Any concerns the reigning premiers were vulnerable and perhaps susceptible to falling back into the competitive Peter Jackson VFL pack have quickly been alleviated in the past fortnight.
While consecutive losses were not ideal, a two-week stretch of solid and impressive football has reinforced Geelong’s status as a, if not ‘the’, ‘team to beat’ in 2013 as Kane Hunkin reports.
A Windy Hill victory realigned things, with last Sunday’s home win against the Northern Blues quite dominant.
The damage was done early – an 11 goal to one first half as telling on the ground as it was on the scoreboard.
Perhaps most significant in the win was the on-field performance despite the absence of primary-listed players. With the likes of Jesse Stringer, Mitch Brown, Jackson Thurlow, and Jordan Murdoch in the AFL squad, this was coupled by the exclusions of Ryan Bathie, Shane Kersten and Joel Hamling.
In the rooms, Geelong coach Matthew Knights touched on the relationship between the AFL and VFL listed players.
“The VFL listed boys are so close to the AFL listed boys in their understanding of the game style, they’re so close in terms of mateship because they all live in this Geelong community,” Knights said.
The form of Josh Caddy and Jordan Schroder was in particular pleasing for the coach, with Knights complimenting the duo.
“Josh Caddy and Jordan Schroder both came back and played outstanding footy. It was great to see Jordan Schroder after he had played four games in the AFL come back and I thought he was outstanding today in the clearances, particularly early in the game.”
Another positive for Geelong is the return to health of their big man stocks. With Nathan Vardy returning to the AFL, Dawson Simpson is additionally seeing continuity in his football. Simpson was again amongst the best and influential in the hit-outs. The 206cm ruckman observed his progress after the win.
“Each week I’m feeling more confident. My [VFL] finals series last year I started [getting into] some good form. I took a lot of confidence, especially from the Grand Final and carried on through the pre-season.
“I think the last few weeks I’ve got back to trying to play the basics well and be a big man that I need to be for this team,” Simpson said.
Geelong now enjoys the bye before an anticipated Grand Final re-match against Port Melbourne.
Photo: Arj Giese
Last Modified on 13/06/2013 12:43