CAT COUCH MUSCLES HIS WAY INTO ATTACK
A MUSCLED-UP Brody Couch is set to fill the shoes of departed firebrand Jake Reed and lead Geelong’s new-look bowling attack, coach Tim Ludeman has declared.
Bowling allrounder Couch, who is part of the Victorian Futures League Academy, has turned heads at pre-season training in a major coup for the Cats ahead of a new season.
Batting sensation Tom Jackson has also impressed over the winter under the watchful eye of academy coach and former Geelong mentor Andre Borovec.
“They’re the two to keep an eye on,” Ludeman said of Couch and Jackson with a week left until Round 1.
“Couchy’s done a big preseason and he’s looking really fit. He’s stacked on the muscle and he’s bowling pretty quick.
“Being a kid last season, he got protected with how many overs he could bowl, where this year in the absence of Reed, he can step up and bowl bulk overs, take the competition (by storm) and show what he can do.
“He’s been pretty impressive at all the Futures League and Victorian training, apparently. It’s all been good feedback.”
Tearaway quick Reed has defected to rival Footscray Edgewater, opening up a spot for Couch to take the new ball.
Ludeman said it was “disappointing” to lose a player of Reed’s calibre.
“He’s a good man and he’s a great cricketer, but outside of that, he’s a really good person, which is more important than the cricket aspect,” he said.
“Unfortunately he got an offer that’s too good to refuse.
“It was a very hard decision for him, it was something that he thought about for a long time.
“He’s been at Geelong since he first moved down from the bush and we gave him an opportunity and he grabbed it.
“But things move on and opportunities present themselves. He’s been lucky enough to have some great mentors who he is still close with.
“Liam Buchanan is a mentor of his and they’re still very tight.
“It doesn’t change the friendships he’s formed at Geelong.
“We sent him on his way with our blessings and we wish him all the best.”
Compounding the absence of Reed is the retirement of superstar leg-spinner Brenton McDonald.
“I don’t think he’s officially announced it, but he won’t be playing,” Ludeman said.
“He’s played a lot of cricket over the journey and his body has probably seen enough cricket and if he goes any further he’ll only do more damage.
“He loves his golf and you don’t want to wreck your body completely for the back-end of life, do you?”
With a solid pre-season under their belts, the Cats will enter the Premier Cricket season opener on October 4 with a deep batting line-up and a youthful bowling attack.
And Ludeman, in his first season at the helm, is hopeful his side can replicate a fine 2018-19 campaign that carried Geelong into the grand final.
“You always want to play finals, but it’s a funny game,” Ludeman said.
“It’s a long season and a couple of injuries and some bad weather and it can throw those plans out of the window pretty quickly.
“We want to expose our young talent, which we started last season, and push them to higher honours.
“That’s at the front of our minds, but we want to win along the way as well.”