Grand Final – Geelong v Brisbane: Nostradamus George finally gets a run

 

 

 

Hi Sportsfans,

Apologies to George Grossek. His prediction arrived in Grand Final week and I missed it.

And I’ve added his review too.

He was on the money.

Well played Lions,
JTH

 

In the lead-up, George wrote:

Hello John

Well the changes to the teams were predictable with Stanley replacing Stewart and Neale replacing Berry. Both teams have rolled the dice with these selections. The lions have taken a bigger risk – you can’t jab a calf injury if it recurs.

This game will be won around stoppages with the cats the fastest for ball movement and the lions the sixth fastest.  The two changes from when these teams met two weeks ago are Mcinerney for the lions and Stanley for the cats. McInerney makes the lions much stronger than does Stanley for the cats.

There are only two questions to answer to determine the winner. Did the Cats show their hand in the qualifying final as did Richmond in 1982 allowing the Blues to counter their game plan  and win the Grand Final or will the Cats simply be too quick for the Lions?

I don’t see Geelong winning the ruck and, with Blicavs down in defence, they will miss his run around the ball which was crucial last time.

Unless Holmes and co can negate the Lions ruck advantage the Lions should win and by around four goals.

Good luck for your Cats though!

George

 

And this is the review he wrote, while working as an attendant at the MCG:

 

The gates opened at 9:30 and the first people into the standing room section were Geelong supporters some of whom arrived at 6:30 so they could grab the first row and the best view of the game. Ultimately around 170 would be tightly packed into this area with tickets required to gain entry.

The wait for the match to begin was long, broken up by a futures game of a surprisingly high standard followed by the pre-match entertainment. I wonder how many of the crowd realised that acoustics at the G meant that the singing was prerecorded unlike for concerts when specialist audio equipment is brought in. One of the customers at my former shop who was involved in the audio at the G told me this.

With the announcement of Lachie Neale as the sub for Brisbane a murmur went around the ground.

With Blicavs replaced by Stanley in the ruck, Darcy Fort had a picnic giving the Lions first use of the ball. It was clear that the Lions were not letting the Cats get the jump on them again.

Bailey, usually such a reliable shot at goal, missed his first four shots. McCluggage turned the tables on Mullen getting a holding the ball free kick and it was clear that the Lions were “on”.

The second quarter was much like the first with Brisbane appearing to be more in control but Geelong hanging on. When Shannon Neale took a mark from our view at the other end his kick started towards the points before it went out of view above the stand we were under and then moved back for a goal to the delight of the Geelong supporters. Their delight was immediately tempered with the goal of the match by Will Ashcroft. He got the ball from the following bounce, just put on the afterburners and kicked it from around 50 metres. Brad Close got the final goal of the second quarter.

While scores were level at half time, the Lions supporters were at least happy that the game was being played on their terms. In contrast, the Geelong supporters were the more worried of the two groups. All agreed that one fifteen-minute burst by either team could win the coveted premiership cup.

Seeing Lachie Neale subbed in for Marshall at the start of the third quarter, the crowd sensed that this was a pivotal time. Would his calf hold up under the pressure of a game? It was clear that this was the plan all along and if he did break down the Lions would not be impacted as much.

Geelong briefly hit the front before Bailey finally kicked a goal to give Brisbane the lead. Max Holmes kicked the next goal to give the lead back to the Cats.

Of course, on the biggest stage, it was Charlie Cameron who restored the lead for Brisbane with two quick goals followed by another from Bailey. The Lions were in front at three quarter time by 19 points and the Cats had to come out quickly at the start of the fourth quarter to get back into the match.

It took 46 seconds for Charlie Cameron to kick the first goal of the final quarter and things looked bleak for Geelong. A goal by Blicavs at the five minute mark gave the Cats hope but it wasn’t for long.

There comes a time in a game when one team realises it can’t win and the other team knows it will win. Fittingly, it was Cam Rayner who slotted that goal from near the boundary in front of our stand. The contrast in supporters was palpable. On one side, a nine year old boy in a Geelong jumper couldn’t look anymore with tears in his eyes while the Brisbane supporters erupted into song with each goal.

By this time, the Lions on the field were celebrating, the Lions bench was full of back-slapping players and support staff while the Geelong bench was sitting there stony faced.

Three quick junk time goals to the Cats coincided with Blicavs into the ruck, but could have been the result of early celebrations by the Lions players.

So what happened in the two weeks since the qualifying final? I think Brisbane learned a lesson and countered Geelong’s moves.

First and foremost, Darcy Fort comprehensively won the ruck stoppages. In the qualifying final, after the ruck, Blicavs became a fourth on-baller and he started many chains of possessions.

Secondly, Brisbane’s on-ballers got possession in space, the exact opposite of the previous match where it was Geelong who had the ball in space. In AFL football, if you give a player time one or more players get free. Then before an opponent gets on them, their kicking skills are such that they move the ball so quickly they will find someone in space. This is why the team without the ball often looks too slow and why putting pressure on the ball carrier is so important.

Thirdly, bringing on Lachie Neale at half time gave the Lions a big edge around the ball and when he kicked that goal in the third quarter it gave Brisbane such a lift.

Bailey Smith was largely ineffective and Dangerfield, such a bull in the preliminary final, was well held.

I said I cannot remember a Grand Final being won by a team that convincingly lost the ruck contests and this held true in the Grand Final where the Lions turned around getting the ball out of the centre which they lost in the qualifying final to winning comprehensively in the Grand Final.

At the beginning of the finals series, I rated Brisbane number one and said they had played the best two games of football I had seen at the G this season. At their best, I did not think any team could beat them.

But for a 70 metre penalty to Sidebottom in the 2023 Grand Final, the Lions could have won the last three premierships. What is frightening for the rest of the competition is that the Lions look like they will be substantially stronger next season.

 

GEELONG       2.3     5.6     6.8     11.9 (75)
BRISBANE      1.6     5.6     9.9     18.14 (122)

GOALS
Geelong: Dempsey 4, Blicavs, Bowes, Close, Holmes, Mannagh, Mullin, Neale
Brisbane: Cameron, McCluggage 4, Bailey 3, Lohmann 2, L.Ashcroft, W.Ashcroft, Morris, Neale, Rayner

BEST
Geelong: Dempsey, Holmes, Humphries, Atkins, Smith
Brisbane: McCluggage, W. Ashcroft, Andrews, Bailey, Cameron, Gardiner

 

Crowd: 100,022

 

Read more from George Grossek HERE

 

 

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