Geelong Cats vs Adelaide Crows preview, tips and teams – 2014 AFL Round 1

Thursday’s only AFL Round 1 match is between Geelong Cats and Adelaide Crows. The opening bounce is set to commence at 7:10 PM with the game to be played at Simonds Stadium. The home team Geelong Cats are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Geelong Cats and Adelaide Crows.

Round: Round 1, Friday 7:10 PM March 20, 2014,
Stadium: Simonds Stadium
Weather: 28° Sunny.

Special Offer: If your team leads at any break but lose the match, get your money back!

Odds Comparison:


Geelong Cats	1.33	1.32	1.33	1.32	1.33	1.33
Adelaide Crows	3.45	3.50	3.40	3.50	3.45	3.45

All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.

Tips: Adelaide Crows to win with the + line.

Preview:

GEELONG and Adelaide open their season in a game that has been cheekily named the ‘James Podsiadly Cup’. This will be Podsiadly’s first official match for the Crows and his first outing against his former club. Both sides head into the clash with plenty of injury concerns. The Cats will be missing emerging stars Billie Smedts, Allen Christensen, Steven Motlop and Nathan Vardy, while Adelaide will be without a host of first-choice players, including Taylor Walker, Nathan Van Berlo, Richard Douglas and Tom Lynch.

LAST FIVE TIMES

R17, 2013, Adelaide 14.10 (94) d Geelong 14.8 (92) at AAMI Stadium

R18, 2012, Geelong 15.12 (102) d Adelaide 11.9 (75) at Simonds Stadium

R7, 2012, Adelaide 19.8 (122) d Geelong 10.12 (72) at AAMI Stadium

R21, 2011, Geelong 14.12 (96) d Adelaide 12.13 (85) at AAMI Stadium

R14, 2011, Geelong 19.11 (125) d Adelaide 10.13 (73) at Simonds Stadium

THE SIX POINTS

1. The Crows are one of the few teams to have matched it with the Cats in recent seasons. It’s three wins each since 2010.

2. Last year Geelong won seven of eight games at Simonds Stadium, and the Cats have won 20 of their past 22 games at the venue. Adelaide hasn’t beaten the Cats at Geelong since 2003.

3. Only Hawthorn averaged more goals per game in 2013 than Geelong. The Cats kicked an average of 16 goals per game, while Adelaide was ninth with an average of 14 per game.

4. Clearances were one area in which Geelong struggled last year. The Cats were ranked 15th with 34 per game; Adelaide was 11th with 37 per game.

5. Last season the Cats received a total of 486 free kicks. Club captain Joel Selwood was awarded 15 per cent of those. In fact, Selwood received the most frees of any player in the competition, 27 more than the next player.

6. Selwood will start the season at No.3 in the Official AFL Player Ratings. Adelaide dynamo Patrick Dangerfield is No.2.

Teams:

GEELONG CATS

B: Andrew Mackie, Tom Lonergan, Taylor Hunt
HB: Corey Enright, Jared Rivers, Cameron Guthrie
C: Jimmy Bartel, Josh Caddy, Mitch Duncan
HF: Jordan Murdoch, Harry Taylor, Joel Selwood
F: Mitch Brown, Tom Hawkins, Lincoln McCarthy
Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Steve Johnson, Matthew Stokes
Int: Travis Varcoe, Mark Blicavs, James Kelly, George Horlin-Smith

Emg: Jackson Thurlow, Jackson Sheringham, Dawson Simpson

ADELAIDE CROWS

B: Sam Shaw, Ben Rutten, Luke Brown
HB: Mitch Grigg, Daniel Talia, Brodie Martin
C: Brodie Smith, Scott Thompson, David Mackay
HF: Matthew Wright, Shaun McKernan, Matthew Jaensch
F: Eddie Betts, James Podsiadly, Patrick Dangerfield
Foll: Sam Jacobs, Rory Sloane, Jason Porplysia
Int: Lewis Johnston, Jarryd Lyons, Brad Crouch, Sam Kerridge
Emg: Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Josh Jenkins, Matt Crouch

News:

Geelong have taken a punt on Joel Selwood for Thursday’s AFL round-one clash with Adelaide by picking their skipper despite a severe lack of match practice.

Selwood suffered a minor hamstring complaint during the first term of Geelong’s pre-season clash with Melbourne in Alice Springs on February 28 and was rested for the trial match against North Melbourne on March 7.

However Cats’ coach Chris Scott is confident Geelong’s high-intensity training has given Selwood a solid preparation despite his lack of match conditioning, playing only one quarter of football over the pre-season.

Injury-plagued former North Melbourne big man Hamish McIntosh, who hasn’t played an AFL game for the Cats since joining the club late in 2012, has been named in the ruck.

McIntosh has won selection ahead of Dawson Simpson, who’s an emergency. Athletic ruck/forward Mark Blicavs is on the bench.

Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel notch his 250th game on Thursday night, becoming the 12th Geelong player to reach the milestone.

Bartel, a midfielder who was used in defence in 2013, is set for a new forward role this season and has been named on the wing.

With both sides facing heavy injury tolls in pre-season, the Cats have named 177cm small forward Lincoln McCarthy for his second game and first since 2012.

Ex-Cat James Podsiadly and former Blue Eddie Betts have been included in Adelaide’s half-forward line alongside superstar Patrick Dangerfield.

Podsiadly, who ventures back “home” as the enemy for the first time, will be an important marking target for the Crows with Taylor Walker out of action because of injury.

“It will be a bit strange, seeing big Podra running around for the Crows,” Bartel told the AFL website on Wednesday.

“He was a big part of our 2011 premiership, so I hope he goes well, but not this Thursday.”

Geelong are missing key players such as Steven Motlop and Allen Christensen, ruck/forward Nathan Vardy, plus Billie Smedts, Daniel Menzel, Shane Kersten and George Burbury.

The Crows are without skipper Nathan van Berlo, former club champion Richard Douglas and key forwards Tom Lynch and Walker, while Andy Otten, Ricky Henderson and Rory Laird are also unavailable.

Adelaide, 11th in 2013, will start as underdogs against last year’s preliminary finalists.

The Crows have had a difficult build-up to the game although coach Brenton Sanderson says he’s confident the players are in a good “head space” following Dean Bailey’s death.

Sanderson has ruled out using Bailey’s passing as extra motivation for Thursday’s match.

Former Adelaide strategy and innovation coach Bailey died last week from cancer.

Sanderson said Bailey won’t be mentioned in the pre-game address.

The coach said he’ll leave it up to the players to use their own inspiration.

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