No Oppo Supporters Geelong defeated by Richmond in PF by 19 points

[Spazz Cat]

made up by you!

Could not be true. Freo supporters would not cop it.
Not because he's not a good coach but they've had years of Ross Lyon footy. They can't take anymore.
I don't think they could handle another coach who comes across on TV as arrogant either.
"It's not rocket science how to beat Richmond" C'mon mate, just made their 3rd GF in a row.
Time to unwind overseas in the sun for a while, give this stuff a rest.

 

[JohnZ]

Bitter disappointment. We had it on a platter and ****ed up.

We started the game as well as we could have imagined but failed to show in the 2nd half.

I hope the young players have learnt what it takes to play in a GF, let alone make one. I just hope it doesn’t all come together too late, and that our mini-rebuild will have come to nothing.

 

[steady2]

Could not be true. Freo supporters would not cop it.
Not because he's not a good coach but they've had years of Ross Lyon footy. They can't take anymore.
I don't think they could handle another coach who comes across on TV as arrogant either.
"It's not rocket science how to beat Richmond" C'mon mate, just made their 3rd GF in a row.
Time to unwind overseas in the sun for a while, give this stuff a rest.

Scott's style is nothing like Ross Lyon. Supporters do not decide who will coach. Scott is tied to Geelong who are a top 4 side with a solid future. Freo are in chaos. Scott has not been approached and would not go, he is under contract. Richmond lost the Prelim last and have not made their 3rd GF in a row? Can you get one thing correct? I know you can.

 

[steady2]

Geelong supporters completely lack the tenacity and togetherness of other clubs.

N-one at the start of the year was tipping us for the flag. We went through a wonderful year, and discovered new talent. Our recruits in Dahl, and Rohan were worth what was paid for them. Unfortantely a shallow list had injuries at the wrong end.

It was also the first year where we were genuinely excited about the output - not potential of a first round pick.

This list is haemorrhaging from the lack of first round pick talent

What the tigers list management did well was recruit in from opposition sides nankervis, lynch, prestia, caddy, houli - all who would have been in our starting 22
but ehy rolled the dice on stack who looks like a tatts win, and according to vfl reports pickett is exceptional and the exact player we needed in the run home

anyone who thinks a full recruit is dillusional, you will have players continuously picked off

look at gold coast - give them ablett, lnch, prestia, caddy etc and their list looks ok

we need to regroup, and appreciate what we have
we have one of the hardest coaching groups to coach against - we simply dont appreciate the overachievement of this list

This

 

[steady2]

Every Cat rated from the preliminary final

Geelong had some strong performers, but too many went missing in the second half

www.afl.com.au

Overrated:



Brandan Parfitt – 6
The smooth mover worked hard to accumulate 13 contested possessions from his 16 disposals, with most of those in the forward half of the ground. Can improve his disposal efficiency, but was a handy contributor.

Quinton Narkle – 6
Showed some spark around the ball and was lively when he went forward. Possesses great footwork and didn't look out of place on the big stage.

Mark O'Connor – 7
The Irishman can hold his head high with an impressive game in defence. His run-down tackle on Tom Lynch in the third quarter was a highlight. Made a couple of mistakes by foot, but more positives than negatives in his game.

Esava Ratugolea – 6
The big key forward started the game strongly, taking a couple of contested marks, before fading out of the game in the second half. Went off the ground in the last quarter with a wrist injury.

Harry Taylor – 5
The veteran defender had a tough assignment on Tigers spearhead Tom Lynch, who got the better of their battle, kicking five goals. Taylor attempted to run off Lynch and created play out of defence, but was beaten when they went one-on-one.

Lachie Henderson – 4
Was always going to be difficult to replace Tom Hawkins. Didn't have an impact in an unfamiliar forward role, but kicked an important goal just before three-quarter time.

Rhys Stanley – 8
A strong game from the Cats ruckman, who got on top of Toby Nankervis and Ivan Soldo. Was busy around the ground with 19 disposals to go with 24 hitouts.


Jack Henry – 6
Solid down back and played his role effectively. The Cats defence was under plenty of pressure and Henry held firm under repeated inside 50 entries.

Cameron Guthrie – 6
Started well on the wing before fading out of the game in the second half, finishing with 12 disposals. Couldn't get into the contest in the second half, but he wasn't alone there.

Luke Dahlhaus – 5
The medium-forward didn't have a huge impact on the game. Racked up 14 disposals, including seven contested possessions, but had only one goal assist and didn't have a shot at goal.

Underrated:

Joel Selwood – 8
Another inspirational performance from the Cats skipper, finishing with 30 disposals and seven tackles. You'd expect nothing less from Selwood, who never gives less than 100 per cent.

Gryan Miers – 7
Extremely busy in the forward half of the ground with 22 disposals and two goals, both in the first quarter. Was a bit quiet in the second half, but he wasn't alone there. Plenty to build on for the first-year player.

Jake Kolodjashnij – 6
Tried hard in defence, but was out-muscled by Tom Lynch a couple of times when coming across to help Harry Taylor. However, his role was to keep Jack Riewoldt quiet and he did what he was asked to do.

In the ball park:

Gary Ablett – 7
An impressive performance from the champion in his 345th and potentially final game. The 35-year-old had 21 touches, nine contested possessions and kicked a goal. Dangerous any time he got near the ball.

Tom Stewart – 7
The All-Australian defender had another strong game with 19 disposals at 100 per cent efficiency and collected seven intercept possessions.

Zach Tuohy – 7
The Irishman found plenty of the ball in defence with 26 disposals. Worked hard to repel constant forward 50 entries from the Tigers. Can hold his head high.

Tom Atkins – 5
Worked hard in attack without getting reward for his effort. Went at 100 per cent efficiency from his 11 disposals, but only gained 42m and laid two tackles.

Jed Bews – 6
Played his role by keeping the Tigers' small forwards quiet, but only had the eight disposals himself. Needs to get his hands on the ball more to impact the game.

Mark Blicavs – 5
Started on the wing before spending some time in defence. Finished with just 10 disposals. Missed a simple set shot at goal in the second quarter.

Sam Menegola – 7
One of the Cats' better players in the second half when the game was going against them. Produced a sensational smother in the second quarter on Dustin Martin to prevent a shot on goal.

Tim Kelly – 9
Turned in an outstanding performance in what could be his final game for the Cats, collecting 31 disposals and kicking three of his side's nine goals. Was extremely close to being the best player on the ground. A brilliant midfielder who will be a big loss if he does head west.

Patrick Dangerfield – 8
Had a big first half with 19 disposals, but was well held after the main break to finish the game with 27, including 16 contested. Worked hard in the midfield, especially at stoppages.

An excellent summary.

 

[Spazz Cat]

Scott's style is nothing like Ross Lyon. Supporters do not decide who will coach. Scott is tied to Geelong who are a top 4 side with a solid future. Freo are in chaos. Scott has not been approached and would not go, he is under contract. Richmond lost the Prelim last and have not made their 3rd GF in a row? Can you get one thing correct? I know you can.

Sorry 2nd in 3 years, sorry my bad. Hey, only 2 Grannys. Maybe it isnt rocket science after all. Anyone can do it.
As I said he really needs a good break away from the footy world for a couple of months.
Supporters certainly do matter (bar expansion sides) the club goes broke without them.
I have seen supporters pick coaches and get them fired. Paul Roos would of not coached Sydney without them.
Yep clubs never ever approach contracted coaches lol. But yes in this case there is absolutely no way.

 

[Cosmic Energy]

I watched the replay of the 2nd half after being at the ground last night. Rather than a calamitous systems or structural failure, there were a few key moments that lead to goals or halted any chance of us kicking goals. Among other moments, Miers, Stanley and Blicavs in particular failed to execute under pressure a few times each and it proved very costly. Miers had a good game otherwise.

I think the coaches do have to wear responsibility for that, though. Both in getting players to perform under pressure and putting players in the right spots for their temperament. When Richmond started coming, we invited the pressure which was sadly predictable. I wish we had some mechanism to get that couple of minutes of control of the ball. Maybe do something ridiculous like give away a free somewhere to allow us to set up defensively. Joking, but do something!

Blitz unfortunately is not the most intelligent footballer going around (in the football sense), I think the boundaries of defence help him keep things simple. Even something as simple as not kicking on his left foot in the last quarter, just totally unnecessary as he had a bit of time to steady, but instead missed a simple short pass that would have given us a shot at goal.

I think they have to move Stanley on. Who knows what the lack of faith shown in him and Smith over the years has done to both of those guys. It can’t have helped, that’s for sure. But now it seems Rhys is just not built for pressure moments, even if he was solid for a lot of the night.

Joel was terrific all night, I have so much admiration for him. One of the few that usually finds a way to stay involved in the game the whole way through even when not necessarily playing his best. Hopefully his teammates can learn that off him.

Just very sad the year has ended again at this point. We weren’t disgraced, and it was within our grasp, really. Another goal or two in the first half, or one just after half time to get them to deviate from their game plan would have been nice. Hawk and Mitch might have helped stretch the lead in our period of dominance. We’ll never know.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

The Dogs in 16 did have a lot of injuries through the season, but their list was in pretty good shape by the start of the finals series.

Also, the Dogs in 16 doesn't change my basic point: we played an extra final and it showed in the last half when the Tigers over ran us. That's not the only reason we lost, but IMO a part of it.

GWS wasn't even in the top 4 this season and they've made the GF. So your argument is crap. Big crap.

 

[Chinacats]

Giants winning makes our effort against woods even more embarrassing. We fluffed it! Giants in GF from 6th, yet from pole position we get squat!
Don’t say we didn’t blow it!

 

[Nankervis brothers]

GWS wasn't even in the top 4 this season and they've made the GF. So your argument is crap. Big crap.

GWS completely stopped in the last quarter! They were spent and just held on. But thanks for telling me my opinion is crap. You're a classy a guy.

 

[steady2]

Sorry 2nd in 3 years, sorry my bad. Hey, only 2 Grannys. Maybe it isnt rocket science after all. Anyone can do it.
As I said he really needs a good break away from the footy world for a couple of months.
Supporters certainly do matter (bar expansion sides) the club goes broke without them.
I have seen supporters pick coaches and get them fired. Paul Roos would of not coached Sydney without them.
Yep clubs never ever approach contracted coaches lol. But yes in this case there is absolutely no way.

Glad you admit you were wrong. The remainder of your post does not contradict any of the points I made.

 

[Vdubs]

Giants winning makes our effort against woods even more embarrassing. We fluffed it! Giants in GF from 6th, yet from pole position we get squat!
Don’t say we didn’t blow it!

We clearly did not blow anything; we were beaten by the better teams when we lost, and somehow beat WCE. GWS would have beaten us with today's form.
The GF is 3 v 6. That is fine. Just shows how insignificant ladder positions can be after H & A. Nothing more.
If you call playing the Pies at the G, their home, week 1 finals after a bye, POLE POSITION, we clearly have different notions of pole position.

 

[Chinacats]

We clearly did not blow anything; we were beaten by the better teams when we lost, and somehow beat WCE. GWS would have beaten us with today's form.
The GF is 3 v 6. That is fine. Just shows how insignificant ladder positions can be after H & A. Nothing more.

Shows that we didn’t play our best in September. Yep we blew it!

 

[Vdubs]

Shows that we didn’t play our best in September. Yep we blew it!

Or August and July

 

[Nankervis brothers]

Giants winning makes our effort against woods even more embarrassing. We fluffed it! Giants in GF from 6th, yet from pole position we get squat!
Don’t say we didn’t blow it!

You seem to think finishing first guarantees something. In VFL/AFL history minor premiers stand a 50% chance of winning the flag. In AFL history that drops down to the 30% bracket. You are less than 50/50 to win it from 1st.

Finals are one-off knock-out games, played over a few weeks. It's about who is in form at that time. What players are and aren't available is also a factor. Who you draw and where your draw them plays a role. It's almost sacrileges to say, but there is high degree of arse involved in it.

Geelong had not won two games in a row for nearly there months, so how you convinced yourself that we were 'premiership material' is a mystery. It was clear on form we weren't.

 

[Chinacats]

Or August and July

A complete disaster after 11-1. Horrible!

 

[Cataholic]

We clearly did not blow anything; we were beaten by the better teams when we lost, and somehow beat WCE. GWS would have beaten us with today's form.
The GF is 3 v 6. That is fine. Just shows how insignificant ladder positions can be after H & A. Nothing more.
If you call playing the Pies at the G, their home, week 1 finals after a bye, POLE POSITION, we clearly have different notions of pole position.

Genuine question :

Do you consider Collingwood a better side?

 

[Chinacats]

You seem to think finishing first guarantees something. In VFL/AFL history minor premiers stand a 50% chance of winning the flag. In AFL history that drops down to the 30% bracket. You are less than 50/50 to win it from 1st.

Finals are one-off knock-out games, played over a few weeks. It's about who is in form at that time. What players are and aren't available is also a factor. Who you draw and where your draw them plays a role. It's almost sacrileges to say, but there is high degree of arse involved in it.

Geelong had not won two games in a row for nearly there months, so how you convinced yourself that we were 'premiership material' is a mystery. It was clear on form we weren't.

Yet pre game in here fans were saying we would beat pies and tigers. Strange!
Btw have a look at Giants form leading into September. Did you see them play hawks in Sydney it was horrible, but they got their shit together .
We blew a great chance to be in a GF. Deal with it son!

 

[Chinacats]

Genuine question :

Do you consider Collingwood a better side?

Good question. They’re not!

 

[Nankervis brothers]

Yet pre game in here fans were saying we would beat pies and tigers. Strange!
Btw have a look at Giants form leading into September. Did you see them play hawks in Sydney it was horrible, but they got their s**t together .
We blew a great chance to be in a GF. Deal with it son!

I think the point here is that you are the one that needs to deal with it.

 

[Vdubs]

Genuine question :

Do you consider Collingwood a better side?

Than us- YES. We don't get to see their whole healthy list. I look at us and there is very little decent depth. I love our effort but we have many bottom 6 players.

 

[Chinacats]

I think the point here is that you are the one that needs to deal with it.

Oh that’s right you’ve dealt with the loss already.
So easy!
Contentment is the goal! 3 prelim losses in 4 years and you’re happy. Good luck.

 

[Cataholic]

You seem to think finishing first guarantees something. In VFL/AFL history minor premiers stand a 50% chance of winning the flag. In AFL history that drops down to the 30% bracket. You are less than 50/50 to win it from 1st.

Finals are one-off knock-out games, played over a few weeks. It's about who is in form at that time. What players are and aren't available is also a factor. Who you draw and where your draw them plays a role. It's almost sacrileges to say, but there is high degree of arse involved in it.

Geelong had not won two games in a row for nearly there months, so how you convinced yourself that we were 'premiership material' is a mystery. It was clear on form we weren't.

On the face of it, being minor premiers does suggest you've been the best. We weren't.

We limped to that position......our race was run by the bye.

But we did sabotage our first final.

 

[Nankervis brothers]

On the face of it, being minor premiers does suggest you've been the best. We weren't.

We limped to that position......our race was run by the bye.

But we did sabotage our first final.

Agree with all you say here, including your assessment of the first final.

 

[steady2]

Just over a year ago, we finished in the bottom half of the eight and were blown away in the first quarter of the elimination final. Embarrassing. Many tipped us to drop down this year and Melbourne were considered a possible premiership contender. We recruited well and in round one, brought in 4 debutantes and 2 players we had picked from other clubs. We were very good in the first half of the season. However our position was unrealistic as our coach said at the time. Teams like Collingwood and Richmond had a lot of injuries and were patchy although holding on to a position from which to contest a spot in the 8, the Eagles were being tipped as premiership favourites. As the finals arrived we had had a shocking second half of the season, but managed to hold top spot, while Richmond and Collingwood got into the top 4. It has been a very odd season.

Rohan with injuries and a loss of form faded from calculation and his great contributions in the early part of the season were gone. Duncan and Clark were injured and we could not bring them in for our last few games and Hawkins, enough said. We do not have the depth to cover those losses. Having a 21 year old in his second season as our major key position forward underlined our precarious position. Sav has a ton of potential and may become an elite forward but is not there yet. While we sorely missed Duncan, Clark and Hawkins I'm not sure if that would have been the difference between winning and losing. Richmond are the best team in the competition and like us in 2009 are determined to make amends for last year's 'travesty' where they missed a likely back-to-back premiership. They are talented, experienced, hardened and determined and have a game plan that is difficult to match. I would be shocked if they miss the flag this year.

We did very well to get the jump on them in the first half, missed shots at goal is bad footy, those were a reflection that we are not good enough, yet.

We have debuted some very good players this year and I expect Miers and Clark to become 100+ gamers, Clark in particular could become elite. We got more games into Sav, Parfitt, Narkle and O'Connor. Stanley for the most part has been a useful ruck, his game against NicNat was good and he was very good yesterday. We still need to look at recruiting a decent ruckman, none of our spares look top class.

At the beginning of the season I said a pass for this year would be;
1. Make the finals
2. Win a final.
3. If we lose, not to be blown away.

Well we were almost blown away, but with 5 minutes to play we were just 10 points down. It is a borderline pass. Hopefully next year the mythical Sir Cockatoo will return from the crusades and help us destroy the evil Sheriff of Punt Road. Hopefully we can find a few more merry men with talent and the boys we have will harden up, learn and perform better, along with the coach and coaching staff.