Who… was in the stands? The largest Cats and Bombers crowd in 23 years.
The Powercor Country Festival entered its fourth year in 2019 and clearly the fans are getting behind the fantastic concept. In what felt like a country football kind of day an incredible 63,527 fans packed the ‘G and the farmers market outside the ground. The crowd was the biggest one between the two teams since 1996 and with the game going from strength to strength, expect to see similar turnouts in the years to come.
What… happens when you lose the skipper and Brownlow medallist? (sort of)
Bombers fans would have been ecstatic on Saturday when they saw the Cats skipper Joel Selwood was a late withdrawal with soreness. Then when superstar Patrick Dangerfield went down with ankle and knee injuries it looked as though the footy gods were trying to do what they could to hinder the Cats. But as has been the usual in 2019, the Cats other on-ballers stood up to take the slack. Tim Kelly (30 disposals, 10 clearances, two goals), Sam Menegola (28 disposals, five inside 50s), Cam Guthrie (25 disposals, nine tackles) and Mitch Duncan (22 disposals, three goals) did what they needed to do to make up for the loss of the prodigious duo. Add in Tom Atkins’ best game for the club including taking a lot of centre bounces and the Cats will be confident that they can cover for their superstar players when needed.
When… the ball hits the ground.
The Cats have some strong contested marking options across the ground but it is now when the ball spills that the Cats are finding a strong advantage. Yesterday the Cats finished with a +12 advantage in tackles, +6 in contested possession and scored from 41.3% of their inside 50s. The Cats are second in the AFL for contested possessions and have the greatest ground ball differential against the opposition ever for the first seven rounds of the season. Put simply it looks to the average fan as if the Cats pressure is much higher but a lot of work has gone in to turning around this area from 2018.
Where… do you kick the ball to get around the Cats defence?
The Bombers were bereft of tall options down forward and as Bombers legend Tim Watson continued to point out on the broadcast, the Cats took advantage of it. The Misfits, as the Cats defenders are collectively known, took advantage of any slow ball movement from the backline to set up behind the ball, choking the Bombers forward forays. Mark Blicavs, Mark O’Connor, Jake Kolodjashnij and Tom Stewart were exceptional against the undersized Bombers forwards, registering a total of 27 intercepts between them.
Why… the silence?
Whilst fans are ready to jump on the umpires for decisions made in the heat of the moment, we aren’t hearing much when the games are being umpired superbly. Yesterday’s game was a perfect example of a well-umpired game, with Ray Chamberlain, Eleni Glouftsis and Matthew Nicholls making and explaining decisions well to players throughout the game - even with plenty of hard contests and noise in the stadium.
How… good is playing well at the MCG?
Much has been made of the Cats form at the MCG in past seasons but based on the three 2019 MCG games, the home of football is a happy hunting ground for the Cats. With wins over Collingwood, Hawthorn and Essendon already, the Cats have done it by suffocating the opposition on the wide expanses of the ‘G, only allowing an average of just under 70 points per game.
