Autopsy Cats lose to Pies by 22 points

[CabWesty]

Karma going to take a giant s**t on them all once the clubs are matching their fitness

They threw everything at us with better fitness and none of their key defenders f getting injuired in the game and they barely won

Acting like they won the GF is laughable

Jeremy Howe says aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Seriously hope he heals strongly and quickly.

 

[Heckler]

Some Positive Takeaways
This was a Defeat, as in Setback, not as in Failure
The game was played at a very high standard.
Pies were red hot. Would have beaten any other team
Cats game plan worked, scoring successive quick goals
New faces will take time to gel with the team and improve
Esava playing first game as KPD showed some good signs
Esava as KPD adds flexibility allows Henry SDK go forward.
Cats were underdone in fitness / returning from injuries
Backline was missing Henry and Kolo from the start
Stewart and SDK sustained injuries early in the game.
Four key defenders missing is difficult to overcome
Injuries = limited bench = limited player rotation
Cats led late into the game but ran out of legs
Coach will plan to negate Pies ball movement next time
Player fitness will benefit from the hard workout
Injured players will return to boost the team
You learn more from a defeat than from a win.
The long 22 game season is a great leveler

 

[CabWesty]

I've spent many years going "don't let the opposition forwards get out the back", especially during the early sections of games. It happened last night getting into the later parts of the third quarter and we couldn't go with it.

It is round 1, Collingwood were up and about with some very good run. We appear to have been hampered by injuries. Is that going to be the best Collingwood throw at us during this year? If so, they're a good shot.

Do we have room for improvement? Absolutely. The key is fine tuning through the year, and getting into the finals ready to smash on the scoreboard anyone who tries to take us on.

 

[foxdog50]

Still nah

So let's just say SDK, Stewart are out, and still no Kolo and Henry, who you going to play on Carlton 2 big men

 

[giggler99]

I can't remember much about it to be honest, I think the circumstances they left under were a alot different, Wasn't Colbert captain of the club at the time the trade happened ?.

Yes Calbert was captain at the time he left us at the end of 1999 but he didn't play a game as captain because he did his knee before the start of the 1999 season. Circumstances or not it was brutal he copped it hard and for a long time after he was still copping it. But that day at Docklands when he lined up for his first shot at goal man the boos, abuse and angry felt around the stadium was pure hate.

 

[catsfootyfan89]

I've spent many years going "don't let the opposition forwards get out the back", especially during the early sections of games. It happened last night getting into the later parts of the third quarter and we couldn't go with it.

It is round 1, Collingwood were up and about with some very good run. We appear to have been hampered by injuries. Is that going to be the best Collingwood throw at us during this year? If so, they're a good shot.

Do we have room for improvement? Absolutely. The key is fine tuning through the year, and getting into the finals ready to smash on the scoreboard anyone who tries to take us on.

I'm pretty much of the opinion that with a full side without injuries in-game, we beat them easily. But yes, improvement will also be a massive all round help.

 

[AM]

Haven't seen the game but Sam Mitchell provided the blueprint when playing the Pies. A key part of it was manning-up Nick Daicos because he's a ball magnet and the Pies use his precision by foot to great effect. Yet apparently we let him run loose most of the game. Anyone know why?

 

[Strange Cat]

Yes Calbert was captain at the time he left us at the end of 1999 but he didn't played a game as captain because he did his knee before the start of the 1999 season. Circumstances or not it was brutal he copped it hard and for a long time after he was still copping it. But that day at Docklands when he lined up for his first shot at goal man the boos, abuse and angry felt around the stadium was pure hate.

I’ll take your word for it I can’t recall that much hate thrown towards him , and don’t recall the players targeting him all game too the first time they played against each other

 

[Drunkcat]

Bit of fun? The players were driving him into the ground every chance they got, and it wasn’t just Ollie the players were acting “tough”….just look at how pathetic cox was

Your feral supporters were way over the top to the point of looking like they wanted violence

it’s only “fun” because you won

Morons the lot of you

Nothing wrong with what pies players did to Ollie i thought it was fair, you can not punch players anymore, so it was all soft

 

[Pollywaffle]

I'd love to share that confidence. He has the football IQ of a doormat.

Bruce Doull dislikes this analogy…

 

[giggler99]

I’ll take your word for it I can’t recall that much hate thrown towards him , and don’t recall the players targeting him all game too the first time they played against each other

The players not so much I think Ben Graham got stuck in a little from what I can recall but that's about it, The fans though where brutal toward him that first match a lot of booing and abuse every time he touched the ball.

 

[catscratchfever]

You don't remember Leigh Colbert? Man did he copped it for years by our fans!! That first game against North at Docklands I can remember how feral and angry most of our fans where me included.

I thought Ollie had a good game and handled the situation very well.

Big difference:

Ollie Henry hadn't played many games for the Mudpies and was still considered on the fringe.

Colbert was an experienced player and our CAPTAIN, who deserted what he assumed was a sinking ship. Leigh Colbert can go and get stuffed.

 

[giggler99]

Big difference. Ollie Henry hadn't played many games for the Mudpies and was still considered on the fringe. Colbert was an experienced player and our CAPTAIN, who deserted what he assumed was a sinking ship.

Yeah Colbert still copped it through that's my point, we can't accuse other fans of being feral when we have had fans that have booed and abused former players too. Fans from all clubs have had and still have a feral element that will always boo and abuse former players.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

i felt we deliberately had to go away to a certain extent from our game plan last night because our back 6 had 4 of our starting best out and then throw in SDK playing through a tendon flare up in the knee...

that is 5/6 of your starting defenders down.

throw in stengle who is touch and go for next week playing out restricted, we just couldnt play the way we wanted with such limitations.

our team from tonight has 7 players from the GF out... that is a big damn chunk. collingwood had only 2 missing from their finals prelim.

we need a solid backline that can setup and then generate that ball movement from the back half, we simply could not do this with what we had available.

we had to turn to a gameplan of more conservatism to try and protect the back half as it was just too exposed with the talent available.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

We're getting old, Giggler.

I was there at Victoria Park in 1991; the kids these days just don't realise what it was like.

I was their in 1980 - early in the season - packed house - great atmosphere - down the visitors end - Glen Middlemiss playing FF for the Cats - he did have some talent that bloke - he also had some genuine dirt in the system .He picked up the ball at top pace - and youd swear it was Ablett Snr - because he tucked the ball into his chest with one arm - and with the other free arm - with the forearm/elbow - he has absolutely crunched Ron Wearmouth - the crowd erupted

Umpire Robinson - Ian Robinson rushed in - blowing the pea out of the whistle - i can even picture that now - too high mate - too high - Wearmouth got the free kick and a blood nose - and Middlemiss today would get 4-6 weeks for that - he hit him with real venom

As for last nights - no surprise result - Geel v Coll games last 15 years - the Bookmaker odds on offer are no guide whatsoever as to who is going to win

I thought after h/time we were badly outplayed - and only for a bit of luck or charity - where we got the 3 goals in the 3rd qtr - Smith goal from a contentious OOB - then two 50 metre penalty soda goals - which kept our noses in front against the general run of play i thought

At 3 qtr time i thought we could still pinch the win - because Geelongs last qtrs in the past decade have been pretty good - but it wasnt to be

I was one of the very few on this board last year - who rated Collingwood seriously at the business end of the season - and backed them at handsome odds to beat the Swans in Sydney in the PF - to win a very respectable sum of money . They came up 1 pt short - and i lost my betting stake - however i knew right at that point that the Cats were a certainty for the flag - and tipped us by 6 goals plus

We certainlty got the preferred opponent in the GF - doesnt devalue a Premiership - not at all - you get tremendous joy from all of them - but even the Village Idiot could tell you quite accurately that Collingwood would have been a hell of alot harder to beat in that GF than the Sydney Swans

 

[geelong_crazy26]

I was their in 1980 - early in the season - packed house - great atmosphere - down the visitors end - Glen Middlemiss playing FF for the Cats - he did have some talent that bloke - he also had some genuine dirt in the system .He picked up the ball at top pace - and youd swear it was Ablett Snr - because he tucked the ball into his chest with one arm - and with the other free arm - with the forearm/elbow - he has absolutely crunched Ron Wearmouth - the crowd erupted

Umpire Robinson - Ian Robinson rushed in - blowing the pea out of the whistle - i can even picture that now - too high mate - too high - Wearmouth got the free kick and a blood nose - and Middlemiss today would get 4-6 weeks for that - he hit him with real venom

As for last nights - no surprise result - Geel v Coll games last 15 years - the Bookmaker odds on offer are no guide whatsoever as to who is going to win

I thought after h/time we were badly outplayed - and only for a bit of luck or charity - where we got the 3 goals in the 3rd qtr - Smith goal from a contentious OOB - then two 50 metre penalty soda goals - which kept our noses in front against the general run of play i thought

At 3 qtr time i thought we could still pinch the win - because Geelongs last qtrs in the past decade have been pretty good - but it wasnt to be

I was one of the very few on this board last year - who rated Collingwood seriously at the business end of the season - and backed them at handsome odds to beat the Swans in Sydney in the PF - to win a very respectable sum of money . They came up 1 pt short - and i lost my betting stake - however i knew right at that point that the Cats were a certainty for the flag - and tipped us by 6 goals plus

We certainlty got the preferred opponent in the GF - doesnt devalue a Premiership - not at all - you get tremendous joy from all of them - but even the Village Idiot could tell you quite accurately that Collingwood would have been a hell of alot harder to beat in that GF than the Sydney Swans

i disagree... half of our board was preaching the entire season how collingwood are pretenders who will get found out in september because of the apparent "luck" of their wins being a flip of a coin scenario.... i argued a bit and stated collingwood are the real deal and the next best team after us, which they well and truly proved in finals.

Sydney were very lucky to hang on by the skin of their teeth up in sydney against them, and we just got over the line at the MCG.

we were rightfully better than them with 2/2 wins including the final that went against us all night yet we found a way.

i always suspected we would start slow and build into the season. We have a knack of key players going down early in the year of late.

Collingwood was very very fired up as well it is worth noting... that was not a team easing into things, that was a finals like performance from the pies. I don't see them playing better than that.

 

[lionbear]

Mild overreaction by Collingwood for the win, reality is our top 4 defenders weren’t playing or not 100% (Stewart, De Koning, Kolo & Henry) Asava is going to be good but is a work in progress, they don’t score more than 103 if we are up and running fully in defense.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Well we're f***ed

Well we knew we didnt have great kpd depth so this was always a chance to happen. I wonder if we will put blitz back.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

You never want to get ahead of yourself after a Round 1 win and equally you don't want to throw the baby out if you lose. Perspective often goes out the window after six months without footy.

We played the long game last year and we'll do it again.

You never like losing, but last night there were plenty of positives to take out, while accepting there's plenty to work on. Kicking 103 wins more often than not, but giving up 125 doesn't. But considering how depleted we were down back and how sharp Collingwood were as well as it being Round 1, you can forgive them somewhat for being exposed as often as we were. Giving up 60+ I50's also shows how poor the defensive work further afield was, or does it just highlight how good Collingwood were? I suggest a little from Column A and a little from Column B.

We moved the ball well and were ruthlessly efficient, a little un-Geelong like. That's a tick for what's to come.

We got exposed around the ball and on the outside. That's cause for concern, but structurally there will be adjustments. But also, the fast-paced footy can't be sustained all season, teams will adjust defensively.

I felt we looked off the pace and reactive at times. And judging by the fade out, there's no doubt we're underdone. Look at the players who began well and dropped away. Hardly a surprise really. Plenty of that team will benefit from the game, but the injuries were the worry. Thought the AFL were to provide a safe workplace for their players? That wasn't safe last night, or the night before. Thankfully it doesn't appear our injuries are long term, but losing Stewart and potentially SDK is far from ideal, especially with Carlton's forward line looming. Glad Scotty made mention of it, because at times that ground was borderline dangerous.

Regroup, recover and go again in six days time. It's a long season but glimpses of last night showed we aren't going away any time soon.

We have had a shorter pre season than almost all other clubs so its to be expected we will struggle to run out games early. This should improve over the course of the year though.

 

[catstragic]

Well we knew we didnt have great kpd depth so this was always a chance to happen. I wonder if we will put blitz back.

I think we have to unless SDK dodged a bullet

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Well we knew we didnt have great kpd depth so this was always a chance to happen. I wonder if we will put blitz back.

I would prefer not to. Feels like conceding defeat and trying limit the blood loss

 

[Cataholic]

I think we have to unless SDK dodged a bullet

I reckon they would've immediately subbed SDK out last night, but Stewart had already gone down, so they were forced to put him back out there, but he didn't look confident or comfortable at all.

Fair chance he misses Thursday I reckon.

 

[Jumping Jack]

Hard to see SDK getting up. 6 day break and I reckon he’ll be sore today.

At least Esava showed positive signs, and the coaches get a chance to pick a horses for courses side. Injuries to key players within game time make it damn hard. Particularly key chess pieces like Stewart and SDK …… and Stengle off for around 20mins for concussion protocols.

We’ll bounce back


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Well we knew we didnt have great kpd depth so this was always a chance to happen. I wonder if we will put blitz back.

They won’t. More likely they will play him as a roaming sweeping defender than a permanent key defender.

 

[catscratchfever]

Yeah Colbert still copped it through that's my point, we can't accuse other fans of being feral when we have had fans that have booed and abused former players too. Fans from all clubs have had and still have a feral element that will always boo and abuse former players.

And my point was that Colbert earned our wrath, while Ollie Henry was nowhere near as deserving of copping what he did from the filth.

I've never booed any other player for leaving Geelong, not even Doug Wade back in the day when leaving your original club was tantamount to high treason.

The only good thing about Colbert leaving was that that arseh*le Gary Ayres also packed his coaching bag to go to Adelaide (and almost destroyed them too).