14 points loss to lions isnt bad

[carlyp]

hey cat fans, dont worry too much about your beloved pussy cats. They did well on the weekend. Considering they were playing the leagues dominant team, a 14 point loss is not too shabby. If youd play 80% of the other teams on the weekend you would have won! Dont give up, keep cheering. Your kids are doing ok!

 

[JUBJUB]

I tipped them to lose by 100pts,so I was a more than suprised we got as close as we did.But for a few major stuff ups [i.e Sando's kick in early in the 4th],we could've actually won.

 

[carn_the_nmfc]

Unfortunately I think that the cats will finish 15th or 16th this year. They aren't having the best of years.

 

[ScouseCat]

It just goes to show you, we can actually mix it with the best teams in the competition when we apply ourselves and believe in our ability.

Now all we need to do to become one of those top sides is do it week after week, quarter after quarter, contest after contest... we don't do that as yet and that is one of the reasons why we're sitting 1-5.

 

[Bakes]

Here we go again.

Some of the problem, as I see it, is that the Geelong faithfull, including the club, think that losing is acceptable.

Any loss, no matter who it is to, should not be acceptable. This was the mentality through the nineties and I thought it was gone....but then again.
By all means take positives out of the game, hell, take all you like, but don't accept a loss.
I am terrified that the players are thinking the same thing, which means Geelong have not gone anywhere in over ten years. In other threads we were talking about mental toughness at the club. If we/they/whoever are going into a game thinking "If we get inside 20/30/50 points we've done well" the game is already over.
Defeatus attitudes will never make us a great team.

 

[Mattster]

i know everyones saying that we did very well considering who we were playing, but is that really the attitude we should have? A loss is still a loss isn't it? I was disappointed that we didn't win especially after that 2nd quarter display. And our poor foot skills means we still have plenty of work to do to improve on those. Enright blazing away with unnecessary bombs, kicks missing their targets etc.

Edit: i was writing my post when Bakes was so i didn't see it. but Bakes echoes my sentiment exactly.

 

[jim boy]

Considering pretty much everything went right for us, eg we were pretty accurate and our forward line generally made the most of their chances, while Brizzie were a bit wayward, then it is still a disappointing loss (as if no loss is disappointing). Still it is one step closer to the priority draft picks that this club needs. Nothing unfortunate about coming last!!

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by carlyp
hey cat fans, dont worry too much about your beloved pussy cats. They did well on the weekend. Considering they were playing the leagues dominant team, a 14 point loss is not too shabby. If youd play 80% of the other teams on the weekend you would have won! Dont give up, keep cheering. Your kids are doing ok!

Thanks for your sentiments, Carly. I happen to agree with you, that just about any other team-- perhaps Adelaide, the way they're playing right now, for example-- wouldn't have beaten us.

And while a loss is a loss, and losing should be unacceptable to our culture at Geelong, there really is no shame in losing to the two-time defending premiers. But more importantly, compare Geelong's performance to what happened even days previously against St. Kilda, where they showed a total lack of effort in the second half. A complete 180-degree turnaround, if you ask me. And while we'd rather win the game, in a perfect world, we can take pride in a completely improved effort and commitment in the work of the players and the coaches.

No offense to you as a West Coast supporter, but if Geelong can duplicate or even build upon the hard work that they put forth in the seven days following the debacle against St. Kilda, maybe, just maybe, the Cats can come out of Subi with a win.

Should be a very good game on Saturday.

 

[JUBJUB]

Originally posted by Bakes
Here we go again.

Some of the problem, as I see it, is that the Geelong faithfull, including the club, think that losing is acceptable.

Where does it say we've accepted losing ?

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by JUBJUB
Where does it say we've accepted losing ?

'Tis a good point. And at the risk of taking soundbites out of context...

From Sunday's post-match release:

http://gfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=89770

Mark Thompson, 4/5/03
Progress was made, but Geelong coach Mark Thompson got little satisfaction from his side’s gallant 14-point loss to reigning premiers Brisbane.

A disappointed Thompson did not accept that the defeat was dignified, and was left to rue the second quarter, when the Lions kicked six goals to none.

“Take it the way you want to take it. It’s still a loss,” Thompson said after the match.

“I thought it was just an opportunity we missed because either Brisbane were down or it was our play. Whatever the situation was, without that second quarter we could have actually won the game.”

“It’s a shame you have to wait until half-time to get to talk to them thinking again.”

Compare that to seven days beforehand, after the St. Kilda shambles...

http://gfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=88094

Mark Thompson, 27/4/03
The Cats have now won just one game for the season and sit on the bottom of the ladder, but when Thompson was asked if this was the lowest point of the season, he said: “I’ve had a pretty tough year all round, so it’s just another week of it and I’m getting quite immune to it really.”

That contrast demonstrates a difference in attitude and approach at the club in the last week and change.

And if this club is going to make the eight-- which, while calling a spade a spade, is what Thompson said was going to happen in the preseason-- the whole "refuse to lose" attitude is mandatory, regardless of who they're playing.

 

[Bakes]

Originally posted by JUBJUB
Where does it say we've accepted losing ?

Good point.

I probably read too much into what people were saying here and in other places, and got worried that we'd go down the same path.

 

[Catman]

I was really pleased with our commitment for 3 quarters, we showed we could match it, but that 2nd quarter cost us any chance of a victory and you can't do that against the top sides. But we weren't bullied by them like last year and showed that we could match it with the league's best for much of the game.

I gave them a couple of claps off for the effort they put in. I was still very disappointed at the wasted opportunity, but considering I was tipping a 100+ loss, I was really pleased with their endeavour. But the same errors cost us again and that was another disappointing aspect of the game.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by Catman
I was really pleased with our commitment for 3 quarters, we showed we could match it, but that 2nd quarter cost us any chance of a victory and you can't do that against the top sides.

Problem is, for Geelong, that the Cats haven't put together a sustained four-quarter effort all year, preseason or regular season (save perhaps for the Melbourne game, that's the closest they've come), and that's a quality which separates mediocre sides from being good ones, and good sides from becoming elite ones.

But then again, are there very many teams this year that can say that they can play four quarters together, in a consistent manner? Maybe Brisbane (Sunday's game may have been an exceptional case in this regard for them), Adelaide, maybe West Coast...

But as soon as Geelong can play at a consistent level over four quarters, and do so at a high level, then the wins will fall into place, IMHO.

 

[Catman]

Originally posted by you_idiot
Problem is, for Geelong, that the Cats haven't put together a sustained four-quarter effort all year, preseason or regular season (save perhaps for the Melbourne game, that's the closest they've come), and that's a quality which separates mediocre sides from being good ones, and good sides from becoming elite ones.

But then again, are there very many teams this year that can say that they can play four quarters together, in a consistent manner? Maybe Brisbane (Sunday's game may have been an exceptional case in this regard for them), Adelaide, maybe West Coast...

But as soon as Geelong can play at a consistent level over four quarters, and do so at a high level, then the wins will fall into place, IMHO.

Exactly right.

 

[Syd]

Yeah....

But a WIN is better!!

Who's next??

 

[JUBJUB]

Originally posted by Syd
Yeah....

But a WIN is better!!

Who's next??

We softened them up for your mob.