Review Cats roll Eagles eventually by 43 points.

[catempire]

Then what was the point of your post in a game review thread?

I would have thought that the point of posting in a game review thread was to react to the game. Your post was your first post after the game.

You have been around these parts for a million years, I thought you would have figured out the structure of threads by now. Apparently not.

But go ahead, show your true colours and post another clown emoji.

 

[Turbocat]

Overall , I don't think we under performed as much as West Coast played pretty well and made the most of their chances early. Two stats I rate is scoring events ..and conversion. ..and in the end the scoring events just overwhelmed their conversion.

The last couple of weeks I feel we have seen the influence of star power…. They say when assessing an opponent ..don't get done by what you know. Smith runs and builds poss… let him run and he will cut you up. Cameron can max his chances ..let him loose and he will kick a bag ..and Geelong will win….

From our POV… its hard to deny the influence of purchased star power. Cameron with every game on illuminates that he has plenty of time left but he is over 30 ..and without him… our forwardline like would become less fearsome. Smith is one of our best PSP players and he is at perfect age.

Not that level but Stanley continues to be influential and important.

Duncans kick to Cameron in the last was topping on the ice cream. He may not have the length in his kicking he once had but he is look much better now that at times last year. Makes me wonder what Martin will look like in our side.

Is anyone else a little concerned over Stewart. He has lost his sense of influence and inpassability. Maybe just like Duncan last year..he just needs a good period of refreshment.

COS scratchy but thats fine.

Dempsey actually compared pretty well to Reid. The rising star was not some sort of fluke win due to Reids suspension.

,,,and it hard not to like Chlosey when he comes on. probably feels like he would like a longer go at it.

 

[Pollywaffle]

COS came back after his rest nicely tonight.

He looked very good.

Needs to have a few ‘non hospital’ hand pass drill sessions with DeKoning and Mullin.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Is anyone else a little concerned over Stewart. He has lost his sense of influence and inpassability. Maybe just like Duncan last year..he just needs a good period of refreshment.

COS scratchy but thats fine.

Dempsey actually compared pretty well to Reid. The rising star was not some sort of fluke win due to Reids suspension.

,,,and it hard not to like Chlosey when he comes on. probably feels like he would like a longer go at it.

Yes. Looks like he is held together with sticky tape and bandages. Plays like it too
Feel sorry for Clohesy always subbed into a hot game with limited time. I agree, give him a crack at a full game or two out of the pressure cooker.

 

[Gee Class Loco]

Happy with the 4 points TBH.
Didn't think we even got outta 3rd gear which allowed a tighter affair than all wanted i am guessing.
Shout out to Stanley thought he played well along with Mannagh he's been a really nice pick-up.
COS bar a few skill errors is gonna bank this year and go forward in leaps and bounds in '26. RipperInThe Making.
One thing that has bugged me for a while is the decline of Tommy Stewart.
And probably a few folks out there as well.
Again last night his defensive efforts/positioning has been sub par.
The days of him being the elite defender/QB is fading fast IMO... has father time nearly caught him.
Injuries can only be used to a certain extent 4me.
Oh and i thought Blitz looked like he didnt need the run yesterday. Hope he's not as banged up as i've been led to believe.
Cheers.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I think he needs to assess better - the short passes or handballs are fine when they are on but he needs to raise his eyes as well and assess longer options
That's bloody hard to do but I think that's what we expect in the long run.

It's notable how much the criticism has shifted on him, 28 games ago he didn't quite understand htb adjudications and now we're at choosing the correct option. Not bad

 

[Seeds]

This isn’t an observation on one game. We are 11th for scores conceded this season. Probably 10th after games even out.

And half our defence has either been missing or coming back from injury for the whole season. We just need a bit more luck on the injury front to settle it.

Plus have you seen our draw so far? We have had an incredibly hard run to start the season.

Remember three weeks ago when you said cameron was having an ordinary year. It doesnt take long to turn it around. The talent in our defence right now is probably the best its been since 2007-11.

 

[Kyuss]

Is anyone else a little concerned over Stewart. He has lost his sense of influence and inpassability. Maybe just like Duncan last year..he just needs a good period of refreshment.

His knee is clearly hindering him. But what is concerning is he is dropping marks that he would normally eat for breakfast.

 

[Jumping Jack]

His knee is clearly hindering him. But what is concerning is he is dropping marks that he would normally eat for breakfast.

Stewart is actually the biggest concern for me right now.

Even at his current output he stands up ok against most players and that's ok. But at his best he becomes a serious weapon and could be the difference between a flag and just making up the numbers. When I refer to him as a "concern" my point being that if he's hampered by a knee and it's not likely to get much better, then it's a red flag. If it's just form and match conditioning then I think we can expect to see a return to the Tom Stewart we know in the back half of the year.

Either way he's a close watch for me. I'm hoping he gets back to what we know. Star of the game.

 

[Kyuss]

Loved Duncan’s nutmeg on Reid. That play was Harlem globetrotters

I think even Reid was impressed by that one

 

[Strange Cat]

I have started to notice the real synergy of Holmes and Bailey out on the field they really know each other games…would be fantastic to get Reid in that group as they all compliment each other well

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Overall , I don't think we under performed as much as West Coast played pretty well and made the most of their chances early. Two stats I rate is scoring events ..and conversion. ..and in the end the scoring events just overwhelmed their conversion.

The last couple of weeks I feel we have seen the influence of star power…. They say when assessing an opponent ..don't get done by what you know. Smith runs and builds poss… let him run and he will cut you up. Cameron can max his chances ..let him loose and he will kick a bag ..and Geelong will win….

From our POV… its hard to deny the influence of purchased star power. Cameron with every game on illuminates that he has plenty of time left but he is over 30 ..and without him… our forwardline like would become less fearsome. Smith is one of our best PSP players and he is at perfect age.

Not that level but Stanley continues to be influential and important.

Duncans kick to Cameron in the last was topping on the ice cream. He may not have the length in his kicking he once had but he is look much better now that at times last year. Makes me wonder what Martin will look like in our side.

Is anyone else a little concerned over Stewart. He has lost his sense of influence and inpassability. Maybe just like Duncan last year..he just needs a good period of refreshment.

COS scratchy but thats fine.

Dempsey actually compared pretty well to Reid. The rising star was not some sort of fluke win due to Reids suspension.

,,,and it hard not to like Chlosey when he comes on. probably feels like he would like a longer go at it.

Clohesy was alright once he settled but after his first minute I thought he was about to have a mare. Skyballed his first possession to an intercept then ran with his man to d50 but immediately got sucked back in and his man got the uncontested link up to Reid

Lucky his VicC buddy pushed the kick

 

[Play it Sam]

Mullin is a low possession player right now, it doesn’t feel like he is getting involved in our chains much at all. In these midseason games we want him involved so that he continues to learn how he can best use his attributes. Do I want him involved in the most important chain of the season? Probably not, but I would say that about a few players.

How is Duncan travelling? He is going well. I think the MC have managed him well, and have probably learnt from what happened last year when he fell off a cliff at the back end of the season. Do I think he can keep this up for 15 rounds? Probably not, but if he is kept fresh and distributing the ball like he is right now he is another good option. The key to his performance is how well is he kicking the ball, which correlates closely with how well is physically. When he hit the wall last season his kicking fell away, so I reckon the club will be keeping a very close eye on the facet of his game, if it starts to go south they will react accordingly.

The thing you can't buy with Duncan is footy nouse through experience. He was getting caught last year which exposed his speed had dropped off. Trying to do too much which is beyond fading players is always obvious.

His handballs are spot on, and he has realised move it on fast with cleverness and pin point accuracy, which is supposedly our forte. With Kolo and Danger out, Bews managed, he's stepped up. Thankfully some of us kept the faith, for the moment.

 

[Gazza Greatness]

And half our defence has either been missing or coming back from injury for the whole season. We just need a bit more luck on the injury front to settle it.

Plus have you seen our draw so far? We have had an incredibly hard run to start the season.

Remember three weeks ago when you said cameron was having an ordinary year. It doesnt take long to turn it around. The talent in our defence right now is probably the best its been since 2007-11.

Agree with all said Seeds:... if we get continutnutity for remainder of year with minimal injuries our backline will be the least of our concerns as it will be one of our strengths.

 

[you pick one]

And half our defence has either been missing or coming back from injury for the whole season. We just need a bit more luck on the injury front to settle it.

Plus have you seen our draw so far? We have had an incredibly hard run to start the season.

Remember three weeks ago when you said cameron was having an ordinary year. It doesnt take long to turn it around. The talent in our defence right now is probably the best its been since 2007-11.

Zuthrie usually steps up when Stewart is struggling but he's also not having his best season to date, he's one whose kicking has dropped of also a couple of weeks back he was channeling Stewart Lord kicking everything OB on the full and yesterday his kicks into the forward line were slow and high not great as we are not elite overhead.Plenty of room for improvement back there for sure.

 

[My Tilly]

Weird game, first our guys didn't seem to really celebrate goals, in first 3Q. Were they underestimating early? And so often either kicking high over the target, or misreading the ball, running under it and missing the mark.

Also we were very friendly with Reid, everyone, even Mullin. Might have been the camera angle, but it almost looked like one of the Cats gave him a little bum tap after he missed a shot on goal.
For a guy who often gets niggly with oppo... tipping the hand?

Opposition players are always doing this with Reid. He's a competitive beast and they enjoy the banter.

I personally enjoy seeing him get frustrated as you then see the rage. He proceeds to display moments of exceptional power. Very nearly injured Stanley throwing him quite forcefully to the ground in a tackle.

Can't help but think what he will be like at 24 when fully developed of a physique.
It's rare to see a 20yr old display those qualities.
Tom Hawkins displayed such brute force in his first 20 games and he became arguably the most powerful footballer of his generation.

 

[Commando]

He had a massive first half and then was clamped down on. Still okay the second half, but it muddied the BOG waters.

It's hard to see who else would get it though. Miers and Stengle excellent but I imagine get 3 votes incredibly rarely as small forwards. Holmes was brilliant in some aspects but he had a bunch of forgettable kicks.

My guess is:

3. Smith
2. Holmes
1. Baker

Miers get a vote before Baker

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Backwards but not by nearly as much as we've surmised on this board.

He is definitely the one that cops it most when he stuffs up (which admittedly he did a handful of times against WCE, so it is the perfect time to bash him).

2024 Close: 2.0 goals/goal assists, 5.3 score involvements, 9.4 effective disposals, 2.4 tackles per game.

2025 Close: 1.8 goals/goal assists, 5.3 score involvements, 8.8 effective disposals, 1.8 tackles per game.

We have to remember, Mannagh has been a permanent fixture this season and Dangerfield was permanent forward, so all of our other general forwards numbers have gone down a little.

They defended Close and Dempsey solidly all night - I think they realise how important they are to our cohesion and scoring involvements.
One observation on seeing Mannagh live- he's a tough bugger and lightning quick over the first 5 metres or so.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

It's notable how much the criticism has shifted on him, 28 games ago he didn't quite understand htb adjudications and now we're at choosing the correct option. Not bad

Good observation
I've been a fan from day 1 , his trajectory has been amazing.
He has all the traits to be a mid , he's doing his apprenticeship now as a tagger but I can see him developing into a genuine all round mid eventually.

 

[Gunf]

That was the concern I had him with him all last year in the VFL. The height, athleticism and footy smarts are all there. The strength will come with a couple of pre seasons. Until last night I don't think the disposal has been glaring at AFL level. Better system and you usually have an easy out to a Stewart, Humphries or Guthrie. Eagles might be 1-11 but the commentators did mention they were #1 for forward pressure in the AFL so it was a different test under pressure. Hopefully improves with experience.

I could be wrong but i think they were referring to Geelong with the number 1 forward 50 pressure thing

 

[joe444]

Cool light of day.

The sense of frustration was magnified by early inaccuracy and the fact that every Eagles goal seemed destined for the highlights reel. In reality, our setup always means that goals we do leak do look like something broke down. In a weird way, that's a good thing. The Eagles didn't pick us apart like St Kilda did, or just swamp us like the Lions. They just capitalised on turnovers after the ball had been down our end for ages. And then they and the crowd celebrated like each goal was a matchwinner.

Observations
COS and SDK are very similar players and I don't think our defence needs both.
Stanley is in career best form. Even his bad games are useful.
Miers is close to elite now.
It's been a while since the Eagles were humiliated, even longer at Optus. We're talking about a team that ran the Lions to 19points, and have had plenty of games exactly like last night - competitive until it blows out late.

Chalk it up, learn some lessons, get the hell out of Perth and not go back until next year.

And for some of us, I hope the Chicken Little stuff was therapeutic. We're into this season up to our eyeballs and a fit Guthrie and Martin in the side could make things really interesting.

 

[Strange Cat]

Yeah that’s a good point that I have been reflecting on that the backline can’t have both SDK and COS in it …might be why COS was playing more upfield this match to test other roles maybe?

Nice to see Zac play up the ground more too towards the F50 gave a different option and a more defensive setup when the ball left the F50 before it’s in the other F50 zone

Some interesting tactics tried that haven't been seen this year I think

 

[Cataholic]

Yeah that’s a good point that I have been reflecting on that the backline can’t have both SDK and COS in it …might be why COS was playing more upfield this match to test other roles maybe?

Nice to see Zac play up the ground more too towards the F50 gave a different option and a more defensive setup when the ball left the F50 before it’s in the other F50 zone

Some interesting tactics tried that haven't been seen this year I think

I feel more confident seeing COS around the contest than I do with SDK.

One reads it, attacks it, competes. The other not so much.

That said SDK did play better in the second half, but it says less about the quality of his play than it does about his first half.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Cool light of day.

The sense of frustration was magnified by early inaccuracy and the fact that every Eagles goal seemed destined for the highlights reel. In reality, our setup always means that goals we do leak do look like something broke down. In a weird way, that's a good thing. The Eagles didn't pick us apart like St Kilda did, or just swamp us like the Lions. They just capitalised on turnovers after the ball had been down our end for ages. And then they and the crowd celebrated like each goal was a matchwinner.

Observations
COS and SDK are very similar players and I don't think our defence needs both.
Stanley is in career best form. Even his bad games are useful.
Miers is close to elite now.
It's been a while since the Eagles were humiliated, even longer at Optus. We're talking about a team that ran the Lions to 19points, and have had plenty of games exactly like last night - competitive until it blows out late.

Chalk it up, learn some lessons, get the hell out of Perth and not go back until next year.

And for some of us, I hope the Chicken Little stuff was therapeutic. We're into this season up to our eyeballs and a fit Guthrie and Martin in the side could make things really interesting.

Yeah I think if I had to sum up our defensive work in one passage of play it's Allen's running goal in the first.

Humphries looked up and saw we had an outnumber in the backline and just let Allen run into the space, hanging back to get on the end of an expected quick rebound. If he got it we would have turned that into another entry (and set shots behind) but Allen just ran onto it and goaled

If you play that sequence again but it's Collingwood and Mihocek there's no way Humphries just lets him go.

 

[Strange Cat]

I feel more confident seeing COS around the contest than I do with SDK.

One reads it, attacks it, competes. The other not so much.

That said SDK did play better in the second half, but it says less about the quality of his play than it does about his first half.

I think once KOLO comes back he can play the more locked down role that appears others are taking on without much success atm..SDK tries but he’s very much like COS that he wants to run off his opponents