WE ALL know the names Ablett, Mooney and Scarlett. But what lies beneath down at Geelong?
The Cats’ devastating run of form over the past 18 months and good run with injuries has meant there has been little need for a high turnover of players. As a result, several youngsters in Geelong’s VFL team are being forced to simply wait and serve their time.
Should they be at another, more injury-hit or struggling AFL club they would more likely be offered an opportunity at senior level more readily.
But VFL coach Leigh Tudor believes giving these young guns – the Cats have seven senior-listed payers without AFL experience – more time to develop at the lower level might hold them in good stead in the long run.
“You look at a guy like Brent Prismall, who’s had to play consistently good football and wait for a midfielder to go down [before getting his chance],” Tudor said.
“He had to just keep persevering. It’s tough for the younger guys to sneak in but having said that that’s really good for the club.”
Tudor said while it might seem tough at a club like the Cats, who have only lost two matches in their past 33, when a player was ready for senior selection his form would shine through.
“If you’re playing to AFL-style football in the VFL, you generally get considered,” Tudor said. “Simon Hogan’s been an emergency this year because he was playing to an AFL standard.”
This year, several of the Cats’ emerging youngsters are being asked to perform far bigger jobs in the VFL.
With the club off-loading several AFL-hardened players at the end of 2007 – both to ease salary cap pressure and give those players opportunities at other clubs – that has left some holes in the VFL team.
As a result Geelong heads into tomorrow’s clash with Tasmania with a 4-7 record, although Tudor is confident his young men are developing quickly enough to see the VFL Cats begin a surge in the second half of the season.
“Instead of them [the younger payers] coming into the side and playing back pockets and half-back flanks, they’re actually playing key positions,” Tudor said.
“Chris Kangars, Dan McKenna, Scott Simpson’s our centre-half forward, they’re all playing in key positions against bigger and stronger men, and they’re holding their own which is really good.
“Last year we obviously had [Tom] Lonergan and [Henry] Playfair and [Steven] King and Tim Callan who played a lot in the backline for us, so we’ve got a really young backline and they’re learning all about it.”
Cats yet to make their AFL debuts – Tudor says
Jason Davenport – 2007 rookie elevation
“Jason’s been one of our better players this year in the VFL. He’s consistently working on his defensive side of his game. He has played half-back flank, wing and half forward. He had 32 possessions on a half-forward flank last week and he keeps developing well.”
Nathan Djerrkura – 2006 NAB AFL Draft pick 25
“His last two weeks have been the first time we’ve been able to get some decent game time into him as he’s had some quad injuries that have really interrupted his progress … but his last two weeks have been great. He’s a magnificent tackler, a real ball-getter and is very competitive. His marking this year has been outstanding this year too, for a small forward.”
Adam Donohue – father/son selection – 2007 NAB AFL Draft pick 60
“Adam’s played most of the year as a back pocket and has had some big jobs on small forwards. He’s been in our best a few times and shown that he’s a smart young player. We’ve also played him as a forward the last couple of weeks just to change things up a bit. I think he’s the second-youngest player on an AFL list, so he’s done really well and proven to be really durable for us.”
Simon Hogan - 2006 NAB AFL Draft pick 57
“Simon has really stepped us this year. He’s put on weight, got a lot stronger and to be an emergency for the seniors earlier in the year is a great effort, The best thing about Simon is that he’s gone from being a wingman/forward pocket last year to getting right in the guts this year and he’s been our rover and our ruck rover, being right in among the action winning his own ball. Also he makes the right decisions when he gets it.”
Dan McKenna - 2007 NAB AFL Draft pick 50
“Dan’s played as a forward and as a defender for us and has showed a lot of poise under pressure for a young man and he’s also a very good decision-maker. He’s working really hard on putting weight on. For a first-year player he’s shown every reason why he should be at the Geelong Footy Club.”
Dawson Simpson - 2007 NAB AFL Draft pick 34
“Dawson’s missed the last few weeks with a quad injury but we’re really looking forward to getting him back. He’s a big man, and with Trent West and Shane Mumford in the VFL side now we’d like to think we’d be able to get an advantage in the ruck and hopefully we can use Dawson up forward a bit. The players really enjoy having him around as he’s a real clubman.”
Scott Simpson - 2007 NAB AFL Draft pick 44
“Scott kicked eight goals in a game earlier this year which for a first-year player is a really good effort. He’s got a fantastic workrate and a real passion to improve. He does a lot of extra work on his kicking and marking. He missed three or four weeks with a knee injury and, although he’s only a first-year player, we really missed him when he was out.”
