Review Geelong defeats Port by 60 points.. Great team win!!

[Mr Meow]

On face value the Cats have given good value for money throughout the Chris Scott era, winning far more often than they've lost.

And yet the long-ago honeymoon period has gradually waned, eclipsed by the Big Asterix that now looms over every success, just on the periphery of every victory, peversly polluting every accumulating win with the subconscious effects of a lingering PTSD especially reserved for Geelong supporters.*

The pattern reveals itself season upon season; Expectations of finals success are inevitably raised - though often begrudgingly - on the back of strong Home and Away form.

But when those Expectations remain unfulfilled come September's end, those banner-waving yesterdays become little more than the set-up for a bitter punchline.

Older Cats Fans have seen it all before; in fact they've been lived through worse.

Entire seasons of excitement and promise cruelly crushed on Grand Final day - and don't think we forget all those pre-season comp GF losses, too - until an almost Pavlovian response is imbued, a subconscious Lid permanently poised against the spectre of expectation.

Possibly the most scarring of these lessons took place on that intersection where old bitter supporters witnessed the birth of the next generation of curdled Cat fans; GF day 2008.

Who can remember the peerless football we played that year without also calling up a pain that can be felt in the very nerves?

And yet what is it to support a team, in any sport, without hope?
Being an Unbeliever, it is probably the one bit of faith that I'll allow.
But it is hard earned. The Cats work in mysterious ways.

And so here we are again, in an apparently enviable position, having played compelling football for large stretches of this unusual season.

Is anything different?

Did it feel like this last year - when we were two games clear on top of the ladder during the H&A season?

An unprecedented (I was told off for using that word the other day IRL) 5 games in 19 days, and the club has given a top-class account of itself in every one of them, even in the loss to West Coast.

I like our midfield spread a lot better this year. So far.
In-form mature-agers Guthrie and Menegola have stepped up after the defection of Tim Kelly, and Brandan Parfitt has quietly added support with a balanced two-way on-ball game. In recent weeks long-odds pair Simpson and Fogarty have supplied quality depth.
'Dangerwood' is a distant memory, as is the concept behind it.

Fogarty's new-found form effectively doubles our Parfitt factor; we now have two two-way players to run through the midfield.

Joel Selwood has been a competent foot soldier during the past two wins, which is a great sign.
I liked his game tonight, a few times he subdued his ego in simply knocking a loose ball to a teammate's advantage rather than trying to gather and register a stat - it was a late-career Harry-type of game from Selwood.

And Harry himself was awesome, as he has been all year long.
He looked a wee bit hobbled at one point, but came back after half time and navigated the heavy seas with a steady hand on the tiller.

The defense has really found some synergy over the past month, at times tonight they worked together as an organism, completely instinctive and synchronized to one purpose.
Some of our own supporters were mocking 'the Misfits' only a few weeks ago but they have hit a rich vein of form.

Gryan Miers was solid tonight; he was woefully down on confidence only a couple of weeks ago, but to his credit he is working his way through a potential case of the 2nd-year Blues by running his guts out.

Cliche or not; you tell me with a straight face that Mark OÇónnor hasn't done a bit of Riverdancing in his time. Very agile.

Mixed beer, Bailey's and Wine tonight in a manner that is probably not conducive to brevity nor the structuring of narrative .

A bulldozing Nakia Cockatoo comeback might just threaten to loosen the Lid a wee bit.



* Collingwood supporters are probably well-acquainted with this specific torment too, I imagine.

I'm not gay ("not that there's anything wrong with that), but...marry me? Sublime post. Thank god, because the beverages took too much of my attention post-game tonight. I think you were spot on with your points though, other than Grien needing to know when shooting for goal is just impractical.

The defence have lifted and found cohesiveness for sure. The whole team, actually. Which prior seasons was our tackling pressure and quick, efficient handballs from contested situations so good? Hard to remember. Finals await of course, but let's worry about that when it comes. Delightful stuff going on at the moment.

 

[smotherking]

Is the water wet?

it's a genuine question. no one would have second guessed it a few weeks ago, and he's obviously a god send but the past few weeks kind of show, no one has their position locked down. Even the Ablett clan

 

[smotherking]

Parfitt is best 22. His defensive game is outstanding.

His tackling is worth a spot in itself

 

[Catsace]

Solid is the word. His composure and decision making is far better this year. His first year looked extremely promising so we probably had unrealistic expectations on his rate of development. Having Stewart and O’Connor (who are both excellent with their composure) prob has helped settle him.

Stewart back in has helped a lot too. His composure and ability to be a sort of tall and small welds the defence just that bit better. We looked a bit out of sorts in his absence at times, a bit slow. There's more confident dash now about the side, Bews has been very good too, he's grabbing the ball and bursting away, using a strength of his to advantage. And that helps our forwards, with Tom in dominating form.

I reckon the club may have gained some confidence even from the Eagles loss...it was in Perth, Nic Nat dominated and we had no available first choice ruckman to select that night. And we really put in and came so close. Flying to comfortable Brisbane in mid-winter surely is something the players would actually enjoy...it's not freezing cold, rehab is a bit easier with no freezing cold nights or mornings, and temperatures around the low 20's in daytime.

What's not to love about that? Just reckon the players are buying in big time now, and they really look committed to the cause and ready to make this season count. A lot still to come, but it's a boost again i think to know they will be in Brisbane again after their Adelaide foray.

 

[goyoucatters]

Not quite 119, but it'll do.

Margin for the week was 119, though...

(59+60)

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

Port just played to our defensive strengths. Just bombed it in all night. Which made it so easy for our intercept defenders to just pick them off.

Our all ground pressure has been off the charts the last few weeks, that takes the opposition game away and has them playing right into our hands.
kudos to us that when we win it back we are clean and methodical

 

[goyoucatters]

Absolutely loved what we did tonight. As so many others have said, a total team performance. Thought the intensity was really good throughout, and we played the game to our system and ultimately reaped the rewards.

Having said that, I think this week's games have only underlined that neither the Saints (unsurprisingly) or even Port can actually be taken seriously as premiership contenders. Unless Port ends up with three home finals (including the GF), I just don't think they have enough weapons to trouble the best teams. Their forward line is hardly stellar if Dixon goes missing (all hail Harry) and the back line looks vulnerable as well.

We will still have to be brilliant to take this out. But I see the threat coming from West Coast (particularly if W.A. jags the Grandy) and the Tigers, primarily. I'd also include Collingwood (if they can cobble together enough wins), as we generally struggle to put them away whenever we play them.

Brisbane would fancy their chances (given the probable finals venue leg-up), but I don't fear their set-up too much and would back our greater experience in finals against what would still be a relatively green group.

Of course, there is still much to play out and plenty of twists in store, no doubt. But we could hardly be better placed, and are playing better footy closer to the finals than we were last year.

And hopefully the commentary narrative questioning 'what has happened?' to the teams we are belting can continue unabated as well. Laughable to hear them all falling over themselves to explain away the utter dominance we have been displaying at times.

Just a hint, you clowns, the Cats actually might be more than just OK.

 

[ChappyUK]

I can't see Sav coming back in. With Rohan and Miers running up the field and forcing defenders to go with them, Danger resting there and the mids storming forward to get the ground balls it just leaves Hawk with so much space. Bit like Pagan's paddock. Sav just doesn't have the tank to move defenders away and we lose some unpredictability.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

When we beat Brisbane, Fagin was asked is this loss an aberration
When we beat St. Kilda, Ratten was asked is this loss an aberration.
When we beat Port, Hinkley was asked is this loss an aberration.

Geelong, the aberration!

 

[Bring back Moloney]

Gee whiz. What a performance by the big T Bone. Was excited at the sight of him all oiled up to start proceedings, and goodness gracious did he deliver! Possibly the most complete and dominant game of his career.

One thing that absolutely baffled me.... BT and Carey having an actual serious conversation on whether or not Hawkins “has done enough” to earn another contract?!?? Like it was even actually debatable. Jesus Christ almighty, it’s staggering how bad the Channel 7 commentary team is.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Still have hope for Steven. He is looking fitter and he gets the footy which allows Parfitt to stay outside or HHF and Danger to stay more fwd.

Simpson, Fogs and Atkins are the obvious ones fighting with Steven, Narkle, Cocky, Close and Dahl.

For mine it’s Steven, Narkle and Dahl. Definitely need to try Cocky though.

Steven has definitely been building.
I'm a Narkle fan too and am always happy to see him in the 22.
Dahlhaus enthuses me a bit less; very limited player - I do not doubt his commitment though.

Of the players you nominated BigCat1 I reckon Dahlhaus and probably Atkins are on the very edge of the best 22 - I'd pick any of Fogarty, Simpson, Close, Steven or Narkle ahead of those two - but it's a decent luxury to have depth of that calibre.

 

[Cursed Cat]

You can almost go back to the early season events and Scott's actions:

- when the season was postponed he offered to continue working without pay so that someone else who had a mortgage or family to support could continue earning a wage during the shutdown
- that then spread to other staff members offering similar so that someone who needed it more than them would continue to be supported

- after the season restarted and talk of a WA hub was raised, he took a positive attitude to that and said the club would do that they needed to do so that the season could keep going

No doubt that his leadership this year extends beyond the coaches box, and it seems that all at the club have embraced a similar attitude - another reason to be proud as a Cats supporter

Excellent post C09 - I've had my digs at Chris Scott in the appropriate thread here and there, but his class as a Human Being has shone through during the Pandemic. Very few walk the walk when it comes to $.

 

[Cursed Cat]

I find Henry difficult to come to terms with. Love his spoils but feel like there is a mistake in him. Love him, he's a geelong boy and hope his brother finds his way to the cats but just never entirely sure

Defenders make mistakes smotherking and their mistakes are more fraught than a midfielder or a forward's .. imo Jack Henry is well positioned to hold down a back 6 spot with our club for another half dozen seasons at least, if he wants to stay with us. Can play tall and is also agile enough to be effective in the maelstrom ... When Harry Taylor retires next year he will suddenly be a lot more important. I reckon he's having a great year to date.

 

[Cursed Cat]

It looked easy - it was hard
It looked lucky - It was clever
It looked simple - It was skill
Port looked flat - Port were overwhelmed
Port looked mesmerized _ Port were ineffective.
Like an illusion that we outnumbered them.
Like magic we popped up in perfect position
Things are not always what they seem
It wasn't a magic spell it was an effective plan
It wasn't telepathy it was clear understanding
It wasn't slow tempo it was quick short play.
It wasn't individuals it was working as a single unit
It wasn't good form it was good player management
It wasn't a quarter burst it was maintaining momentum.
It wasn't a good win it was soul crushing.

superb stuff Heckler.

 

[Cursed Cat]

I can't see Sav coming back in. With Rohan and Miers running up the field and forcing defenders to go with them, Danger resting there and the mids storming forward to get the ground balls it just leaves Hawk with so much space. Bit like Pagan's paddock. Sav just doesn't have the tank to move defenders away and we lose some unpredictability.

I've been a 'vocal' and consistent supporter of Sav's, but you have a good point for sure.
Finals are sometimes a bit different though and the structure that KF's provide has historically been important - doesn't mean that it need be so this year, though...

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Hopefully kennedy gets held this weekend.

Checks fixture...
Hawthorn.

*. Well the lead was nice while he had it.

 

[Larry Donohue]

Only disappointment was Simpson. He really started to play with some of the spark hes played with in VFL, backing hes class and agility. So sh*t to see him get injured right at that point I reckon he had confidence.

I think he has sealed a spot on the list going forward. may be disappointed, but that is more important for him

 

[ChappyUK]

Can everyone please email this to C. Scott.

 

[ChappyUK]

Steven has definitely been building.
I'm a Narkle fan too and am always happy to see him in the 22.
Dahlhaus enthuses me a bit less; very limited player - I do not doubt his commitment though.

Of the players you nominated BigCat1 I reckon Dahlhaus and probably Atkins are on the very edge of the best 22 - I'd pick any of Fogarty, Simpson, Close, Steven or Narkle ahead of those two - but it's a decent luxury to have depth of that calibre.

The depth makes me smile.

 

[AlcoaCat]

Extremely enjoyable experience. So pleased with the younger players.

 

[juzcat]

Atkins, Fog, Simpson, there'd be a few to make way??

and for that matter, if we can hardly fit in Ablett, where does Dalhaus fit in?

Sent from my SM-N975F using Tapatalk

 

[Moggy]

On face value the Cats have given good value for money throughout the Chris Scott era, winning far more often than they've lost.

And yet the long-ago honeymoon period has gradually waned, eclipsed by the Big Asterix that now looms over every success, just on the periphery of every victory, peversly polluting every accumulating win with the subconscious effects of a lingering PTSD especially reserved for Geelong supporters.*

The pattern reveals itself season upon season; Expectations of finals success are inevitably raised - though often begrudgingly - on the back of strong Home and Away form.

But when those Expectations remain unfulfilled come September's end, those banner-waving yesterdays become little more than the set-up for a bitter punchline.

Older Cats Fans have seen it all before; in fact they've been lived through worse.

Entire seasons of excitement and promise cruelly crushed on Grand Final day - and don't think we forget all those pre-season comp GF losses, too - until an almost Pavlovian response is imbued, a subconscious Lid permanently poised against the spectre of expectation.

Possibly the most scarring of these lessons took place on that intersection where old bitter supporters witnessed the birth of the next generation of curdled Cat fans; GF day 2008.

Who can remember the peerless football we played that year without also calling up a pain that can be felt in the very nerves?

And yet what is it to support a team, in any sport, without hope?
Being an Unbeliever, it is probably the one bit of faith that I'll allow.
But it is hard earned. The Cats work in mysterious ways.

And so here we are again, in an apparently enviable position, having played compelling football for large stretches of this unusual season.

Is anything different?

Did it feel like this last year - when we were two games clear on top of the ladder during the H&A season?

An unprecedented (I was told off for using that word the other day IRL) 5 games in 19 days, and the club has given a top-class account of itself in every one of them, even in the loss to West Coast.

I like our midfield spread a lot better this year. So far.
In-form mature-agers Guthrie and Menegola have stepped up after the defection of Tim Kelly, and Brandan Parfitt has quietly added support with a balanced two-way on-ball game. In recent weeks long-odds pair Simpson and Fogarty have supplied quality depth.
'Dangerwood' is a distant memory, as is the concept behind it.

Fogarty's new-found form effectively doubles our Parfitt factor; we now have two two-way players to run through the midfield.

Joel Selwood has been a competent foot soldier during the past two wins, which is a great sign.
I liked his game tonight, a few times he subdued his ego in simply knocking a loose ball to a teammate's advantage rather than trying to gather and register a stat - it was a late-career Harry-type of game from Selwood.

And Harry himself was awesome, as he has been all year long.
He looked a wee bit hobbled at one point, but came back after half time and navigated the heavy seas with a steady hand on the tiller.

The defense has really found some synergy over the past month, at times tonight they worked together as an organism, completely instinctive and synchronized to one purpose.
Some of our own supporters were mocking 'the Misfits' only a few weeks ago but they have hit a rich vein of form.

Gryan Miers was solid tonight; he was woefully down on confidence only a couple of weeks ago, but to his credit he is working his way through a potential case of the 2nd-year Blues by running his guts out.

Cliche or not; you tell me with a straight face that Mark OÇónnor hasn't done a bit of Riverdancing in his time. Very agile.

Mixed beer, Bailey's and Wine tonight in a manner that is probably not conducive to brevity nor the structuring of narrative .

A bulldozing Nakia Cockatoo comeback might just threaten to loosen the Lid a wee bit.



* Collingwood supporters are probably well-acquainted with this specific torment too, I imagine.

That... was majestic

 

[Moggy]

I worked out the cause of our form reversal after the Collingwood game.
Turns out it was one of my own posts in the autopsy thread. In summary, the post said:
“Burn them... Burn them all”

 

[Hello Kitty]

Very fit and white hot. Little concerned about having a bye to be honest.

Me too! I was thinking during the game that these short breaks are great for Geelong + no more Byes
Last week I was concerned about Hawkins, who looked exhausted.
Team depth + resting players is really helping.

 

[David the Cat]

I find Henry difficult to come to terms with. Love his spoils but feel like there is a mistake in him. Love him, he's a geelong boy and hope his brother finds his way to the cats but just never entirely sure

He was excellent tonight....career best performance.