Geelong

Source: Geelong Advertiser

THE biggest month of the VFL season starts for Geelong at Skilled Stadium this morning.

The eighth-placed Cats' finals prospects will go on the line when they host the Casey Scorpions (second) ahead of matches to end the home-and-away season against Sandringham (ninth), the Northern Bullants (fifth) and Collingwood (seventh).

VFL coach Dale Amos said after a week's break, the side was ready to tackle the challenges which lie ahead.

"They are all big games, but no bigger than this week with Casey sitting second on the ladder," Amos said.

"All the sides around us on the ladder are in reasonable form at the moment, so it's a big game for sure.

"We recovered early last week and then trained really solidly towards the end and they've trained really well this week, so we're confident that the group's mature enough that we can continue on from where we were (before the break) and not slip back into some bad habits."

Geelong's side for this morning's curtain raiser has been strengthened by the return of David Johnson and Nathan Djerrkura from injury, Tom Gillies from AFL duties while bigman Brad Ottens will line up in attack in his first appearance in almost four months.

"(They are all) quality players and Tom Gillies is a real positive for us as well," Amos said.

"He just shores things up a little bit for us having played a couple of games in the AFL. So, it's certainly nice to have those guys in ... you certainly feel a lot more confident coaching with those guys in the backline."

Having beaten Box Hill and Coburg before the bye, Amos said the Cats were keen to claim the scalp of another top side today.

"They beat us pretty comfortably the first time around so it's a good challenge for us," Amos said.

"I guess it's similar to the Coburg game (before the bye). We get to measure how far we've actually improved and whether we have developed as a group and whether the guys are coming along as we like them."

GEELONG has decided to give the new stand at Skilled Stadium the generic name of ''Premiership Stand''.

The decision by the club's board will now be put to the City of Greater Geelong, which must approve the name.

President Frank Costa said the decision to use a generic name rather than honouring an individual great of the club was about recognising the club's move to a more team-focused attitude.

“We are all about team success, and we see the “Premiership Stand” as an opportunity to recognise the great successes of the past and at the same time is aspirational for teams in the future,” Costa said.

“We are sure that had we chosen to name the stand after a past great of the club people would have been accepting of that.

"However we see this as an opportunity to celebrate team achievements. After all, team success is what everybody at the club is striving for and it is what we believe should be celebrated."

Cats get the cream

Geelong's solid pre-season form has continued against the Bendigo Bombers last Saturday.

The Cats ran out easy 48-point winners on its home turf with key forwards Tom Hawkins and skipper James Podsiadly dominant.

Podisaidly played his customary general's role demomstrating the form that steered him to the 2008 J.J. Liston Trophy. He switched to defence after half-time, following a four-goal burst second quarter.

The pair slotted five goals each, with good supply coming from midfielders Shannon Byrnes and Simon Hogan. Cats ruckman Shane Mumford was excellent at the stoppages.

Final scores:

Geelong: 22.12.144
Bendigo: 14.12.96

Geelong - Goals: Hawkins, Podsiadly 5, Byrnes 3, Brown, Moles 2.

Best: Mumford, Podsiadly, Hawkins, Byrnes, Hogan, Allwright.

Quote:GEELONG'S newest recruit threatens to wreak havoc on AFL team sheets for years to come. Arriving in Geelong on Saturday, Ranga Ediriwickrama, the New South Wales midfielder who bypassed the draft to sign as a Cats rookie, immediately found himself in the thick of the action.

Quote:Geelong Cats VFL premiership captain and two-time best and fairest winner James Byrne will play his last match for Geelong tomorrow against the Frankston Dolphins at Skilled Stadium. After 24 matches with the Adelaide Crows and a best & fairest season with each of Glenelg and South Fremantle, Byrne crossed to Geelong VFL at the end of the 2003 season. He then went on to play 94 of a possible 99 matches over the next 5 seasons. Byrne is without a doubt the club’s most decorated VFL player and he has played a very important role in the development of the young AFL and VFL listed players on the Geelong list. His leadership and on field presence will be sorely missed at the Geelong Cats. James Byrne - Geelong VFL Career Highlights 2007 Liston Trophy Winner (4th – 2006) 2007 VFL Premiership Player (Captain), 2006 VFL Grand Final (Captain) Geelong VFL Best & Fairest Winner – 2004, 2006 (Runner Up 2005, 4th -2007) VFL Team of the Year – 2004, 2005, 2006 , 2007 (Captain – 2007) Victorian Representative 2004, 2007 (Captain) Geelong VFL Captain 2004 – 2008 Geelong VFL Games Record Holder (94 matches)

Quote:Tom Couch, the son of 1989 Brownlow medallist Paul Couch will play for SANFL club Woodville-West Torrens in 2008 after signing with the Eagles this week. The 19-year-old spent the 2007 season playing in the VFL with Geelong, but managed just five games as a result of an ankle injury.

Quote:Cats promoted 16 October 2007 Herald Sun Scott Gullan GARY Ablett's housemate, Jason Davenport, has been upgraded to Geelong's senior list. The 22-year-old midfielder, who has been on the Cats rookie list for the past 12 months, starred for the VFL side in its premiership season. He will be joined on the senior list by Tom Lonergan, whose courageous comeback after losing a kidney was capped by best-on-ground honours in the VFL grand final. Defender Matthew Spencer and former Bomber Sam Hunt are likely to join the four Cats players moved on during trade week.