Gary Buckenara analyses Geelong’s list after 2016 season
JIMMY Bartel is part of the fabric of Geelong Football Club and should play on in 2017 but a star Cat should be traded. GARY BUCKENARA ANALYSES GEELONG’S LIST
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GEELONG did very well to make a preliminary final and although they would be disappointed with how their season ended, the club will have to put it behind them quickly because there are some tough decisions to be made.
The likes of Jimmy Bartel, Corey Enright, Andrew Mackie and Tom Lonergan are nearing the end of their careers and already there has been plenty of dialogue surrounding the first two.
Bartel has triggered a new contract for next year but the Cats have said he might be forced to spend time in the VFL. He is such a brilliant clubman though, and he’s the type of guy you want to do the right thing by but that might be managing him through the season, not necessarily in the VFL, but by resting him. He doesn’t need to play every game and may not need to as younger players are given a taste of senior footy.
I would keep Bartel for sure. Yes he’s lost a bit of pace but sometimes when you let someone like him go and do the wrong thing by him in terms of list management — there’s a balance you must consider when you’re trying to do the right thing by your club and the list and also the right thing by the player — you might be losing the mojo of the team by making the wrong decision with a player. We’ve seen that happen to clubs where they’ve made a club decision and it’s destroyed the fabric of the side.
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE TIGERS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE BLUES
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE DOCKERS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE PIES
Bartel is a fabric player. He’s more of a fabric player than the likes of Steve Johnson, Paul Chapman and James Kelly who have been let go by Chris Scott and Geelong.
It will be interesting to see what Geelong does with Steven Motlop. He has been smashed for his performance in the finals series and particularly the preliminary final and it’s no surprise. He has not delivered on the potential and talent he has, he just does it in bits and pieces.
The Cats should trade him. And it might be a win-win because I think he needs a new environment.
Motlop has been a great player for the Cats, don’t get me wrong but in the last couple of years he just hasn’t delivered when they’ve needed him.
I also want to touch on Tom Hawkins who has been disappointing. He’s one of Geelong’s better players but I’m not sure he’s adapted to the modern game.
He plays his best footy when he leads up to the ball carrier strongly and hits the contest hard. I’ve watched a lot of Geelong this year and all he’s done is stand back and demand the ball be kicked to him long and high. Once upon a time that might have worked but in today’s game it’s just too easy for defenders to spoil.
It’s something he has to come to grips with and work on over the pre-season. He needs to get on his bike and start leading for the ball more and working harder because defenders didn’t let him do that this year.
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE SAINTS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE BOMBERS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE LIONS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE SUNS
Hawkins is in danger of facing the same issues as Travis Cloke at Collingwood. He’s a better player than Cloke because he kicks the ball well in front of goal but he needs to act now.
He needs to over the pre-season get more miles into his legs. I don’t know exactly what he does for training but needs to lay off the strength and power work and focus on getting fitter so he can use his aerobic capacity. He has been blowing a lot when he commits to repeat efforts. If he works on his running and fitness rather than strength then he’ll be able to keep backing up and working over his opponent by running hard to the ball, running back to goal and chasing and tackling.
Stephen Wells does a fantastic job with his list management and recruiting, particularly in using late picks and has done so better than most other clubs. That’s why Geelong has been so successful.
They targeted Patrick Dangerfield who made a huge difference to their side with his explosive speed away from packs and ability just to have an impact when others can’t. His inclusion, along with Scott Selwood, really took the heat off Joel Selwood who was just getting worn out after being knocked around in every game.
TRADE TALK: WHO IS YOUR CLUB CHASING?
The Cats were able to remain reasonably healthy during the year with Josh Caddy and Scott Selwood the biggest injury concerns but both were able to get back and play a role in the finals. That helped the cause but did we find out a lot about their depth?
They have enough stars on their list it’s just a matter of deciding whether it’s time to get back into the draft or do they keep going down the track of trading and using free agency to fill positional needs?
Rhys Stanley has been a good pick up for them from St Kilda, Nakia Cockatoo will be a really good player, Lincoln McCarthy has had his injury issues but showed this year why the Cats have persisted with him, Daniel Menzel has made a difference and I like Darcy Lang as a player.
Mitch Duncan was a little bit disappointing this season. He may have struggled a little bit with the inclusion of Dangerfield, which may have impacted his role a little bit.
Josh Caddy has plenty of ability and Henderson is a good pick-up but he is best as a defender not as a forward.
I think there is enough quality and depth in the Geelong list for it to be a top four side again next year.
In terms of trading, given I would trade Motlop, a second-round draft pick would be a fair deal.
But if the Brett Deledio trade, which has been talked about a lot in the media, is on the table then the Cats could give the Tigers Motlop and a second-round pick for Deledio. Richmond will probably, however, push for a first-round pick and Motlop. The only issue is Geelong traded their first-round draft pick in this year’s draft to Carlton last year for Henderson.
Deledio would be a very good fit at Geelong because he adds another good player to the list and fills a need as a tall utility who can play across half forward or as a rebound defender who can also run through the midfield.
The Cats have also been linked to North Melbourne unrestricted free agent Daniel Wells who would also be a terrific pick up provided he can stay healthy. He would add that pace through the midfield the Cats desperately need and he’s a beautiful user of the footy.
Hayden Ballantyne’s name has also been thrown up as an interest at Geelong and he would be a an excellent fit because they’re crying out for a small forward like him. I know he would prefer to stay in Western Australia but if I was at the Cats I would be asking the question for sure.
They could do a straight swap Motlop for Ballantyne if Deledio isn’t in play.
WHAT THEY NEED
Most of the older players on Geelong’s list are key backs and key forwards so that’s an area that needs to be looked at to ensure they don’t get into a position where these guys retire and there isn’t anyone there to fill the void. The Cats also need more outside speed — that was an area in which they were found out this season and particularly in the preliminary final loss to Sydney. The outside players — rebound defenders and wingers — need to have good kicking skills as well, otherwise they won’t be suited to the modern game. Recruiters aren’t putting enough emphasis on kicking skills at the moment.
The Cats could also use a clever small forward who has pace to put on defensive pressure and be a real threat when the ball hits the ground. Motlop is trying to fill that role but just hasn’t done it anywhere near well enough.
WHO’S UNDER THE PUMP?
Mitch Clark was recruited to fill a tall forward role but really hasn’t had an impact during his two years at the club because of injury and form. If he gets another crack at it next year he’ll need to work hard to make sure his body is right and he can get back to somewhere near his best.
Jed Bews has been around a while but hasn’t been able to cement his spot as a small defender even though there is a spot there to grab. He and Tom Ruggles battled for it this year so both will need to step up and claim it as their own.
Billie Smedts was a highly-rated first-round draft pick who also falls into that small defender category but has had injury troubles and hasn’t taken his opportunities when they’ve presented.
Motlop is also under the pump obviously if he stays at the Cats. Jordan Cunico, Michael Luxford and Matthew Hayball need to step up, as do George Horlin-Smith and Jordan Murdoch. Horlin-Smith was good in the VFL but didn’t really get a look in at AFL level, which suggests to me the Cats believe there are better options, while Murdoch has really fallen out of favour after getting plenty of game time in the previous two seasons.
WHO SHOULD GO
The Cats have delisted five rookies but there are surely more cuts to be made and to me Horlin-Smith will either be delisted or the Cats will try and trade him as a steak knives sort of situation, while Luxford is another at risk. Irish experiment and The Recruit contestant Padraig Lucey as well as Zac Bates, Cameron Delaney, Tom Read and Jock Cornell have been delisted.
CRYSTAL BALL
Geelong will no doubt be a force again in 2017 and should be in the mix to finish top four and to win the premiership. There is definitely enough quality and star power on the list to go deep into the finals and play off in a Grand Final and win it.
*Gary Buckenara helped build Hawthorn’s three-peat premiership list and now he runs a rule over club lists in an exclusive column for the Herald Sun.
Buckenara was a major part of Hawthorn’s recruiting team between 2004-2015 and was responsible for bringing Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis to the Hawks in 2004 when he was the Hawks’ sole fulltime recruiter.
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