Seemingly we've been saying that for the last fifteen years or more. And Josh Bynes joins me because he was in Geelong just yesterday. Get a barnzy and it beautiful.
Day down there.
The talk of the town of obviously was a guy that's not going to be playing this weekend. It's not really in selection calculation, but Gary Rowan was the talk of the town.
Yes too long.
I hope you didn't pick up the paper while you're eating your breakfast. Yeah, that's quite the nasty dash.
Wound on his head.
It was it was nasty.
Superstar photographer Michael Klein got some incredible images which I'm sure this is his podcasts I've seen before, but it was nasty. I can't remember ever seeing anything like that in a fuey field before he was on the online Jews Go Round. I don't think he would even be up for selection for the Grand Final if the Cats make it. But gee, it was ugly.
Yeah, and to be back at training, you know, with quite a fresh wound, you know, still the hair was very closely cropped and you could staples and you can see the scarring. Yeah, that's quite confronting and sort of shows how brutal our game can be.
Anybody that ever questions the toughness of football. And he was back at work six days after surgery to put his head back together. If that happened to your I and D I'll tell you I wouldn't be on the podcast few weeks if I needed fifty staples in my head.
So I'd be here, yeah, or you would.
Yeah, I'm the Gary Rowan Heraldston Foot podcast. Hey Barnsey, you were in Geelong and even though the Cats heading into a briliminary final on Saturday twilight at the g There are some selection issues because there are blokes who are trying to push their way back into the team.
Well I can't remember four players with the resumes that you long have that are outside the team and are all pushing to play in a Pilmari final like this before. So Tom Hawkins is arguably the best forward they've had in fifty years or since Gary Ablet senior. He wants to get back in Cam Gustrie has won two Best and Fairest, including in a premiership year. That's the high marker for a footballer. He wants to get back in. Tom Stewart is arguably the best half back of or since Kurenroo since he took his number off him.
He wants to get back in the team.
And Sam de Coning is one of the brightest key defensive prospects in the league and he wants to get back in the team.
So there's a lot of magnets to shift around.
It's remarkable they lose four of those players against Pola and just smashed him in that qualifying final. I think we can pretty safely say Andy that Hawkins and Guffia are out on putting a line to you, and Stuart's definitely in unless he it's another mystery about it illness. So really the question at selection in Sam de Coning and whether you fit him into that back line and whether you need him to plan on Joedanaher.
Well, Danaher has been in career best form. I mean you know he did. He's been good and bad in equal measures over his career. He has been one of the most intriguing players that we've really seen in the most in recent history. But just in the last few weeks he's come. You know, he's turned into a dead eye and he can kick goals from anywhere and doesn't miss. But Sam Ziconing, the one tick in his one of the ticks in his box is that he matches up well.
Yeah, and for a guy that's been my line for pretty much all his whole career. Joe Doanahan has quite a good finals record lately. He was excellent last final series, one of the better players in the Grand Final, kick five in a qualifying final before that, and then obviously on the weekend against GWS he was the one that won on the mainly those two last quarter goals, so he's a guy that gets laughed at quite a bit, but he has a resume that stacks up against any forward in the league in finals at this stage. But one guy that has been his bogeyman is Sam de Coning. So in his last two hundred and thirty seven minutes against Sam de Coning, that's twenty twenty four to twenty twenty three and twenty twenty two. They've matched up on each other for that amount of time and in that whole time, Danaher's kicked one goal. In that whole stretch, There's been I guess a few factors at playler. Earlier this year he only played him forty five minutes because Donaheer was called into the ruck because Oxon Macon he had concussion. But in that matchup he only have five disposals, took one mark, no goals. So Daconing absolutely has the run on the board runs on the board against Danaher, but at the moment he's not in the team. So does this mean Chriscott's going to find a way to force him in. Interestingly, he's been playing rock in the VFL of late, so he's been more tailored to take ree Stanley's spot, but Ree Stanley was pretty good against Pude Lad He's had a pretty good run of form for the last six weeks or so. So really, Jong's probably going to have to go taller in defense, move perhaps Blicksuv's out of defense who's been doing a good job there for the past month, or they're going to have to leave to Coning in the stands.
So who makes way for Who are the candidates to make way for Sander Conning.
Yeah, so the obvious one for Thom Stewart is Ocean Mullen, who was quite good on the Weekendingay, probably his best game for the Irishman. But he seems like an obvious one to go out. I think he was probably largely picked to play on Jason Horn Francis, so he seems like an obvious slop there. And then if to Conan comes back in, you're throwing a few of the veterans. So Zac Tuly was a sub against port whether he slipped straight out. Mitch Duncan has been sort of on the edge of selection, was sub in round twenty four, and Jed Bus has come back from the dead in the past eight weeks. I thought he was finished, but he's back in the side now. He's played a lot on Charlie Cameron over the years, so he would probably pencil in that matchup. They don't really have a lockdown small defender if you take us out of the team, so he's probably indispensable in that back line. So probably comes down to premiership stalwarts in Midge Duncan and Zac Tully to pop out for Sam Deacony.
And that does make you a lot taller.
It does, and it would show that if a Mitch Duncan comes out and you don't have Tom Hawkins in your team, you sort of you really are drawing a line in that first dominant era of the seven to eleven Cats and creating a new trying to create a new dynasty or a new ear for themselves. It's a real sort of changing of the guard.
Yeah, and Zach two is announcedero retire at the end of the season like he wants to obviously play through to a premiership at this stage, but you'd be cutting his career short obviously by a couple of weeks if you do that.
Mitch Duncan wants to play on next year.
It seems it's likely he will play on next year, but it probably sends a message if he's not in the team in a preliminary final slash Grand final, that you're going to be struggling to get a game potentially next year as well, despite a super player he has been for the Cats. So it's a fascinating debate for Chris Scott's. As they always say, Andy, it's a good problem to have, but it is definitely a problem.
Oh and it's you know, the even if they picked themselves, the emotion that comes into you know, the human aspect of it. It is not to be discounted as well, because you know, if there are players upset, if there are players who have to be told that they're not required, that would weigh upon all of the team, not just the coach.
Yeah, and you are rocking the boat of a team that destroyed Potadlo bout eighty points and looked absolutely phenomenal two weeks ago. So the old adage of changing a winning side, I'm not sure whether it's worth disrupting what they've been doing to fit in Sam da Koning unless you are really worried about Joe donahurat. Potentially the way Brisbane are playing Joe d'ahu might be the only one that can stop Gelong. There are other forwards aren't really in formery Peopleard can't get near the ball, Logan Morris is always being subbed out. Charlie Caban's had a down year. Rainer and Bailey were uncited for most of that semi final. So if you take out Danaher, is the argument then that the game's over?
Yeah?
Now, you were in Geelong yesterday on Monday. What was the feel down there because they're obviously you know, do the fans get a little bit of that preliminary final fatigue?
No fans are in side today, it was just media only. I think the fans are. They're used to this, really, Gelong fans, they know that the feeling of the preliminary final week, the anxiety that comes with it. They've beaten Brisbane twice in the last four years in prilim finals, both of them pretty comfortably, so I think they're pretty comfortably happy. I think after that qualifying final that was almost a perfect game, So I think Cats fans are feeling pretty good. Doesn't mean that they're going to walk all over Brisbane. History tells us Andy that there's always one classic preliminary Final in pilimary final week and there's usually one that's not so close. So I think looking at the two games, the one that's more likely to be close is going to be the MCG on Saturday.
Well, let's take a break, we'll come back and we'll have a little bit of a look at the weekend here here on the Herald Sun Footy podcast. I'm Andy Belaiz. I'm joined by Josh Barnes. Josh, the Cats and the Lions is the second pre limb being played at the interesting AFL Or can we say traditional time of five fifteen on.
A Saturday.
Four thirty is the Yeah, twilight. I'm not really across why that is, but.
Yeah, maybe they're debuting a time slot that they're opening up for Grand Final in future years. But five point fifteen the Cats and the Lions Friday night is a big one. The Swans and Port at the SCG. The Swans, well, they came back from nowhere to beat GWS in their qualifying final. Port obviously we saw on the weekend just snuck across the line against the Hawks.
Do we call them the Hawks?
It was it was hot break. I think on the weekend is what we can say that was the one that was floating around.
It was I was wondering, if you're at a sea and aneta hockball, what does it become. But anyway, so the Swans and Port on Friday night, Port were gone for all money. Ken Ingkley was getting the sack and then they somehow were able to wield themselves across the line against the Hawks and they're into a prelimp So what are your you know, what are you seeing there with the Swans.
Yeah, it's going to be a fascinating matchup because past history is all about Port Adelaide. Sydney hasn't beaten them since twenty sixteen. We know only what eight weeks ago Puto Lay beat them one hundred and twelve points and what was just an absolute seventy two. Yeah, it was dominant. I've been to the boffins at Champion Data and looked up. Well, it got them to look up really. Any when teams have faced each other in a final after losing by one hundred points during the season, so you think if you lose to a team by a hundred points, you're no chance against him in a final.
It's happened four times.
On their records at starting in ninety ninety four, and three of those times in the past, the team that lost by one hundred points won the final. So history says that you actually are more likely to turn the tables if you lose by one hundred points earlier in the season, which is fascinating. So that does give Sidney some hope. I mean, history is on put a Laid's side, but I think the way port Alaid played against Hawthorne, their pressure was outstanding, and that is how GW has got Sydney. At the start of the qualifying final, they were all in their face, their tackling was perfect, they didn't let them get anywhere, and then GWS good enough in attack to get over them. I think that's going to be port Alaide's issue is on the weekend, while their pressure was outstanding, there was just a heck of a lot of long high balls into the Ford fifty. They were going nowhere, and I'm not sure that's going to work against Sydney. Hawthorne just couldn't get themselves out of the back line when they got in that situation. So if they cleaned that up, there's certainly a chance. But it just feels like Sydney's the better site, doesn't it.
And it's at the SCG and Sydney You've had a week off for report. The emotion that was it was invested into that game against Hawthorne as well, and the closeness of the margin. You wonder if they've played there. You know, verte Com has played their Grand Final. You know they sort of they proved the doubt is wrong and there was great celebrations over there. So you just wonder how they go about seven days later turning around and getting to Sydney and playing off in a prelimb.
Yeah, there are some senior figures in football who think that Port Adelaide, I guess the reflection of their coach are an emotional site, that they have big up, some big downs.
We've seen in the last two weeks.
They had a big down against along Way, it didn't look like they had any emotion, and then the week later they were absolutely smashing into Hawthorne at every chance and they were revved up, potentially by Jack Innovann's Instagram comment. So whether that's a recipe to continue on in the finals, I guess we'll see. It could lead to a big letdown or it could mean they could ride that wave again against Sydney.
It's amazing to think that come ten past ten on Friday evening, we could see Port Adelaide into a Grand Final where two weeks only two weeks earlier, well you know, a bit over a week earlier, everyone was calling everyone in Downport Road and Jep's Cross and all those places out there. In the Port of Adelaide, we're calling for Ken's head. So yeah, it's a real toss up. And then obviously the Cats and the lines, as you said, is sort of looking like it could be on the Grand Stauge at the MCG traditional time five point fifteen. That's the one that you make appointments for and you sit down and you watch.
But we have seen over the years, as I mentioned before, some of those classic programs are almost genuine upsets. Hawthorne for three years in a row, we're red hot favorites against Adelaide. Port Adelaide, they almost lost to Geelong all those games everyone backed in Hawthorne and they almost let them slip. So there is plenty of times in the past where the underdog side has just kept going and kept going and pushed the higher rank side to the line. Usually those higher rank sides just find a way to get through, So it's going to be it's the best weekend I think on the footy calendar when you have both games, they're usually too obviously fascinating contests usually get a cracker and I'd hope it's like that this weekend.
The People's Round of Footy. Josh, thanks again, enjoy your weekend. I hope Saturday can come around nice and quickly for you and the.
Cats can salute.
Yeah.
Well, hopefully in the herosone officers we have a Victorian team in the Grand Final. That'd be good for us. But whatever is good for four years good for us. Andy, thanks Marnsi cheese mate, that'll do us.
On today Herald Sunfooty Podcast, I'm Andy BelAZ and my thanks to Josh Barnes for joining me today. Make sure you keep an eye out for our moneyball on Wednesday morning. Mick mcguan will preview each of the finals. We'll have live coverage of the games, including the moment that made each final, and of course Brobos can't mistackle on Sunday night. I'll catch you next week