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AFL ROUND 18 2006: BRISBANE LIONS
V GEELONG; PLAYFAIR, BLAKE, BYRNES, PRISMALL RETURN; VFL TEAM AIM FOR
TOP FOUR; MATCH PREVIEW AND TEAM LIST By Ben Jensen GEELONG travel to the GABBA in a desperate attempt to resurrect their season. THE BENDIGO BANK CATS face the Casey Scorpions in their VFL clash at the renovated Casey Fields. Gary Ablett and Cameron Mooney miss through injury and suspension while Matthew McCarthy, as expected, has been dropped. IN: Playfair, Blake, Byrnes, Prismall JARAD ROOKE, a late withdrawal, replaced by Peter Riccardi for last Sunday's disaster in Canberra, is expected to play. Cameron Ling has been cleared to play after hitting his head on the Manuka Oval centre wicket area in Sunday's loss to the Kangaroos. HENRY PLAYFAIR earned a recall following his three goals and strong marking performance in last weekend's VFL win over Bendigo. Playfair will play his 50th game if he indeed returns, while fellow 2001 draftee and forward Charlie Gardiner seems destined to end his AFL career on 49 games. Likewise discarded forward Kent Kingsley, who kicked six goals in the VFL last weekend, has been overlooked once more. MARK BLAKE, Brent Prismall and Shannon Byrnes were rewarded for their VFL performances, earning a recall to the squad of 25. Kane Tenace was initially named in the squad but later dropped to the emergency list.
Wednesday night Geelong Mark 'Bomber' Thompson hinted tonight's changes could be made following the season ending 30 point loss to the Kangaroos in Canberra on Sunday. He said out Henry Playfair and on ballers Shannon Byrnes, Kane Tenace and were Brent Prismall all pushing for a recall. "Playfair would be a chance to come back in," he said. "There are some (players) that deserve a game, Tenace, Prismall, and Shannon Byrnes have been playing some terrific footy in the reserves, so some of them will get a chance no doubt." The Brisbane Lions have beaten Geelong in their last six attempts at the GABBA by an average winning margin of more than 50 points, and Thompson believes the Cats are primed to break a 13-year hoodoo at the ground. The Cats last won in Brisbane in round five of 1993 by one point, against the then Brisbane Bears. "It is a long time," Thompson said. "I know the Cats have never beaten the Lions in their history (at the GABBA), so that's something we can really set ourselves up for, and have a goal to beat the Lions."
LIONS v CATS RECORD 10 SEASONS AGO
TIP? Lions by 8 points
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AFL ROUND 18 - SUNDAY 6 AUGUST 13:10 AEST BRISBANE LIONS V GEELONG GABBA, BRISBANE TV: CHANNEL 9 - Melbourne
(1pm), Adelaide (12.30pm, continuing at 4.30pm), Perth (11am), Sydney
(1pm), Brisbane (1pm)
VFL ROUND 17 - SUNDAY 6 AUGUST 14:00
BRISBANE LIONS PREMIERSHIP BOX SET
(Sydney) ABC630 1300-1600 (Brisbane) ABC936 1300-1600 (Canberra) ABC103.9fm 1300-1600 (Hobart) ABC936 1200-1600 (Darwin) ABC105.7 1235-1530 |
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IN: Playfair, Blake, Byrnes, Prismall B: Harley, Scarlett, J.Hunt |
BRISBANE IN: Selwood, Wood, Merrett B: Sherman, Michael, Patfull |
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LAST TIME ROUND 1 2006, SKILLED STADIUM - CATS OPEN SEASON WITH EASY WIN OVER LIONS
GEELONG: 4.3, 8.7, 12.9, 17.13 (115)
DEFEATED
GEELONG opened their 2006 AFL season with a 77 point win over the Brisbane Lions at Skilled Stadium. Gary Ablett Junior thrilled the 23,029 fans with a 27 possession game. Also in Geelong's best was best on ground Jimmy Bartel, nuggety Paul Chapman and best and fairest winner Joel Corey. Tellingly, those first three versatile midfielders played in Geelong's 2002 VFL premiership. Before the game, Brisbane coach Leigh 'Lethal?' Matthews spoke of his hopes of upsetting the 'slippery' Cats; the Cats instead served up an absolute pounding for the three-time premier. Matthews was at his grumpy best after the game, saying that his side "didn't come to play", and told a reported to "ask Mark Thompson" about Geelong's performance. The win puts Geelong on top of the ladder, a position it is unlikely to lose considering the massive percentage boost. Coach Mark 'Bomber' Thompson said it was nice to 'give one back' to what had been Geelong's nemesis ever since they were renamed the 'Lions' in 1997. Thompson was thrilled with the consistency of the side, and made mention of his backmen including Matt Egan, ensuring better credentialed Jonathan Brown had no impact on the game. Today was just Egan's 16th match, but it certainly won't be his last - Egan's now part of the Geelong backline furniture. Thompson confirmed that while enjoying the NAB Cup win, they didn't go 'over the top', and had trained hard in the lead up to today's opener. He agreed he was amazed at the depleted team's strength throughout the NAB Cup and the consistency even without key players such as James Kelly, Kent Kingsley, Peter Riccardi and Tom Harley. Thompson is pleased that even with those injuries, there's currently more than 22 players being considered for selection, mentioning Brent Prismall as an unlucky exclusion. Thompson said Kingsley will return next week, meaning somebody will have to be left out. Nathan Ablett kicked four goals in the first half of today's VFL game, finishing with six, but may struggle to force his way back in with Kingsley to return and key forwards Charlie Gardiner and Henry Playfair having acceptable games. Captain Steven King and fellow tall Brad Ottens both played, albeit having quiet games as Mark Blake took much of the ruck workload. Ottens' six possessions including three kicks yielded two goals. Will Slade, dumped from the list at the end of season 2005, was redrafted through the rookie list but lost his number 12. Injuries looked to have ended his career that started from the rookie list in 2003, but saw him take no part in Geelong's 2004 and 2005 seasons. But after being one of Geelong's best in the NAB Cup final, Slade's now secured a spot in the AFL side for the time being. |
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VFL ROUND 17 - SUNDAY 6 AUGUST 14:00 GEELONG B Callan S. Hunt Slade
LAST TIME ROUND 15 - SUNDAY 17 JULY 2:00PM GEELONG 4.1
5.2 9.3 12.5 (77) DEFEATED BY SPRINGVALE
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CASEY SCORPIONS B Gilbert Rigg Biagi
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