Autopsy Cats lose to GWS by 4 points

[cats_09]

Like it or not, we really are in a transition year and as we've seen across the opening 9 rounds, there'll be games we win that we weren't expected to and other games that we drop when maybe we should have got the 4 points

The inconsistency will continue to frustrate, but when you look ahead 12 months to you can start to see how this will pay off in terms the experienced gained for the youngsters, the team cohesion etc

We could also see a common theme from last week with that lack of composure in final 5 minutes - last week we didn't do well with trying to hold the lead, tonight we panicked in trying to get the lead back

It is frustrating and annoying, but it's part of the learning curve and the next step is to see improvement in these areas

 

[Aura]

He has some demons I think.

Most people do…

 

[Aura]

Like it or not, we really are in a transition year and as we've seen across the opening 9 rounds, there'll be games we win that we weren't expected to and other games that we drop when maybe we should have got the 4 points

The inconsistency will continue to frustrate, but when you look ahead 12 months to you can start to see how this will pay off in terms the experienced gained for the youngsters, the team cohesion etc

We could also see a common theme from last week with that lack of composure in final 5 minutes - last week we didn't do well with trying to hold the lead, tonight we panicked in trying to get the lead back

It is frustrating and annoying, but it's part of the learning curve and the next step is to see improvement in these areas

A transition year where we’ll still make finals while other clubs have been rebuilding for 10 years btw.

 

[joe444]

And St Kilda. And Carlton. We're a lazy, arrogant, piss weak joke of a side that doesn't want it enough. And we keep on rolling out the same soft, shitty, do nothing players every week.

I hope venting like this is a mentally useful exercise for some people.

Every team has weaknesses and we know ours. With that in mind, the midfield held up mainly. The forward line continues to play like it has the wrong fuel in the tank but I keep seeing glimpses each week of improvement.

And the defence, well. Glass half full says the Giants' accuracy masks how difficult it was for them to score after the early burst. And we are almost running with our back-up defence in every single spot at the moment.

No, what annoyed me is that it was one of those games where easy 'contested' marks happened. I'm thinking of calling them "Harrison Petty Games", if you get the reference.

 

[kickazz]

Jeez Bews was good when he had the ball.

 

[Baudolino]

Huge loss that has big implications for our season. Makes it difficult to get top four.

 

[thejester]

Jeez Bews was good when he had the ball.

Yeah and his willingness to run through contact put a bunch of his teammates to shame.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I suggested earlier that SDK might need to see a psychologist.

I was serious.

He is a shadow of his former self.

I've suggested that multiple times in the last 12 months. Him and neale clearly both need a sports psych to help them believe as they don't.

 

[Cataholic]

Most people do…

Probably true, but I think you get my point re: SDK specifically.

 

[Seeds]

Not sure im getting the dekonning and sullivan hate. In marking contests they were ok. Especially dekonning.

Their men got away from them a bit but that had a lot to do with fast ball movement up the field.

I think as a young player Cos is cooked. For his long term development needs to go back to the VFL for a while.with our injuries though we won’t do it and we will see sub standard efforts kill us and maybe kill the kids confidence and development

A rest maybe. But not vfl.

 

[mcwilrob]

Jeez Bews was good when he had the ball.

And played like he cared (which was more than can be said for WAY TOO MANY others...)

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Huge loss that has big implications for our season. Makes it difficult to get top four.

We have an easy draw after the bye but it puts a premium on winning our next 2 now which won't be easy..don't want to hit the bye 5 and 6.

 

[sleep]

Not sure why SDK was playing the Stewart role, when Sully was getting torched by Hogan. Scott needed to make that change. Sully is naturally a better intercept player than SDK is and SDK has the experience to go with Hogan and nullify him.

Clark playing is inexcusable. Feel sorry for the kid, he doesnt deserve the criticism because he's not ready and he's been thrown into the fire.

Henry is the softest player to ever put on the hoops.

Our bottom 6 is dog shit.

I could go through the whole list but i wont.

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

Get that sense myself UnitedWarrior93 but its early days yet - also, annoyingly, gotta throw the Hawks in that mix.

We’ve beaten Pies & Hawks this year already and strangely enough I’d back us against either of them in finals, problem is we lose to many games like tonight against teams we should beat, whereas pies and hawks will bank those as wins.

Just so frustrating.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Absolutely appalling. I am no longer defending the guy.
I knew he's a long way off it but I figured he would help us with 10-15 touches today but he gave us 2 disposals. Need to give Stevens a run now.

Yes to dropping Clark at the next opportunity, but Stevens ain't that opportunity in my opinion. He goes alright in the 2s but will create defensive gaps unless he can do something to get himself off the mark quicker.

 

[My Tilly]

We have an easy draw after the bye but it puts a premium on winning our next 2 now which won't be easy..don't want to hit the bye 5 and 6.

Port will be gunning for us too. It's going to be their grand final as it was for Carlton a couple weeks ago.
Must win because I think the Dogs are ready to pounce. Lose three in a row is likely.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Not sure why SDK was playing the Stewart role, when Sully was getting torched by Hogan. Scott needed to make that change. Sully is naturally a better intercept player than SDK is and SDK has the experience to go with Hogan and nullify him.

Clark playing is inexcusable. Feel sorry for the kid, he doesnt deserve the criticism because he's not ready and he's been thrown into the fire.

Henry is the softest player to ever put on the hoops.

Our bottom 6 is dog shit.

I could go through the whole list but i wont.

Bolded will keep me up at night all week

 

[Art Vandelay_]

You are full of yourself. Seriously. You were tagging me every 30 minutes in the game-day thread.

I don't know how any Geelong supporter can honestly sit back and say that our midfield is not the issue.

Yes, we had no Henry but Stewart's been piss poor for a year already. He's 32 going on 33. If he gets back to the player he was, great, but we've been losing while in the team.
Humphries was a big loss but in the third quarter, they won all the critical stats needed which put the game on their terms.

Let's hope Henry is back asap.
O'Sullivan looks tired and De Koning is not progressing into the player he was touted to become in 2022.

Accountability from our forwards and mids was atrocious in open play. Don't think I've seen be as bad at stopping a side moving the ball at KP in quite some time. Broke the zone repeatedly to then have their forwards isolated and kicked to advantage.

 

[kickazz]

Not sure im getting the dekonning and sullivan hate. In marking contests they were ok. Especially dekonning.

Their men got away from them a bit but that had a lot to do with fast ball movement up the field.

A rest maybe. But not vfl.

I thought SDK was good and attacked the contest well in the final quarter.

Early on he got lost in no man's land too often though. K rock recon he was trying to player more forward to stop the low hit up entry that GWS do well. Just didn't seem to know what he was doing

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Port will be gunning for us too. It's going to be their grand final as it was for Carlton a couple weeks ago.
Must win because I think the Dogs are ready to pounce.

I'm confident we'll beat Port. Although I was confident we'd beat GWS, and confident we'd beat Carlton. It's not overconfidence either because i was equally confident of losing to Collingwood and Hawthorn

 

[Cursed Cat]

Another costly performance. Not a professional outfit, this team.

Clark, SDK, MOC, Bowes, and many others woeful.

The real leaders of this club were terrible when it mattered.

I've had concerns with Jack Bowes.
I was on the verge of giving him a serve for a terrible game against the Pies, but then he bobbed up with a great last quarter after really stinking it up for the preceding 3.

I've not commented on Jhye Clark one way or another to my memory. Plenty have written him off already on this board and that's fair enough. Fact is he's on our list for 2025 and he's contracted for another year after that.
I hope he can turn things around; he had a recent strong run of form in the VFL; maybe that's his level, maybe he's still getting it together.

He's not yet 21, he's played 22 games. For mine, the jury is still out, but that could be seen as fence-sitting I will concede.

Can't agree with you on Mark O'Connor. He has his limitations, but he hard at it, doesn't shirk and plays a good honest brand of footy. Great depth player.

De Koning is the interesting one.

He is so laconic, so seemingly laid-back. Body language can convey a lot, but perhaps it can lie to us - I am sure De Koning goes out there with every intention of playing to %100 of his ability, but his post-2022 career has been a real roller coaster.

He did some great things today imo. Definitely played too loose, gambled too hard at times. Very watchable, which is a kinda irrelevant factor which I nonetheless rate.

I'm starting to think he and Shannon Neale should swap roles.

 

[Seeds]

Not sure why SDK was playing the Stewart role, when Sully was getting torched by Hogan. Scott needed to make that change. Sully is naturally a better intercept player than SDK is and SDK has the experience to go with Hogan and nullify him.

Clark playing is inexcusable. Feel sorry for the kid, he doesnt deserve the criticism because he's not ready and he's been thrown into the fire.

Henry is the softest player to ever put on the hoops.

Our bottom 6 is dog shit.

I could go through the whole list but i wont.

Our bottom 6 arent in the starting 22. We are missing 6 players at the moment.

 

[Mr Meow]

Accountability from our forwards and mids was atrocious in open play. Don't think I've seen be as bad at stopping a side moving the ball at KP in quite some time. Broke the zone repeatedly to then have their forwards isolated and kicked to advantage.

In reality both sides let each others mids do as they pleased. They let Smith and Holmes dominate.

The difference is that had a set of elite interceptors and rebounding half backs to generate counter attacks. We had Mullin, MOC, SDK, Bews, COS, Zuthrie and Duncan. Some were okay, some were not. None were dominating like Aish, Taylor and Whitfield.

 

[Baudolino]

I get that we're short on options but Clark continuing to get a game is ridiculous, he's so far off AFL level it's not funny. Give Stevens a chance or restructure the side to fit Polkinghorne in or something. Jhye should have been dropped multiple times already this year, the MC have blinkers on when it comes to him.

 

[Vdubs]

GWS has been one of the easy beats this year. It does not augur well for Geelong if we can't beat a very ordinary GWS at home.

Let's get real, aside from Danger heroics, which he can not do all year, and Bailey Smith, we are more ordinary. Holmes is good value as well.
GWS were out of form for a while, but are a more skilled and better list than what we put out, and this loss is predictable. We are in every game so far, but I dread playing GC whose strengths are our weaknesses, ditto Port next week.
Can we expect a repeat of that final last year?
Hope yes, expect no.