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AFL Grand Final 2007 - Coffee Break - 09-24-2007 09:53 AM
Grand final a perfect match
By Mike Sheahan
September 24, 2007
THEY finished first and second in the home-and-away series, were separated by only a kick in their most recent encounter and have won their two finals.
Both have had a week's rest, a virtual training run in one final, a near-fatal fright in the other.
In the past six weeks they have dropped only one game between them: Geelong losing to Port Adelaide by five points in Round 21.
They are the two highest-scoring teams in the competition.
We have, it seems, the perfect match-up for the biggest event of the football year.
Much like Port Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions of 2004, when those two went down the same path . . . when Port upset the favoured Lions.
It is an enthralling mix, all the more so since the events of the weekend.
Geelong fell into the grand final with an engrossing, nerve-racking five-point win against Collingwood; Port stormed in with an 87-point demolition of the Kangaroos.
The Port win was so comprehensive; it might have been counter-productive, given the rest the previous weekend.
Not only did the Roos capitulate, they didn't even offer Port a genuine workout.
A contrast to Friday night and the gripping theatre at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The consequences from the weekend were the same for both Collingwood and the Roos, but one club emerged with its dignity.
While Geelong is a clear flag favourite, the Cats have their concerns.
They were jittery on Friday night, and despite their extra opportunities - 59 inside 50s to 41 - they were lucky to escape.
The question now is whether Mark Thompson and his match committee see the need to make changes to the line-up that has served them so well.
There are reasons to debate four: Mark Blake, Nathan Ablett, Josh Hunt and Shannon Byrnes.
Blake is under mounting pressure, but it would be a bold move to drop him for Steven King at this point.
Thompson and co seemed to make their decision just before the finals, relegating King in favour of Blake.
Blake did himself no favours on Friday night in the ruck and one memorable marking contest, yet his form over the journey has been adequate.
I don't share the general concern on Ablett. He didn't have a lot of it on Friday night, but Travis Cloke was the only tall forward in the game who did.
There was the nice take on the wing early in the game when everyone else seemed to have the fumbles and then the decisive ruck knockout that led to a Steve Johnson goal in the set play of the night.
Tom Hawkins is the obvious alternative, and looked promising at VFL level yesterday.
Ablett, though, will stay. The concern isn't big enough to upset the equilibrium of the other Ablett, his elder brother Gary, probably the most important player in the team.
Hunt's problem is more to do with his head than his form.
He has to learn there are occasions on the football field when there can be no compromise, when you just must go to the contest.
He, though, is required for the dangerous Brett Ebert, Port's leading goalkicker, or even Daniel Motlop.
If Motlop plays close to goal, Hunt might go to him, and Motlop is a player capable of winning the Norm Smith Medal with his talent and current confidence.
Hunt's pace and brilliant kicking will save him.
Byrnes should be under pressure from Travis Varcoe, but Varcoe has not done enough at VFL level.
An unchanged Geelong line-up is the likely result.
Sadly for Port, it must make one change. The experienced and much-loved Michael Wilson snapped an achilles tendon on Saturday night, an injury that may end his career.
It is a body blow for Power and a terrible shame for the player who has had two knee reconstructions and recurring shoulder problems.
He will be missed, no matter how well his replacement fares.
The most relevant changes in the context of the likely outcome are the return of Cameron Ling, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood to the Geelong team that lost to Port at Skilled Stadium in Round 21.
When the Cats were at full strength, they beat Port by 56 points in Round 9 - at AAMI Stadium.
While it is unreasonable to expect a repeat of Friday night's epic, at least the best, and freshest, teams are playing for the biggest prize.
Fox Sport
RE: AFL Grand Final 2007 - Coffee Break - 09-24-2007 10:09 AM
Who will take home the AFL Premiership Cup?
Vote and let us know who you think will win
RE: AFL Grand Final 2007 - Spunner - 09-24-2007 12:48 PM
"We are Geelong, the greatest team of all ......"
Says it all, really.
RE: AFL Grand Final 2007 - Coffee Break - 09-29-2007 04:50 AM
AFL grand final preview
By Andrew Gregory and Sam Lienert
September 27, 2007
ALL you need to know - and some things you don't - about Saturday's AFL grand final.
What, where and when?
Grand final, Saturday September 29, 2.30pm (AEST) at the MCG.
Form guide
Geelong: WLWWW
Port Adelaide: WWWWW
Tale of the tape
Port Adelaide's status as the underdog is pretty flimsy. The Power has had a winning way this season, apart from a glaring four-game losing streak between rounds eight and 11. The only other matches it lost were to Adelaide (twice) and Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome (who also beat Geelong a the same venue this season). It has more finals experience, pace to burn and a killer ruck combination in Brendon Lade and Dean Brogan. It defeated Geelong in round 21. And it has more finals experience.
Geelong has nothing to fear, and nohing to hide. All one needs to do is look at its list of players, and its 2007 record. Their game plan, and execution of it, has been superb. But their win-loss ratio is now irrelevant. And the 44 years since the club's last premiership, that's irrelevant too.
Is stat right?
Geelong averaged 39.0 hitouts per game this season. Port Adelaide averaged 32.8 hitouts per game this season.
Talk the talk
"Every little experience that we're going to go through, those 10 (premiership players) have done, whether it's the motorcade, walking out on the ground when it's full or just the timing of the game, so many things are different."
Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams.
"It was good for them to get it out of their system. I'm pretty sure the ones who thought they were a little bit down won't be down two weeks in a row."
Brownlow medal winner Jimmy Bartel, on last weekend's thriller against Collingwood.
Match odds
Geelong: $1.40
Port Adelaide: $2.80
Source: TAB Sportsbet
Prediction
Geelong by 11 points
Key match-ups
Kane Cornes v Jimmy Bartel
The Brownlow medal winner against one of the AFL's premier taggers should be an absorbing duel. Both Cornes and Bartel are at home at the bottom of packs, tackle ferociously and work hard to provide a link-up option around the ground. Bartel's ball-winning ability is obviously crucial to the Cats' chances. But Cornes' high disposal rate and strong endurance means Bartel will also have to focus much of his concentration on stopping him, rather than just attempting to be a prime mover for the Cats.
Darryl Wakelin v Cam Mooney
For Wakelin, playing his final AFL match, this assignment will be as crucial as any conducted by his team to the chances of him ending his career with a second premiership. Mooney's size, fearless attack on the ball and leadership qualities make him central to Geelong's chances of kicking a winning score. When the Power defeated Geelong in round 21, Mooney was held to one goal and took only two marks. In last weekend's preliminary final against Collingwood, he managed only two goals and six marks against Wakelin's identical twin Shane as the Cats just scraped home. Mooney is the only Geelong player to have experienced a grand final, but failed to gain a possession as part of the Kangaroos' triumphant 1999 side, so will be desperate to exert an influence on this game.
Shaun Burgoyne v Cameron Ling
Burgoyne's turn of speed and exquisite skills mean he does not need too many possessions to tear a side apart. He also gets on the scoreboard more often than most midfield players, having kicked 37 goals this season. When the Power beat Geelong a few weeks ago, Burgoyne kicked three goals, as well as causing damage in the centre square, to be a key part of the victory. But Ling was absent through injury in that game and is almost certain to be given the job of tagging Burgoyne this time. Extremely consistent in blanketing star players throughout the season, Ling had his colours lowered by Collingwood's Dane Swan in the preliminary final. He will be desperate to be more effective in his stopping role on Saturday. Ling's ability to push forward and kick goals himself will also be important in ensuring Burgoyne is kept accountable.
with AAP
Fox Sports