Autopsy Cats lose to Port by 6 points after being down by 10 goals

[CoreyJoel]

A lot of work to do. Midfield was always the worry coming into the season and tonight it came to life.

Unless Bowes was an injury risk I think we should have played him against Ports strong mids even with Rozee out but hindsight etc.

Real shame Conway wasn’t right to play as it would have been a great game for him to have a crack.

We just didn’t haven’t an answer to the fast ball movement in the first half which is a worry as our defence is usually a strength.

 

[fpm84]

Why has Cameron spent most centre bounces starting on the wing over the past fortnight, after not doing so in the first seven rounds?

 

[Stocks_go_Up]

Biggest negative from this game was the failure to assess Cameron after the head knock. Some things are bigger than winning a game of football. I thought our club would be better than that.

The medicos did assess Cameron after the head knock. First he said he's all good then they spent time asking him the questions to assess his condition. He must have passed because he stayed on the field.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

A lot of work to do. Midfield was always the worry coming into the season and tonight it came to life.

Unless Bowes was an injury risk I think we should have played him against Ports strong mids even with Rozee out but hindsight etc.

Real shame Conway wasn’t right to play as it would have been a great game for him to have a crack.

We just didn’t haven’t an answer to the fast ball movement in the first half which is a worry as our defence is usually a strength.

What happened to Conway??

 

[geelong_crazy26]

The medicos did assess Cameron after the head knock. First he said he's all good then they spent time asking him the questions to assess his condition. He must have passed because he stayed on the field.

The absolute obsession of Brian Taylor wanting him off the ground was disgusting bias commentating.

 

[fpm84]

What happened to Conway??

Hip flexor problem, Scott said in his Thursday presser that the plan had been for Conway to play tonight.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Congratulations to Port Adelaide, they completely ambushed us on our own turf.

We gave a good account of ourselves in the 2nd half, and came within a Cooee - but Port ultimately had all the answers.

It was a sobering loss.

Chris Scott

Chris Scott

Age

48

Ht

182cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.6

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.4

3star

No current season stats available

D

13.2

4star

K

10.2

4star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.8

5star

G

0.4

3star

seemed a little defeated early on in the piece when he conceded with Rhys Stanley

1

Rhys Stanley

Age

33

Ht

200cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.6

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

6.4

4star

CL

3.4

5star

HO

27.6

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

7.5

3star

HB

4.5

3star

CL

5.0

5star

HO

21.5

5star

D

11.8

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

6.4

4star

CL

3.0

5star

HO

33.0

5star

- I understand Conway was unavailable, but perhaps in hindsight Stanley should never have been considered in the 1st place, and we might have rolled the dice with Blicavs as more or less the sole ruck, with an extra runner to compensate.

Easy to speculate in hindsight of course.

The writing was on the wall that Esava Ratugolea

27

Esava Ratugolea

Age

25

Ht

197cm

Wt

108kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.6

2star

K

4.8

2star

HB

3.8

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.2

4star

MG

131.6

2star

D

8.1

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

3.9

3star

M

2.1

2star

T

2.5

3star

MG

109.0

2star

D

9.2

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.2

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

MG

133.8

3star

would establish his bona fides with a key performance against an ailing Tom Hawkins

26

Tom Hawkins

Age

35

Ht

197cm

Wt

105kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.2

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.4

3star

M

5.5

5star

T

1.9

4star

G

2.1

5star

D

12.7

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

4.1

3star

M

5.1

5star

T

2.1

3star

G

1.6

5star

D

7.8

2star

K

5.6

3star

HB

2.2

2star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.0

3star

G

2.2

5star

- sadly, inevitably, it was so - Hawkins had a couple of moments, but Ratugolea had his measure for most of the evening and he ruled that zone of play in and around our F35.

For 7 rounds we marveled at this 2024 iteration of the GFC's ability to find a way to win with an ''on-paper'' thin midfield

Not tonight.

Butters, Ollie Wines, JH-F - Port's midfield weapons were sharp and effective.

We looked a little unsure as to who was meant to lead the charge without Paddy and even Bruhn - Blicavs eventually volunteered to be The Man but he had too little support.

Stengle has had a stellar start to the year; hopefully we can get him signed up asap as he was not only effective offensively tonight; his defensive work was also diligent.

It's a shallow midfield atm, with Parfitt and Atkins holding the fort and a rusty Cam Guthrie chipping in on memory only at this stage.

At times Jhye Clark - with 10 games under his belt - looked the most likely to generate a Kardinia Revival.
Imo Mitch Knevitt has been a little underutilized in our rotation to date.

Sucks to lose at Kardinia Park.

However Port are no mugs, and if we are anywhere near fair dinkum in 2024 then we'll have to learn how to overcome all manner of adversity.

Not sure we have the cattle, but good to have an opportunity to revise our approach to an assault on the 2024 flag at this early stage - we have some wins in the bank and have also had a reality check.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Hip flexor problem, Scott said in his Thursday presser that the plan had been for Conway to play tonight.

Did he say how long??

 

[kickazz]

I think the cats were beaten in every position by the better on the night. I am immensely proud that the cats fought back and almost pinched it despite the off night. It was an awesome comeback really, because port did not drop their intensity all night.

Yeah Port really came to play and played well.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Surely Stanley has time to get his season back up and running? He can not be banished for the next 14 weeks. Ridiculous.

Hes 33 and hes always been inconsistent. Hes not going to get better only worse time is not going to help change the path.

 

[CoreyJoel]

What happened to Conway??

I read a hip kept him out. Hopefully not too serious but always a concern with his history

 

[Finknottle]

I think, like Tomahawk, Geelong has hit a couple of speedhumps. We have a few more losable games coming up. Lets hope we get back on track.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Did he say how long??

He said hawkins wont go to darwin (and stanley cant after that effort) but he didnt say whether conway will be fit to come in.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

I think, like Tomahawk, Geelong has hit a couple of speedhumps. We have a few more losable games coming up. Lets hope we get back on track.

I think we can happily just toss out the whole “this is east that is hard” etc talk as clearly if you are out of form you will get beaten. We are down in several areas atm and we have suffered for two weeks now.

If we are up and going I back us anywhere Anytime. If we are down, I think we can lose anywhere anytime

 

[terry_bright]

Father Time is fookin cruel.
He’s caught up to a few of our beloved heroes I feel.
Stanley Hawkins Duncan ??
That’s ok as it happens. That’s life!

add Tuohy & Bews to that as well.
I can't see any being at the club next year.
We clearly need to refresh the playing group, but I wouldn't be cutting any deeper than that. That's deep enough.
Will have to look at bringing players in (hopefully a couple of guns) to supplement the loss of experience and leadership.

Intrigued to see who we make a play for and who wants to come.
Smith would walk into our midfield but I have doubts about his character.
Tarryn Thomas, a definite no.
McCluggage as a free agent, yes. Not so keen to trade for him.
Perkins is one I think has upside and worth looking at seriously.
Nash at Hawthorn has apparently put talks on hold and could add something particularly if he's a free agent (?).

There will be other names pop up, but we can't just replace that much experience going out the door with just kids. It's a proven recipe to send your club into a tailspin, particularly if their not top end talent.

 

[ShaunWDT]

Hes 33 and hes always been inconsistent. Hes not going to get better only worse time is not going to help change the path.

Hes always at least been able to compete, this year hes been a borderline liability in all but a couple games. If we are going to get reamed anyway may aswell play a kid.

Dont think Blitz is the answer either, good post ruck contest but if we be honest he got beaten by a 5th gamer.

 

[Play it Sam]

I reckon Mullin deserves a decent run in the seniors already.
Mannagh should be run through the middle in the VFL to see what he's got definetely. I have been surprised with why he's been playing solely as forward pocket in the VFL.

Four goals is not to be sniffed at either, although weak opposition. I think it was close, but Mullin also played very well, and suited our needs better with his defensive attributes. The recall is coming for Shaun though, the VFL time has served him well.

 

[terry_bright]

Hes always at least been able to compete, this year hes been a borderline liability in all but a couple games. If we are going to get reamed anyway may aswell play a kid.

Dont think Blitz is the answer either, good post ruck contest but if we be honest he got beaten by a 5th gamer.

Blicavs was fine in the ruck and one of the reasons we got back into the game.

As for Stanley, I agree, he looks like he can't compete anymore.

Stanley will still get games, but clearly the roles now need to be reversed with him and Conway. 2-4 games for Conway, Stanley when we manage Conway.

 

[CHAWKTS]

So looking beyond the game…I have a few queries

1. Without Danger we really lack an explosive midfielder - which is essential. They have decided (for some reason) it is not Holmes and I don’t know whether Guthrie is (now) that player? Parf/Atkins/Clark/Blitz and even Bowes and Tanner are all bull type players - a sameness about our midflied…I wonder whether we need to mix it up. Mullin? Rohan for bursts?

2. Can we have Rohan/Henry/Hawkins all in the same forward line? 7 possessions each is not enough. I love them all but

3. Duncan confuses me. What he does can be great showing his skill and experience. But he looks like he can’t bend for ground balls and can’t defend the ground which really hurts us

4. We seem to lack a small lock down defender


So i see a few structural things that need to be worked out in terms of the B23

 

[Play it Sam]

The absolute obsession of Brian Taylor wanting him off the ground was disgusting bias commentating.

Absolutely painful, reaming us for most of the game like a front runner, then eating crow, screaming out of the tube when it got close. He's so dense, clueless on rules and players names, or even the right players with the ball. Honestly if he's the best we can do I'd rather go back to black and white and subtitles.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Look theres no doubt we need to draft more and in time it will help once guys like clark are more ready.
And i agree we are ageing and need to restock.
BUT
We drafted the best player in the vfl last year (who happens to be a goalkicking mid with speed which we lack) and we arent playing him
And we drafted one of the better state league mids the year before who is our best vfl player most weeks and we dont play him
Which is where the criticism comes from
Not playing those two guys seems to imply that we are not accepting we have a problem and trying to deal with it.

Drafting more mids won't fix the problem.

The problem isn't the kids, the ones we have are fine and will be long-term, they're just too young, and our 'gun' mids are two old to do it consistently now.

Getting even younger in that area isn't going to fix anything unless we're picking up the next Reid or Daicos which we aren't.

Smith, Perkins, and maybe even McCluggage are a must if we want to improve this group considerably within a year.

If we're future proofing and just wanting to add more quality youth to Conway, Clark, Bruhn, & Holmes, then that's fine...but it's not going to change significantly for 2-4 years in that case.

 

[terry_bright]

Four goals is not to be sniffed at either, although weak opposition. I think it was close, but Mullin also played very well, and suited our needs better with his defensive attributes. The recall is coming for Shaun though, the VFL time has served him well.

I’m not disputing that, I just think Mannagh can give us more up the ground and we haven’t had the chance to see it really in the VFL. He’s shown he can kick goals as a small forward and not just this year, let’s see what he can do in the midfield, because I can’t see who he replaces in the forward line.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

So we replaced a cooked Stanley with a guy that was even more cooked than Stanley?

Here's an idea, maybe go after a younger ruckman not getting a crack that has a little bit of experience to bridge the gap between older and young blokes.

Ned Moyle seems like the obvious name for us up at the Gold Coast.

Stuck behind Witts in the short term, and Read in the long-term.

Will likely never be a star, but he's got talent and it's non negotiable that he's going to compete, which is something we haven't had since Otto.

 

[Finknottle]

I wouldn't be writing off Duncan. He's not as good as he once was but he is still a better ball user than most in the team. He tends to play better when Geelong plays better. He needs time and space. He doesn't get that when the midfield is being smashed. I think we get a couple of players back, Bruhn, Bowes, Dangerlawn and we'll be a different team.

 

[terry_bright]

Ned Moyle seems like the obvious name for us up at the Gold Coast.

Stuck behind Witts in the short term, and Read in the long-term.

Will likely never be a star, but he's got talent and it's non negotiable that he's going to compete, which is something we haven't had since Otto.

Stanley’s ability to at least compete has been why he’s been pretty much our number one ruck for the last how many ever years. He’s never been a dominant ruckman like Otto was though.

I do like the idea of Ned Moyle as a ruck option to help out the kid ruckmen we have coming through.