Geelong season preview

vfl.com.au recently chatted to Geelong’s VFL senior coach Shane O’Bree about what could lie in store for the club on the field in 2017.

FACT FILE:

2016 FINISH: 7th (11-8)

2016 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Tom Atkins / 2. Tom Stewart / 3. James Tsitas

2016 TEAM OF THE YEAR: Tom Atkins / Tom Stewart

2016 DRAFTEES: Tom Stewart (pick no.40 to Geelong) / Timm House (no.68 to Geelong) / Ryan Abbott (no.69 to Geelong)

OTHER FORMER PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON AFL LISTS:
- Selected in 2007: Shane Mumford (Geelong/Sydney/GWS), Scott Thompson (North Melbourne)
- 2015: Tom Ruggles* (Geelong)

KEY 2017 INS & OUTS:
- In: Jack Blood (Geelong Falcons) / Daniel Capiron (Frankston) / Rob Condy (Newtown & Chilwell) / Ben Moloney (Collingwood VFL) / Ben Reid (Echuca) / Jai Thompson (Leopold)
- Out: Ryan Abbott (Geelong AFL) / Paul Burchell / Timm House (Geelong AFL) / Kane Leersen / Kieren Paliouras / Ben Raidme / Sandy Robinson / Tom Stewart (Geelong AFL) / Cameron Tudor / Ryan Williams

DEPARTED PLAYERS WHO’LL BE MISSED:

Experienced leaders: “Players like Ben Raidme and Ryan Williams had been on our list for a while and were really good VFL players for us. They were also leaders within our team (sharing the captaincy along with Jackson Hollmer and Jackson Sheringham in 2015). I think they’re going to be missed a fair bit, but we’re hopeful the guys we’ve recruited who are mature-aged and have experience will fill the void.”

AFL draftees (although they haven’t gone far): “Hopefully Tom Stewart, Timm House and Ryan Abbott won’t be playing games in the VFL and are playing in the AFL instead, but it would always be good to welcome those boys back to the VFL team. It was just fantastic that the club backed our VFL program in and saw we’re teaching them right and producing ready-made players. We only got them for six to eight hours per week but they came to training and made the most of every minute we had with them. They got the best out of themselves and reaped the rewards.”

RECRUITS WHO COULD MAKE AN IMPACT:

Ben Moloney: “I’ve only heard good reports about Ben. We’ve played against him and Collingwood a few times and he’s one of those guys who, when you look at the stats sheet after the game, has always had his 30 disposals and played his role. He’s a very consistent player and his leadership is fantastic. He hasn’t been able to train as much as we’d like because he’s coming back from a broken leg, but hopefully he’s right by the start of the season.”

Daniel Capiron: “Dan’s got VFL experience from his time at Frankston and he’s at a good age (20 years old) for our group. He wants to take his footy to another level and can play almost everywhere on the ground.”

Ben Reid: “Ben’s from Echuca. He was a very good junior and just had a fair few injuries from about the age of 18 to 21. He’s got his body right now and he’s had a really good pre-season with us. He can also play almost everywhere.”

Geelong FL recruits: “We’ve been lucky enough to get from GFL clubs Jai Thompson, who’s a premiership captain at Leopold, and Rob Condy, who’s been in our VFL system before and has come back to have another go at it. I think Rob will be more of a backman for us, while Jai’s an inside midfielder/high half forward.”

BEST-AND-FAIREST CONTENDERS:

“Tom Atkins had a really good season last year. He was our best-and-fairest winner and I think he can take his game to another level this year. Sam McLachlan, Will Sexton (pictured), James Tsitas – all those guys have had a year in our system and know the way we want to play. They should feel comfortable being regular VFL players now and hopefully they can have consistent seasons.”

BREAK-OUT CANDIDATES:

Jack Blood: “We’ve recruited Jack, who was the captain of the Geelong Falcons last year. He’s still only a young guy finding his way and obviously stepping up to a higher level, but he’s a very mature young player when you speak to him. He knows where he’s at and what he needs to work on. I think he’s pretty driven to make the most of his opportunity at VFL level and keep improving.”

BIGGEST TEAM STRENGTHS:

“Because we’ve got such a young AFL list that could play the majority of the year in the VFL, I think we’ll have an exciting mix in the VFL team. Combine the guys in their second or third year at AFL level with our VFL-listed players that have had a year or two in the system now and our mature-aged recruits and we should perform consistently every week with a good blend of youth and experience.”

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT ON 2016:

“We scored fairly highly (ranked second in the VFL for goals per game during the H&A season) but I think a lot of our good work was undone with poor execution at the end, so that’ll be our focus. It’s just about getting the chemistry right between our midfielders and our forwards. I’m hoping we get the same amount of inside-50 entries this year but are more effective when we do it.

“Our stoppages and contested ball was a bit inconsistent too (13th for clearances and 12th for contested possessions per game during the H&A season), so we’re hoping our experienced VFL guys like Ben Moloney, Tom Atkins, Sam McLachlan and Jai Thompson can complement our young AFL boys. That was probably our weakest area last year.”

COACHING PANEL CHANGES:

“We’ve got the same assistant coaches this year – Dan Lowther, Mark Hovey and Glen Wallace – but we’ve added three guys to complement them who have experience in the Ballarat FL – Jarrod Edwards, Saul Grenfell and Eammon Gill. They’ll be our runners and bench coaches on game day and I think having those extra guys on board will really complement the program.”

Next preview: Essendon

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Geelong season preview

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