HOW CATS CAN WIN WITHOUT HAWKINS
MOONEY COLUMN
MOONEY COLUMN SPORT
IF Geelong can get over the line on Friday night, it will rank as one of coach Chris Scott’s greatest wins.
That’s how enormous the challenge is for the Cats to find a way to win without their most important player.
There is no player more integral to Geelong’s structure than Tom Hawkins.
Sure, Joel Selwood is the inspirational leader, Patrick Dangerfield is a ball-winning bull … the list goes on. But Hawkins is the hardest to replace.
As Scott pointed out this week, Hawkins effectively won the Cats the 2011 premiership. He has led the club’s goalkicking every year since. The reliance on him is long embedded in the way Geelong plays.
So if Scott and his assistants can mastermind a way to kick a winning score without their main target, it will be something of a minor miracle.
Here are some of the possibilities:
LIKE-FOR-LIKE REPLACEMENT
THE theory is you need a genuine marking forward because Richmond is such an accomplished side defensively with intercepting the ball.
But who do the Cats have? The like-for-like types are Wylie Buzza and Darcy Fort.
With all due respect to those players, I would not be calling them for a preliminary final. Buzza has not played at AFL level this year and the last of Fort’s three matches was Round 14.
RELEASE THE SWINGMAN
GEELONG is better working with what it already has.
Harry Taylor is someone who could — and should — spend some time forward. But only in bursts.
I’ve always thought he is more beneficial as an impact forward, not someone who spends the whole game there.
Don’t start him there, but it’s definitely an option available to the Cats at times during the game.
THE GAMBLE
THE other one is Lachie Henderson, though I am not sold on the idea.
Henderson has kicked 112 goals in his 170-game AFL career. It is not as if the forward line is foreign to him, but he has only kicked eight goals in his four years at Geelong, playing mainly in defence.
Similar to Taylor, the Cats could use him as an impact player, but I think it is too risky to bring him in as purely a key forward, especially after two interrupted years.
GO SMALL AND DYNAMIC
IT seems highly likely that Patrick Dangerfield will spend a fair bit of time forward.
While this robs the midfield of firepower, the reassuring aspect of this is that Dangerfield has been used up forward with success in the past.
His overhead marking last week was exceptional.
You are robbing Peter to pay Paul by playing Dangerfield forward, but it might be the best option, given there will be a domino effect somewhere without Hawkins.
At least the Geelong midfield is well-stocked — especially with Joel Selwood back playing a full-time midfield role, as we called for in this very column last week in the Addy.
If it doesn’t work with Dangerfield, change it on the run.
If Gary Rohan comes back into the side, the Cats will at least have players who are strong overhead and at least able to compete in the air.
CHAOS BALL
RICHMOND will have a field day chopping off Geelong’s attacking entries if the ball is kicking high and long into a small forward line.
If the Cats go slow, it will be a disaster.
Rather than kick and hope, the Cats should kick to open space in the forward line. Kick the ball flat and hard. Lower the eyes for shorter options. Bring the likes of Tom Atkins and Luke Dahlhaus into the game early at ground level.
That’s the trump card, I think. Put the pressure back on the Richmond backline to defend. Just do everything possible to keep the ball away from the defence, just like the Cats did successfully against Jeremy McGovern last week.
FAST MOVEMENT FROM DEFENCE
WE have spoken before about how Geelong looks better when playing with pace. Cam Guthrie (33 possessions last week) and Zach Tuohy (27) were brilliant against West Coast, both producing some of their best footy for the year.
Geelong had 53 more handballs than the Eagles. That quick ball movement is key. If Dangerfield plays more forward, the Cats will be looking for Guthrie to step up big time again in the engine room.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ESAVA RATUGOLEA
IT is important he does not feel like he has to play both the role of himself and Hawkins combined.
I remember when I was suspended in 2009 and how it meant a young Hawkins was left to play on Brian Lake.
Lakey took him apart and I copped it because I had put this young kid under enormous pressure.
Ratugolea doesn’t need to kick five goals. He just has to compete like he has every week, bring the ball to ground and let the smalls go to work.
The knock-on effect is that Rhys Stanley will have to play almost the entire game in the ruck without a chop-out from Ratugolea.
But that’s the reality of the situation. It is not up to one player to fill the void. If everyone steps up that extra 5 or 10 per cent, then Geelong will be in the game. But it is going to take one almighty effort to beat this rampaging Tigers outfit.