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AFL PREMIERSHIP SEASON 2008 ROUND 2; GEELONG V ESSENDON;
FINAL TEAMS, MATCH PREVIEW
PLUS TV / RADIO BROADCAST DETAILS By Ben Jensen HARRY TAYLOR WILL MAKE HIS AFL DEBUT FOR GEELONG AS THE CATS play their first 'home' game of the season at Telstra Dome this Sunday against the Bombers. Geelong has a ten day break, while the Kevin Sheedy-less Essendon has an eight day break. No Brad Ottens yet, Taylor and defender David Wojcinski come into the squad after Andrew Mackie and Kane Tenace will miss after an injury and omission respectively. The Bombers made just the one change, Jason Winderlich the inclusion for the injured Scott Lucas, who has a knee ailment. While Geelong's first 'home' game, the unfurling of
the Premiership Flag will not take place until the following week, the
Cats' first Skilled Stadium game of the season against wooden-spoon
favourite Melbourne, a Fox Sports televised game. The VFL side will
also unveil their Flag before their match against Werribee, which will
begin just before 10am.
FOR THE FIRST TIME in nearly 30 years, Geelong will face an Essendon side without Sheedy at the helm. Their new coach Matthew Knights, however, would be used to beltings from Geelong after fifteen seasons at Richmond. Essendon thrashed a very disappointing Kangaroos on Easter Monday at the Telstra Dome but face a much more hardened and professional side in the Cats this week. Geelong has a substantial break, since their round one / day one matches Holy Thursday - a ten day break if you don't mind, while Essendon has a six day break. We dare say that if Sheedy was still in charge the AFL dare not have scheduled the game as such. Last week the Cats turned it on in hostile territory, while not quite repeating the humiliation of the Grand Final flogging, still embarrassed the misnamed Power on their home turf. After having to watch last week's game on delay as it clashed with work, to say The Cattery is excited about this game is the understatement of the season so far. As a failsafe should the Tiscali / Setanta Sports IPTV fall over, we've even got a pushbike on standby that should get us to the nearest Walkabout pub in just under ten minutes. Or five if we've had a few of those pint size cans by the time the game starts at around 4am (the time differential increasing due to daylight saving beginning and ending in both parts of the world on the same day). While Brad Ottens and Maxie Rooke to return, at the expense of Trent West and the injured Andrew Mackie, neither were named to play. Kane Tenace was dropped to the VFL side while Mackie misses with a strained quadriceps muscle. David Wojcinski should be an inclusion while Brent Prismall is the other strong contender. David Johnson was also can't be ignored on the bench while the other inclusions Harry Taylor, who would make his debut, Travis Varcoe appear slim chances. Plucky Shannon Byrnes seems to be the whipping boy of Geelong fans again this season (not sure what else he has to do) and finds himself named on the seven man interchange, but don't expect to see fellow bench-listed men Trent West or James Kelly miss out. IN THE VFL GRAND FINAL REPLAY Geelong play Coburg at their home turf in the first round of the 2008 season. James Byrne, initially thought to be heading to Collingwood to skipper their new standalone side, returns as Captain of the 2007 Premiership side. Missing from last year will be Henry Playfair (gone to Sydney), Steven King and Charlie Gardiner (both St Kilda), Scott Thompson and Tim Callan (Western Bulldogs) and also Matthew Spencer (delisted).
HISTORY Wins Geelong 87 Essendon 112 Draws 5 First Played: 8 May 1897, Round 1, Corio Oval Essendon 7.5 47 Defeated Geelong 3.6 24 Crowd Unknown LAST FIVE GAMES Geelong has the wood on the Dons over the past few seasons. Most memorable was the 2004 Semi Final win at the MCG. 2007 R14 Geelong 19.19 133 Def Essendon 12.11 83 Docklands
51000 6 July 2007
FIELD UMPIRES Chris Donlon, Hayden Kennedy, Ray Chamberlain BOUNDARY UMPIRES TBC TBC
MILESTONES
TIP? Geelong by 50 points
BETTING (As At 23/9/2007) (Check OnThePunt for latest odds)*
* This information does not constitute investment advice. And if you think it does, you may as well invest in the Nigerian renewable energy credit scheme.
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AFL 2008, ROUND TWO GEELONG V ESSENDON 14:10 (AEST), SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2008 TELSTRA DOME
VFL ROUND ONE 2008 COBURG V GEELONG SATURDAY 29 MARCH 13:00PM ABD GROUP STADIUM LIVE ON ABC TV
AFL PREMIERS VICTORY PACK - FOUR DVD'S - THREE FINALS PLUS SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
DVD - $34.95 + P&H - NOW AVAILABLE!
AFL TV COVERAGE (ALL LOCAL TIMES): Melbourne CHANNEL SEVEN DELAY REPLAY ON FOX SPORTS 1IN EACH STATE Replays on Fox Sports; available on Foxtel, Optus and Austar AFL RADIO COVERAGE: Melbourne K-ROCK, 3AW, MMM, SEN,
ABC
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IN: Taylor, Wojcinski B: Tom Harley, Matthew Scarlett,
Josh Hunt
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ESSENDON IN: Jason Winderlich B: Jay Nash, Mal Michael, Dustin
Fletcher
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REFER INJURY LIST FOR UPDATES (Updated on Tuesday nights) Updated 14/3/2008 (The Cattery's comments in brackets) David Wojcinski Finger tendon,
4 weeks (Hurt in practice match against Richmond last Friday night) |
BOMBERS INJURY LIST Not available |
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CATS OVERCOME DONS EMOTION FOR NINTH WIN ON THE TROT By Ben Jensen AFL ROUND 14 ESSENDON V GEELONG THE CATS put paid to any thoughts of a sentimental win for the Bombers with a fifty point win at Telstra Dome tonight. It was a mixed evening for former Cattery journo and well known Essendon fan Mark 'Heeno' Heenan, as James Hird's 250th game and Adam Ramanauskas comeback match were soured by an eventual convincing win by Geelong. The win was Geelong's ninth in a row, the twelfth of the season. GEELONG 4.3 7.9 12.14 19.19 (133) DEFEATED GOALS GEELONG: C Ling 3 P Chapman 3 C Mooney 3 B Ottens
2 C Enright 2 M Stokes 2 S Johnson D Milburn G Ablett T Hawkins. BEST GEELONG: G Ablett P Chapman J Selwood C Ling
J Corey C Enright D Milburn B Ottens. |
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VFL ROUND ONE 2008 COBURG V GEELONG SATURDAY 29 MARCH 13:00PM ABD GROUP STADIUM LIVE ON ABC TV
IN THE VFL GRAND FINAL REPLAY Geelong play Coburg at their home turf in the first round of the 2008 season. James Byrne, initially thought to be heading to Collingwood to skipper their new standalone side, returns as Captain of the 2007 Premiership side. Missing from last year will be Henry Playfair (gone to Sydney), Steven King and Charlie Gardiner (both St Kilda), Scott Thompson and Tim Callan (Western Bulldogs) and also Matthew Spencer (delisted).
LAST TIME VFL GRAND FINAL GEELONG V COBURG SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER MC LABOUR PARK (PRINCES PARK)
GEELONG 3.5 5.13 12.19 17.24
(126) DEFEATED GOALS: BEST:
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B Kelvin Moore Jarrod Silvester
Nick Carnell
TOM LONERGAN (CLICK IMAGE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE OF ZAIDEE'S RAINBOW FOUNDATION)
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