Review Round 13 - Geelong d Bulldogs by 57 points

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Hoooops said:
I love how Motlop literally walked down the field at times because he couldn't be bothered running.
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Not sure if you were at the game, but on those occasions he had no one free to kick too. It was actually smart play as he was either waiting for one of our players to run into space or for a bulldog player to come to him and therefore create space. Sometimes running at full pace will only run you into trouble. It can be difficult to get the full perspective on tv.

I thought Motlop was very good for us tonight. He did what the team needed him to do and played some pretty intelligent footy. He also did quite a bit of work off the ball.
 
dangerwood said:
Look I dunno why everyones getting there knickers in knot. I'm not undermining us or our win, we were awesome. My honest opinion though is that the dogs weren't as far off us as the score would suggest. Most times when you beat a side by 50 you feel you can walk away saying well wont be seeing them again, I don't feel that way.

We kicked straight which this season is uncommon! We were red hot with our pressure which isn't the case every week! The dogs kicked poorly which is uncommon! The dogs were still very good around the ball and I thought looked threatening for a side that was beaten by 50 pts.

Its not always black and white! I'm not going to bag as when we lose, or just think we are the ducks nuts whenever we win! We were outstanding tonight but IMO there was more to this game than a typical 50pt win. Im confident we have the dogs measure but not to the point I won't be uneasy next time based on what I saw tonight.
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Fair comment IMHO.

Most would have been nervous before that banana was called back for out of bounds. One or two more goals in that little run by the Dogs and who knows. Luckily Geelong were good enough to stop that happening.
 
Much better performance tonight.

Good to see us converting much better in front of goal, makes a big difference when we do. Obviously part of it is skill but I also felt we got much deeper entries tonight meaning our shots were more from straight in front.

Pressure was the other big aspect, still even tonight we didn't bring it for 4 quarters and we need to find that consistency, but when we hunt and tackle in packs like we did tonight we are a genuine top 4 team. I was impressed even to see Smith a couple of times run 20-30m flat out to chase guys out of our f50 preventing their run off half back. Everyone contributed in this regard tonight.

As others have mentioned it's good to see we are more tactically adaptable and can play stop start sometimes fast and sometimes slow. Particularly against the Dogs and their kamikaze run this was the right strategy and we executed it well.

I thought it was a really even performance tonight even down to the last 2 or 3 in the 22. Gregson's pressure was a big part of what we did in the first half, I thought Kolo and Ruggles were good and even Murdoch, although he needs to hit the scoreboard more, was good defensively tonight. The positive out of the injuries we have had to Clark Scooter Cockatoo etc and now Caddy is that it means we are getting to expose that depth and get them in form so that if they are needed for finals they are in a position to play a role well.
 

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Cursed_Cat said:
like it or not your mob most certainly is a top side this year.

plenty of time to rectify things before September, and you should get some handy players back on deck soon.

your boys kick straighter in the 3rd quarter and it could well have been game on.
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That's how it felt sitting there watching that third quarter, but, when teams are that evenly matched on the ladder, you can bet there will be at least one quarter of severe fightback. I can not criticise us at all for that tonight; was expecting a much tighter game, and our accuracy was matched by their inaccuracy.
 
Lewy said:
Not sure if you were at the game, but on those occasions he had no one free to kick too. It was actually smart play as he was either waiting for one of our players to run into space or for a bulldog player to come to him and therefore create space. Sometimes running at full pace will only run you into trouble. It can be difficult to get the full perspective on tv.

I thought Motlop was very good for us tonight. He did what the team needed him to do and played some pretty intelligent footy. He also did quite a bit of work off the ball.
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Was at the game, but sitting in Row C doesn't give you the best view in relation to this - hard to tell how much space is between players.

Not criticising Mots at all, he did what was needed and did it with composure. I was more laughing at how casual he was able to be due to the lack of Doggies pressure.
 
Pure_Ownage said:
Much better performance tonight.

Good to see us converting much better in front of goal, makes a big difference when we do. Obviously part of it is skill but I also felt we got much deeper entries tonight meaning our shots were more from straight in front.

Pressure was the other big aspect, still even tonight we didn't bring it for 4 quarters and we need to find that consistency, but when we hunt and tackle in packs like we did tonight we are a genuine top 4 team. I was impressed even to see Smith a couple of times run 20-30m flat out to chase guys out of our f50 preventing their run off half back. Everyone contributed in this regard tonight.

As others have mentioned it's good to see we are more tactically adaptable and can play stop start sometimes fast and sometimes slow. Particularly against the Dogs and their kamikaze run this was the right strategy and we executed it well.

I thought it was a really even performance tonight even down to the last 2 or 3 in the 22. Gregson's pressure was a big part of what we did in the first half, I thought Kolo and Ruggles were good and even Murdoch, although he needs to hit the scoreboard more, was good defensively tonight. The positive out of the injuries we have had to Clark Scooter Cockatoo etc and now Caddy is that it means we are getting to expose that depth and get them in form so that if they are needed for finals they are in a position to play a role well.
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good post; Smith's pressure was excellent, I mentioned in the game thread how good his tackling technique is, and you're right, he ran hard to shut down space.

agree that our bottom 4 were very solid (Kersten could've done a bit more, but he'll bounce back).
 
yeah_nah_yeah said:
You know its interesting with Duncan, if danger didn't come to the cats, i think Duncan would have went to the next level. But i think he's had to take a back seat this year and it looks like he is struggling with it.
i guess for the cats, its a good problem to have, but i really think Duncan is an A grade player.
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Have to disagree there. Duncan has every opportunity to step up, but hasn't, and whatever that classification is based on, he is a long way off A grade in both uncontested and contested possessions and delivery, and tonight he handed them 2 goals.
 
Lewy said:
Not sure if you were at the game, but on those occasions he had no one free to kick too. It was actually smart play as he was either waiting for one of our players to run into space or for a bulldog player to come to him and therefore create space. Sometimes running at full pace will only run you into trouble. It can be difficult to get the full perspective on tv.

I thought Motlop was very good for us tonight. He did what the team needed him to do and played some pretty intelligent footy. He also did quite a bit of work off the ball.
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Incredible. A perceptive, accurate, and level headed post above Motlop's performance. Thank you, sir.
 
Vdubs said:
Have to disagree there. Duncan has every opportunity to step up, but hasn't, and whatever that classification is based on, he is a long way off A grade in both uncontested and contested possessions and delivery, and tonight he handed them 2 goals.
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He's been a bit down this year for sure; for whatever reason he just hasn't been able to string together any top form. He hasn't been horrible by any means, but he can do better. Seems down on confidence and touch. I'll back him in to hit back, he's a gun player and most players go through flat patches in their careers.
 
dangerwood said:
It was the closest 57 point win I've seen. You guys are immense in the contest.

Poor kicking for goal definitely hurt you guys, it will be closer next time.
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Exactly what I said. It felt like we were down by 50 in the 3rd. We were getting killed out of the stoppages. The Bulldogs lack of fwd 50 marking hurt them as many of there shots came from s**t angles or rushed snaps. But we were slain in general play in that 3rd.
 
Cursed_Cat said:
He's been a bit down this year for sure; for whatever reason he just hasn't been able to string together any top form. He hasn't been horrible by any means, but he can do better. Seems down on confidence and touch. I'll back him in to hit back, he's a gun player and most players go through flat patches in their careers.
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He has been struggling since being Mummified?
 
God Mode said:
tly what

Exactly what I said. It felt like we were down by 50 in the 3rd. We were getting killed out of the stoppages. The Bulldogs lack of fwd 50 marking hurt them as many of there shots came from s**t angles or rushed snaps. But we were slain in general play in that 3rd.
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We were, as we were against hawks and other games this year, but to our credit, we back up every week with a dominant 4th Q.
 

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It is a good position to be in that some of our players are still a little down on what we believe they can offer.
Duncan
Caddy
Blicavs
Motlop- hard to tell with him
Stanley
McCarthy....

Others are superb, and I hope we can see them continue this.
Smith
Danger- I would love to wrap him up in cotton wool about now
Selwood
Bartel
Henderson
Boris

We certainly have not peaked yet, is my point, so we could be devastating in 3 months.
 
yeah_nah_yeah said:
You know its interesting with Duncan, if danger didn't come to the cats, i think Duncan would have went to the next level. But i think he's had to take a back seat this year and it looks like he is struggling with it.
i guess for the cats, its a good problem to have, but i really think Duncan is an A grade player.
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I've been thinking the same the last few weeks. All the speculation was about Danger's effect on Selwood, the work together beautifully. Duncan seems to be a bit in no-man's land at the moment, trying to figure out how he fits into the equation.
 
Just finished work looks like a good win how long will Caddy miss do people think? He will be a big loss. Hasn't fully hit his potential yet but is a very important part of the team. And a number of injuries to players on the list are starting to add up.
 
CatsDoItBetter said:
Just finished work looks like a good win how long will Caddy miss do people think? He will be a big loss. Hasn't fully hit his potential yet but is a very important part of the team. And a number of injuries to players on the list are starting to add up.
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3AW saying just a medial strain. So not as bad as first thought
 
Winning is a heart warming feeling, and sure, it's nice warm glow time to be sitting on top of the tree. For now.

But what really fires up the passion is that we are doing it as per the song: "We play the game, as it should be played". I can show any sports fan the replay of a game like this, and the obvious poetry, art and intelligence that are underpinning the skills, courage & athleticism demanded of this sport is what makes our great game so singularly addictive.

It's when Geelong play that special Geelong brand of footy like this, that this little black cat is at its very happiest.
 
CatsDoItBetter said:
Just finished work looks like a good win how long will Caddy miss do people think? He will be a big loss. Hasn't fully hit his potential yet but is a very important part of the team. And a number of injuries to players on the list are starting to add up.
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St Kilda at home, then bye. Good timing
 
Vdubs said:
We certainly have not peaked yet, is my point, so we could be devastating in 3 months.
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Top of the ladder and they've hardly clicked yet... Feels like they're building up to October.

Further ahead, I wouldn't be surprised if the Cats are unstoppable next year. Like, 2007-2008* unstoppable. Or maybe not, who knows.

*2007-2008 with some exceptions...
 
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