Cats keeping open mind on forwards
TOM Hawkins and Esava Ratugolea will have first crack as Geelong’s key position forwards in 2019, but forward coach Corey Enright says spots will be up for grabs.
Young South Australian swingman Nathan Kreuger shapes as a potential tall forward at 196cm, but Enright said the 19-year-old wouldn’t be rushed into the senior team.
“Kreugs is a really exciting prospect,” Enright said, “He’s obviously young (so) we’re not trying to put too much limitation on him and we haven’t got a set defined forward structure yet.
“We obviously did play well when we had Hawkins and Ratugolea as our main targets and (Daniel) Menzel was probably our third option there as well.
“We’re probably looking at seeing what happens again and leaving these doors open for guys to take their spots and see which combinations work best.”
Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan also shape as likely additions to the forward line come Round 1 as the Cats look to field a more experienced line-up inside forward 50.
“The knock on us last year in the forward half was that we had a lot of inexperience and younger kids who were still learning the game,” Enright said.
“When you’re learning the game and playing as a forward, at times it can be hard.
“Those guys have come into a program and from day one they’ve been energised and added stuff to our group already.
“Both Gary and Luke bring what we’re craving a little bit with senior bodies and durability and ability to put some pressure on the opposition.”
But different personnel won’t automatically bring improvement.
Enright said the Cats are also focusing on the way they enter forward 50 and pressure opposition defenders.
“Obviously a huge part of the game is not only trying to kick a score but also keep the ball in your front half and get repeat entries and repeat looks, so it’s not only the forwards — it’s the mids and defence behind it,” he said.
“But it’s something we’ve been working on, focusing on a lot over the pre-season — how we enter inside our forward 50 but also how do we get those repeat opportunities.”