Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
It's Stuart Waitley. Thanks for listening to the podcast. In this episode, the Eye of the Coach with Adam Simpson, Strategy 2026 with Brenton Sanderson, Know Your History with Shannon Gill, Sam Edmund with the latest footy news, and newly reappointed Victorian cricket coach, Chris Rogers. You can get in touch at any time. Waitley at sen.com.au. Thanks for listening. Enjoy.
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Thursday morning. This is your town. This is your station. This is Waitley. Good morning. Round 10 is before us after a particularly lively week. There is much to attract. Cozzy and the Wizard right at the forefront in the twilight on Saturday. Tonight's grand final rematch is too late.
If you want to harness the residual and potential angst of the champion and the vanquished to tap into the emotion of what was won and what was lost when the stakes were at their highest, you have to go earlier than mid-May. Perhaps right at the start. The dynamic of the next meeting of the grand finalists is distinct for each pairing. Vengeance has never been on offer.
Chris Scott was right about that. You can never get it back. but there is something about exercising the frustrations which we have seen at times. But too much has happened by round 10 for the deeds of Grand Final Day to be pertinent and relevant and overlaid tonight.
38 of the 46 protagonists return for the lions and the cats, but they have a whole lot of different set of issues rather than worrying about September last. There would be a certain charm to starting the fresh season the way the previous ended. A matchup relevant to every footy fan rather than just the followings of the two teams involved.
At the very least, it should be played in the first three matches to trade on memories and scars that are fresh in the mind. Tonight's Brisbane Geelong clash is intriguing for the set of games that have gone before rather than the grand final specifically. Four times last year, they played a tight game in the wet in March. The Lions thrashed the Cats in a sneak attack down the highway in June.
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Chapter 2: What insights does Adam Simpson provide about the grand final rematch?
That game was a long time ago. If I were to get a little bit emotional about it, you kind of ask yourself the question, so if you beat them, will it help? And if you lose to them, will it make any difference?
We've played each other a lot over the last 12 months. I think we played each other four times last year. So we know each other pretty well. And I think also, you know, grand finals in September last year, there's new players at the club. It's a different year. So I like Chris Tinn just to move on and I think players find their own levels of motivation for these types of game.
I don't think we'll need to fire our players up too much. I think they'll be ready to go. Their natural competitive spirits will come out.
There's no doubt they're the benchmark in the competition and we're kind of aspiring to be that team. I'd be a little bit nervous if we just sort of rolled out against Brisbane and expected that we'll just beat them based on talent. We need to be a bit more thoughtful than that.
So the history is rich. It's an undeniable blockbuster to begin round 10. It's just to really harness the energy of the grand final rematch. We'll set up what's coming, Strategy 2026 with Brenton Sanderson. We've got a lovely Know Your History, the 100 years of Australian football film from 30 years ago, which is a brilliant rewatch.
If any of you have had the time, we'll do that at 11 and we start out Thursdays through the Eye of the Coach podcast. with Adam Simpson. How are you, Simmo?
Morning, Gerard. Yeah, the grand final replay. It's, it's underutilized. Call it a rematch. Rematch. Yeah. Okay. It's underutilized, isn't it? It is. And, um, what is the right round? Early, early, early. Yeah. So is it the first game of the season? Could be. Certainly has to be in the first three rounds. People think that, oh, well, we're going to get a sellout anyway.
Let's not waste that game sort of thing. I don't know. It feels like there's sometimes there's too much strategy in the fixture. Whereas it would be so good to the Thursday night. The opening game, that would be pretty cool. Yeah. Then it would mean something because I can't remember any of the grand final next year after we've won one or lost one over the years. I can't remember once. Yes.
The, what do you call it? Rematch. Rematch. Yeah. So anyway, it's a little bit of, a wasted opportunity from the AFL. I'm sure they'll look at it for next year.
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Chapter 3: What are the key matchups to watch in the Geelong vs. Brisbane game?
They're not doing that against Brisbane. It's a different strategy. So... I heard, yeah, that we've spoke a few weeks ago about they've got three styles. It's the home style, there's MCG style, and there's away style. And we haven't seen anything with the away style yet. So I wonder what Chris is going to bring tonight. Because I know what Brisbane are going to bring.
I don't think they change too much, do they?
No, no. So this was Chris Scott on how he's changed his approach in recent years.
We've, for a long time, we tend to have been a team that has been prepared to tweak the way we play almost week to week. And I used to be of the view that that was a really dangerous way to approach it.
But I just think in the modern game, if you play the same way all the time, irrespective of the opposition, if you just say, we are going to play a run and gun, handball style of game every week, you're going to run into some big trouble at some stage. So you need to have that ability to adapt a little bit.
Yeah. So I was really fortunate in my career. I was Dennis Pagan. We did not change a drill at training, let alone the game plan during week to week. So that was, we were just the best at what we did.
And then I had Danny Laidley for seven years as a player and she was, we've got the Bulldogs this week, we're corralling because they want you to run at them and they'll get out the back and then the next week we're kicking and the next week we're going to flood back. And
And I fully bought in as a captain at the time and I would sell that message to the players and then it would either work or not. But the problem with that was what's your plan B? If it's halfway through the second quarter and that's not working, what's next? I did hear Chris talk about the game's too different now. You need to have different ways to play.
So the only risk with that would be, okay, it's halfway through the second quarter and what's your DNA? What do you fall back on if that's not working? I'm sure he's deeper than that. But it feels like the... the two games we've seen interstate, there's a little bit of, well, this is clearly not working and there's not enough levers to pull to get back into the game with our core way of playing.
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Chapter 4: How do coaches adapt their strategies throughout the season?
Yep. So yeah, I thought then on reflection, would they have done something differently in their preparation grand final week? It was almost like the double bluff. they're going to do something different on it. No, they're not doing anything different.
And then I just thought, um, Brisbane adapted better as the game went on because they'd gone through the similar situations with the matchups two weeks beforehand. So, but that's different now, man. That's different because there's no two weeks ago. Yep. As you know, last year. So, um, Yeah, but I would suspect they would be playing a little bit differently.
Would you go to Neil or McCluggage tonight? I'd go to Neil. Yeah. I think he's in the top. I've got him in the top four. Yeah. So, I mean, he's 33, but he's playing as good as he's ever played. He's actually playing better than most of his teammates in terms of consistency. They haven't hit the straps yet, that midfield. So he's the one carrying the can a little bit.
The Eye of the Coach with Adam Simpson. Louie's telling us the NFL has just announced that the Super Bowl rematch is the opening game of the season, the day before the Melbourne game. So the Patriots and the Seahawks. Con is with a good many who have texted through the grand final rematch should be on Anzac Day. And then I liked the poll and a few others gather around for the grand final rematch.
It needs one tentpole event early.
First five rounds. Yep. Somewhere.
The Gather Round Friday night. So Adelaide start Thursday night. Port Adelaide play late in the weekend. The grand final rematch and build the heritage of it on that Friday night. That would be pretty cool. The Eye of the Coach with Adam Simpson to get us going. The 40 Wings Tempo Text is 0433 9811 16. Find your personalized bedtime solution with our friendly neighborhood sleep advisors.
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Chapter 5: How does Brisbane's game strategy impact Geelong's performance?
So for the Cats, here we go again. This Brisbane side is just too good if they can hit the scoreboard early. So I just think Brisbane, they're most dangerous when their contest method inside feeds their outside run.
So that was so good on grand final day at winning the inside, but their run and overlap on the outside, particularly through the corridor, it just gave their forwards really quick entries. And I think that has to be their focus again, inside method, outside layers, um, access the corridor and give their forwards opportunities early. So Fagan, he won't want this to be a slow territory grind.
He'll want this to be open and free-flowing and Brisbane can play their natural game style. But to be honest as well, I mean, Brisbane's pressure in the grand final, that eventually broke down Geelong's composure. They were panicking. They were making a lot more mistakes than what they typically will do. So
Expect a focus for Brisbane on frontal pressure, taking away the Cats' uncontested marks and force Geelong long down the line. But yeah, as soon as the game became transitional on grand final day, that felt like that was the defining moment for the Lions. That felt like when they were getting on top and started to win. So that'll be what Chris Scott will be trying to deny.
So they've won four of the past five in the matchup, including a preliminary final and a grand final. That's the Lions who are holding sway head to head. How does it affect Geelong's belief to take the game on? Well, as much as the Cats might argue this, I mean, particularly their veteran leaders would still be carrying that loss deeply.
Like players still talk about grand final losses, you know, 20, 30 years after they've happened. So when players say, oh, you know, we've moved on, You know, I just wonder if the Cats have to become slightly more conservative in this game with their offense. So just deny the Lions the ball at different times. I just don't think Geelong are likely to want an open field running game in this one.
I just think they'll want a bit more patience, a bit more controlled entries and just a better stoppage discipline than what we saw in September last year. All right, give me a checklist for tonight, the most important areas that will decide the game. Yeah, well, I think tonight, I think the area to focus on mostly will be that transitional defence.
So I just think whoever defends turnover best probably wins. I mean, both of these teams do score heavily from intercepts and have the ability to be able to punish teams that have really poor exits from their D50. And at the right time, you know, use the ball aggressively if the confidence is up, but
I don't know, from a Cats point of view, if this becomes controlled, contested, territory heavy, low scoring, that gives the Cats an opportunity. But if the game becomes open, transitional, fast end-to-end, then I think that favours the Lions, particularly at the Gabba. So I think there's a couple of different styles that we might see both coaches try and employ tonight.
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Chapter 6: What psychological effects does a grand final loss have on Geelong?
As soon as it becomes transitional and fast-running open end, that probably favours the Lions. It's a little bit of rain forecast, but not for game time. Looks pretty good come game time. All right, what are you thinking?
I just probably think at the moment Brisbane might be like a two-goal better side than the Cats, which is not saying the Cats can't win this game, but it just feels like Brisbane still haven't hit that top-end form either. They've got some players... down on form. And they had the same thing this time last year.
Chapter 7: What are the key areas that will decide the game tonight?
They were just struggling to capture their best form. But I agree with what Simo said earlier. The Cats haven't been impressive away from Victoria either yet. So they've got to get their road form back to their best as well. So this will be a great game. It's probably the match of the round to start us off on a Thursday night.
But I just think the Brisbane Lions might win this by a couple of goals. Brisbane and Geelong tonight, you'll hear it here on AFL Nation. Collingwood and Sydney's Friday night footy. And then the other highlight is clearly Melbourne and Hawthorne in the Saturday twilight. So those are the tasks ahead of Brenton Sanderson's Strategy 2026. For City Power, Melbourne's weather, sunny atop of 21.
City Power, working in all conditions to keep your power connected, essential as. Want to have your say? Ring Gerard on 1300 736 736. Now, back to Waitley. One thing I try and prepare our players for every week is the opposition team are their best, no matter what personnel's out there. They are a very experienced football team that have played a lot of footy together.
So, you know, one thing that they've done, I think they're the third best defence.
So they've always been up for the fight, and they always will be.
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Chapter 8: How does Collingwood plan to adapt against Sydney's style?
And we've had some great battles with them, certainly here at the SCG. So, yeah, we prepare for that 23 to play their best and their team to play their best.
That would be my mindset. Yeah, they do come through the corridor hard. The Lizards are running hard there. We've got the Wizard one week, the Lizard the next. We've got a lot to watch out for. But, yeah, they run hard through the midfield. They start up really well, and that's a part of the game we're going to have to manage.
Friday night footy is the Sydney Swans and Collingwoods. The Collingwood side of things selection is going to land with at least four outs as a starting point. More Pendlebury, Lipinski and now Cameron. And who's to say that there aren't going to be more? We thought sort of one step back, a slightly bigger picture look in the strategy of Collingwood right now.
Yeah, it's a really good way to analyze where Collingwood are at the moment. And I think this is one of the hardest moments for an AFL coach when you recognize that the current version of your team just might have peaked while still remaining competitive and relevant. But firstly, now that I've said that, I mean, the pies are four wins, four losses, a draw, and have a percentage of 100%.
So there is still so much to play for this season for Collingwood. And I don't agree with premiership windows. I know quite often we hear clubs talk about we're in a premiership window or they're approaching a premiership window or the window's shut. But sides can often and often do win premierships by just continually replenishing their list.
And I think it's false that you have to bottom out and access the top end talent through the draft to return a generation later with your next run at a premiership. I just think with smart list management and an ever-evolving game plan, I reckon a side can still remain a contender without dropping down the ladder. So Collingwood fans, I know the narrative at the moment is this is it.
And maybe they have reached their peak with this team right at the moment. But I certainly wouldn't be writing off the 2026 season. I don't know if they can win the premiership, but I know the Collingwood style will be, we're just going to keep the foot flat to the floor and see where this team can take us. So does Saturday night shake belief? Yeah, I know it does.
And that's the thing when you have a loss like that against Geelong. So... The challenge now for Collingwood is their elite culture must survive. So their brand, their purpose, their attitude, their leaders must stay resilient. And while the game plan constantly is evolving, we need now, Collingwood fans, we need now young players to start emerging. Now's the time. This is when we need you.
And I think we're seeing that. I mean, I think McRae's biggest challenge might be to ensure that the belief remains internally when the external belief seems to be disappearing. So I think the clubs that do it really well ā and Collingwood do do it well ā This has to be driven by the club leaders, not just the senior coach and the captain, but the CEO, the president, the GM of footy.
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