THE CURIOUS CASE OF CHARLIE CONSTABLE
EMERGING Geelong midfielder Charlie Constable hopes to let his football do the talking before a selection showdown for Saturday week’s clash with GWS.
While the Cats have not ruled out playing Constable against the Giants, he faces an uphill battle to be selected for Round 1 if experienced pair Joel Selwood and Mitch Duncan overcome fitness concerns.
Constable played in the VFL on Monday and performed strongly, laying five tackles and gathering 17 disposals as he worked hard both ways — a part of his game he has been keen to improve on over the pre-season.
But after several of his young teammates found form in the Marsh Community Series and with limited places in the midfield, the 20-year-old is aware of where he sits in the pecking order.
He said he would continue to work on areas of improvement, on the training track and on game day.
“I think there are a lot of players in good form at the moment, so it is still pretty tight for spots,” Constable said.
“But it was nice to get out and play a full game. I probably played a lot more game time in the VFL, so that was good for my match fitness and I felt really good out there.
“There were a lot of positives for me personally out of it. I was focused on hitting my handballs and I think I was able to do that most of the day.
“Specifically with my transition work I was focusing pretty hard on that too . . . I haven’t had the chat about Round 1, but for me it is just about trying to put my best foot forward.
“I just have to keep working on my overall game but maybe specifically to just keep working on my release handballs and making sure I am efficient with those. I thought I had a fair few of those that were all right, so I will go back and review the match and hopefully it will be all positive.”
Selwood and Duncan aside, Cam Guthrie was also managed for the clash with the Bombers. If those three return, it will form a midfield group that will likely feature Patrick Dangerfield, Jack Steven, Brandan Parfitt, Sam Menegola, Tom Atkins and Quinton Narkle.
Midfield coach Matthew Knights said while Constable was in the mix, it would be tough for him to squeeze in.
“I was lucky enough to coach Jobe Watson, who was a brilliant exponent of winning the ball and giving it to his teammates and putting them into space,” Knights said.
“I think that is the type of player Charlie is endeavouring to be, a really big contested ball winner at stoppages, but then also being able to feed the runners around him
“He is getting better at that all the time but still has got some work to do to become even cleaner and sharper.
“He is going to be a fine player in time, but breaking in at times is tough when the midfield is pretty deep.
“It is a fair point that he didn’t play (against Essendon) and if Joel and Mitch and Cam are available it is very unlikely Charlie will be seen in Round 1 at this stage. We would like to think that could change for Charlie as the year goes on but I thought Parfitt and Narkle did their bit and probably have their noses in front for Round 1.”