Training Pre-Season 2026 chat

[Vdubs]

It's not the first time Scott has made selection blunders in big finals. The GF was a disaster in that regard. Blicavs dominated finals as a ruckman then they bring back Stanley and play Blicavs elsewhere. Crazy.

Blicavs was cooked coming into the GF. Needed help.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

It's not the first time Scott has made selection blunders in big finals. The GF was a disaster in that regard. Blicavs dominated finals as a ruckman then they bring back Stanley and play Blicavs elsewhere. Crazy.

More stupid shallow posts. Please share your wisdom of all these blunders for the GF?? Without carrying on about not subbing Cameron and the selection of Stanley. Truth is, the coaches are making a shit ton of changes a game in the coaches box, that the likes of you don’t notice or tell.

You are free to always go support a club like saints, Essendon, norf, melb or doggies if you want a coach who is more to your standard so you can whinge a little less

 

[The rabbi]

Anyone going to sneak down to Deakin Uni to have a look at the Cats training? (if they are training there)
I may, if I can drag myself out of bed after a few nights of insomnia.

 

[The rabbi]

yeah FB.. ill wait for the club.

GO Catters

You mean to say that you are skeptical about information on a social media page!!!!

 

[Tony Barber]

You mean to say that you are skeptical about information on a social media page!!!!

Why anyone would be in a Geelong cats FB group baffles me.
The algorithm somehow keeps trying to pull me in. But I'm just not going there.

 

[Mr Meow]

It's not the first time Scott has made selection blunders in big finals. The GF was a disaster in that regard. Blicavs dominated finals as a ruckman then they bring back Stanley and play Blicavs elsewhere. Crazy.

I agree that bringing Stanley in was a bad choice but we also should be aware that Blicavs attended 61% of centrebounces (Stanley was 39%) and was disastrously poor around stoppages - unlike his previous 2 stellar finals.

 

[Catman]

Let's be honest, many of us thought Stanley was the most likely inclusion when Stewy was ruled out. Obviously in hindsight, it didn't work and Rhys looked like a guy who hadn't played for five weeks. But I also don't think bringing in Bews instead would have made any difference to the result.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Let's be honest, many of us thought Stanley was the most likely inclusion when Stewy was ruled out. Obviously in hindsight, it didn't work and Rhys looked like a guy who hadn't played for five weeks. But I also don't think bringing in Bews instead would have made any difference to the result.

Agree, Bews hadn't really played in months. Might have been a mistake in hingsight but not glaring at the time

 

[Heckler]

Great interview by Gryan, I know he and Worpel are quite close but he's absolutely full of praise for him. Interesting he talked about the gap between the 30 years olds and the young players and bridging that gap.

Biggest Takeaway was Gryan admitting
Cats have never reviewed a finals loss.
Also how GF loss is still in their heads

Thought to review losses was critical
To learn what went wrong to improve
To build mental strength and motivation
Wonder if Scott's is protecting players
Or unwilling to confront his bad coaching
Consequences are repeating same mistakes
Creating a team that is mentally fragile

Hope Buckley does something about this

 

[Turkey Tom]

Biggest Takeaway was Gryan admitting
Cats have never reviewed a finals loss.
Also how GF loss is still in their heads

Thought to review losses was critical
To learn what went wrong to improve
To build mental strength and motivation
Wonder if Scott's is protecting players
Or unwilling to confront his bad coaching
Consequences are repeating same mistakes
Creating a team that is mentally fragile

Hope Buckley does something about this

The latest KROCK podcast mentions that the coaches (including Chris Scott) apologised to the players after the GF. Is it true? We will probably never know.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

So Max Holmes the new captain, is that right?

I'll believe it when the club announces it. I can't see Paddy giving it up, to be honest.

 

[Warhorse]

Agree, Bews hadn't really played in months. Might have been a mistake in hingsight but not glaring at the time

I thought they were both glaring at the time.

 

[cats_09]

Biggest Takeaway was Gryan admitting
Cats have never reviewed a finals loss.
Also how GF loss is still in their heads

Thought to review losses was critical
To learn what went wrong to improve
To build mental strength and motivation
Wonder if Scott's is protecting players
Or unwilling to confront his bad coaching
Consequences are repeating same mistakes
Creating a team that is mentally fragile

Hope Buckley does something about this

That's not exactly what he said though - he said they don't review prelim or grand final losses, in other words they don't review the finals exit and last match of the season, but I can imagine they review QF losses in preparation for the next week

And I can understand what Miers is talking about when he says a reason for not reviewing is that they don't want to focus on the past, but rather it's about looking ahead where it's a new season with a fresh start and clean slate

Statistically, the 23 guys who ran out together on grand final day aren't necessarily going to run out alongside each other in another match - so when starting pre-season, maybe it's about how best to prepare this squad for what's ahead rather than start with a focus on the past


Last year Dean Cox decided to start the Swans pre-season with a review of the grand final - there was no hitting the training track on day 1, instead it was a 7.5 hour review session, analysing the match in detail and including spending over an hour watching the first minute of the match on replay. After 10 rounds this year they were 4-6 - maybe extensive reviews aren't really needed

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

That's not exactly what he said though - he said they don't review prelim or grand final losses, in other words they don't review the finals exit and last match of the season, but I can imagine they review QF losses in preparation for the next week

And I can understand what Miers is talking about when he says a reason for not reviewing is that they don't want to focus on the past, but rather it's about looking ahead where it's a new season with a fresh start and clean slate

Statistically, the 23 guys who ran out together on grand final day aren't necessarily going to run out alongside each other in another match - so when starting pre-season, maybe it's about how best to prepare this squad for what's ahead rather than start with a focus on the past


Last year Dean Cox decided to start the Swans pre-season with a review of the grand final - there was no hitting the training track on day 1, instead it was a 7.5 hour review session, analysing the match in detail and including spending over an hour watching the first minute of the match on replay. After 10 rounds this year they were 4-6 - maybe extensive reviews aren't really needed

While the players may not review it, the coaches definitely do.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Biggest Takeaway was Gryan admitting
Cats have never reviewed a finals loss.
Also how GF loss is still in their heads

Thought to review losses was critical
To learn what went wrong to improve
To build mental strength and motivation
Wonder if Scott's is protecting players
Or unwilling to confront his bad coaching
Consequences are repeating same mistakes
Creating a team that is mentally fragile

Hope Buckley does something about this

It’s a pointless task because the game tactics and trends change so much year to year, that reviewing a game from last season is pointless. You are better off spending your time analyzing the direction and trends of the game to work out a game plan to go another level the following season.

Reviewing a game from last season is very pointless in terms of preparing for next year, hence why they don’t do it

 

[geelong_crazy26]

That's not exactly what he said though - he said they don't review prelim or grand final losses, in other words they don't review the finals exit and last match of the season, but I can imagine they review QF losses in preparation for the next week

And I can understand what Miers is talking about when he says a reason for not reviewing is that they don't want to focus on the past, but rather it's about looking ahead where it's a new season with a fresh start and clean slate

Statistically, the 23 guys who ran out together on grand final day aren't necessarily going to run out alongside each other in another match - so when starting pre-season, maybe it's about how best to prepare this squad for what's ahead rather than start with a focus on the past


Last year Dean Cox decided to start the Swans pre-season with a review of the grand final - there was no hitting the training track on day 1, instead it was a 7.5 hour review session, analysing the match in detail and including spending over an hour watching the first minute of the match on replay. After 10 rounds this year they were 4-6 - maybe extensive reviews aren't really needed

Well that took them big places.. it’s a useless task. Game tactics change too much year on year for it to have any merit.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

The latest KROCK podcast mentions that the coaches (including Chris Scott) apologised to the players after the GF. Is it true? We will probably never know.

Humble man if true. No need to take accountability but he did anyway if so

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Let's be honest, many of us thought Stanley was the most likely inclusion when Stewy was ruled out. Obviously in hindsight, it didn't work and Rhys looked like a guy who hadn't played for five weeks. But I also don't think bringing in Bews instead would have made any difference to the result.

I keep hearing how we got slaughtered in the coaches box but then when asked for detail, they give these insignificant selections or events that wouldn’t have changed the results.

Some people just have a hard time accepting when a better side beats them

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I thought they were both glaring at the time.

A game ready Bews may have been glaring but he had played like two games in the two months previous.

Regardless i don't think it's that much of a needle mover. Brisbane's mids just started shoving us out the way and sent it in to wherever they wanted. Bews would gave helped us contain one extra small forward a bit but we'd still have been ripped apart

 

[Play it Sam]

It’s a pointless task because the game tactics and trends change so much year to year, that reviewing a game from last season is pointless. You are better off spending your time analyzing the direction and trends of the game to work out a game plan to go another level the following season.

Reviewing a game from last season is very pointless in terms of preparing for next year, hence why they don’t do it

In the immediate aftermath, a lack of an official review wouldn't stop the players evaluating their own performances.
They can't just say they were run over by a machine.
Dangerfield (tagged), Smith, Atkins, Holmes, Miers, Guthrie did not carry through their form from the Hawthorn game, and Cameron was injured. There would be chat among themselves. The coach''s mea culpa could be a tool to prompt player introspection, it's hubris to think he'd have made a 47 point difference, if any at all. It was on their backs.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

In the immediate aftermath, a lack of an official review wouldn't stop the players evaluating their own performances.
They can't just say they were run over by a machine.
Dangerfield (tagged), Smith, Atkins, Holmes, Miers, Guthrie did not carry through their form from the Hawthorn game, and Cameron was injured. There would be chat among themselves. The coach''s mea culpa could be a tool to prompt player introspection, it's hubris to think he'd have made a 47 point difference, if any at all. It was on their backs.

I don’t think it’s about protecting players, I thinks it’s more logical that they are not gaining benefit from it, and the coaches are looking at a much bigger picture to develop our game plan the following season.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

My thought on the GF is I do think the Cats probably went into that game a bit arrogant. We beat the Lions in the QF convincingly, and played well against a desperate Hawthorn in the Prelim. I think they thought they now had the game and the form to beat the Lions in the grand final.

However, one thing I often see with Fagan's Lions is that if they lose to an opponent, they review the game to the nth degree, then come up with tactics they can use the next time they play that team to beat them. Usually, it works for them. I wonder whether the Cats coaches considered what Fagan would do after that QF loss, or whether they just thought they were ready for anything. Because Fagan and his coaches certainly went to work on the Cats game and pulled it apart on the day, while we had no answers.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

My thought on the GF is I do think the Cats probably went into that game a bit arrogant. We beat the Lions in the QF convincingly, and played well against a desperate Hawthorn in the Prelim. I think they thought they now had the game and the form to beat the Lions in the grand final.

However, one thing I often see with Fagan's Lions is that if they lose to an opponent, they review the game to the nth degree, then come up with tactics they can use the next time they play that team to beat them, and usually it works for them. I wonder whether the Cats coaches considered what Fagan would do after that QF loss, or whether they just thought they were ready for anything.

That tends to be quite an easy thing to achieve when you are the best team in the AFL. And as history shows, more common than not when you lose to a side in finals and then get a rematch.

 

[cats_09]

While the players may not review it, the coaches definitely do.

And it would be a more important and impactful for the coaches to undertake that task than involve the whole playing group

See what worked, what went wrong, who stood up etc, and adapt that into strategies ahead of the next season

But to do a full review with the squad - well what would Worpel learn from it, let alone the likes of new draftees in Barker and Hunter etc


I'd rather see the players start the new pre-season on a positive than reflecting on a negative

 

[Tony Barber]

And it would be a more important and impactful for the coaches to undertake that task than involve the whole playing group

See what worked, what went wrong, who stood up etc, and adapt that into strategies ahead of the next season

But to do a full review with the squad - well what would Worpel learn from it, let alone the likes of new draftees in Barker and Hunter etc


I'd rather see the players start the new pre-season on a positive than reflecting on a negative

I cant remember what player said this 6 weeks ago.
But they said there won't be a GF review but no doubt the coaches will have a look at some stage.


Personally, I'd think a season review is what should always happen.
i.e. I watch the Brownlow and it might be round 3 and I think 'gee I hardly remember this round'.

So you'd think they'd have a discussion around training loads during the season, player improvement, great wins.
That sort of thing and then just get into planning 2026.