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March 01, 2007
NAB Cup Round 2
Geelong v Port Adelaide
Saturday, 8:40pm (Eastern)
TIO Stadium, Darwin
Squads:
Geelong: Tom Harley, Jimmy Bartel, Andrew Mackie, Tim Callan, Josh Hunt, James Kelly, Joel Corey, Trent West, Joel Selwood, Charlie Gardiner, Shannon Byrnes, Nathan Djerrkura, Matthew Egan, Cameron Mooney, Henry Playfair, Nathan Ablett, Mark Blake, Matthew Stokes, David Johnson, Gary Ablett, Matthew Scarlett, Brent Prismall, Joel Reymolds, Sam Hunt, David Wojcinski, Jason Davenport, Corey Enright, Cameron Ling.
Port Adelaide: Darryl Wakelin, Brendon Lade, Adam Thomson, Peter Burgoyne, Shaun Burgoyne, Travis Boak, Ryan Willits, Nathan Lonie, David Rodan, Danyle Pearce, Kane Cornes, Dean Brogan, Michael Wilson, Josh Mahoney, Brad Symes, Damon White, Domenic Cassisi, Nick Lower, Toby Thurstans, Nathan Krakouer, Troy Chaplin, Brett Ebert, Adam Cockshell, Chad Cornes, Michael Pettigrew, Justin Westhoff, Greg Bentley, Tom Logan.
“Monsoonal showers”. Two words the strike fear into the heart of any footy fan hoping to see a decent spectacle of a football game.
But that's what's forecast for this week's Round 2 NAB Cup match between Geelong and Port Adelaide in Darwin.
Add to this, what will probably be the easiest extreme heat rule invocation in history is likely to occur as the mercury is tipped to top 38 degrees.
The Cats have added seven players to their squad, including four first-gamers for the club - Nathan Djerrkura, Joel Reynolds, Trent West and Jason Davenport. They will debut along side Henry Playfair, Tim Callan and David Johnson who are returning from VFL duties. Steven King, Darren Milburn, David Wojcinski and Brad Ottens will be rested.
Port will also take this opportunity to blood some youngsters, giving Travis Boak, Nathan Krakouer, Justin Westhoff and Adam Cockshell their first chance. Toby Thurstans and Brad Symes have also been named in the Power squad. Stephen Salopek will miss the clash with a calf injury while Daniel Motlop has been banished for missing a training session.
The 28-man squads will be trimmed to 26, allowing for eight each on the interchange to tackle the likely testing conditions.
The inclusion of Boak presents the tantalising possibility that at some stage of the game a matchup between Boak and Selwood may occur – picks 5 and 7 respectively in the 2006 National Draft. Port took Boak when there was strong speculation that Geelong would if he fell to pick seven. Selwood showed in his first game the poise and nouse of a 100 game player. Port will now hope that their decision is vindicated in drafting the Torquay boy.
Nathan Djerrkura gets his chance in front of a home crowd. He has impressed in intra-clubs and in the VFL game last week. Already likened to Byron Pickett, the Cats will be hoping he can add some zing to what sometimes looks to be a plain Jane outfit.
Geelong have won their past three encounters against Port including two close ones and a 79-point thumping. Port won the clash immediately prior to those games, the 2004 Qualifying Final in which the eventual premiers gave the young Cats an embarrassing football lesson.
It would be fair to say though, that the two teams haven't encountered each other in circumstances quite like they will this weekend. The hot, humid and wet Darwin conditions are likely to throw all formlines out the window. Conditions like these provide wins to the team that is the most well-drilled, the most disciplined and that is prepared to do the little things to help their team. At this stage of the year, a well-thought out prediction of who that will be is no more worthy than a flip of the coin.
Both teams have a lot to prove. But Geelong's triumph in the 2006 NAB Cup may just mean that Port will have the edge in the hunger stakes on this occasion. The resting of key players may be an early indicator of this. The conditions will dictate that the match is close. Port by 7 points.
Posted by catempire at March 1, 2007 06:31 PM
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