Review Geelong defeats Saints by 8 points

[splashwave]

Dekoning’s ability hasn’t disappeared, his confidence is just shot from having his face broken last year. Might take time but he’ll get back to his best soon enough.

Loved Dempsey’s goal where he stepped around an opponent then straightened and kicked it, he did the same from a set shot in one of his early VFL games. I’ve said it before but his combination of running power and contested marking is going to make him really dangerous.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I’m more worried about the defense , the midfield and forwards will be fine once they start clicking …the defense still looks shaky

SDK had a couple of howlers but I think majority of our defensive holes were just pushing up into the forward line to hard and then having to try outrun Liam Henry.

I put that on Chris Scott. Like we just lost the institutional memory of how to play against this Ross Lyon clusterf*

 

[bulletproof]

Think he’s probably gone on one too many. He wasn’t awful but had little impact other than his goal. I’d play Bowes in front of him.
Close the other that did effectively sfa. He needs to lift.

I thought Close played with very low desperation, urgency. He will need to lift with Mannagh on the scene.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Bowes in for Tuohy is a big improvement.

I love the Irishman too death but I'm think young Jack adds more

 

[year of the cat]

Not sure what to make of Stanley’s game? He was ok at times and tried to compete well but dropped some gettable marks. Obviously he’s considered to be ahead of Conway but the gap can’t be too wide now.

Edit - Marshall 19 possessions and 36 hit outs
Stanley 8 and 25

 

[God Mode]

Forward line has a lot of potency... Not too worried about that.

I'm more worried about the midfield.

It does, but it was the midfield who performed better tonight. I agree though, the midfield is our weakest line and it remains to be seen how they fare against better opponents.

 

[The_Todd07]

I don't like having oppo cheer squad behind goals at river end.

Detracts from the Danger goal in the highlights. Looks a bit flat.

* the opposition. They can have that crap spot under the scoreboard on the flank.

As much as we might want 99% Geelong fans there, having a big block of Saints fans made the atmosphere so much better.
They were noisy and it drove the Cats fans to match it in the last quarter and was brilliant.

When I realised our new seats were in the bay next to their cheer squad I thought it might suck but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Now we just have to win every home game so I don't have to experience a loss in that location.

 

[Two Planks]

My initial thoughts from tonight.

Forwards continue to play from behind and don't compete when the ball is in the air. To many uncontested intercept marks to the Saints. Neale is a must inclusion going forward because he will at the very least provide a contest and give opportunities to our smalls to get to work.

Got caught out a few times in transition which opened up our backline which looked pedestrian at times. The development of a quick small defender should be a priority.

Dempsey is a future star and should stay in the side from this moment on. Bruhn lacks a little polish but makes up for it with grunt and workrate.

Sdk not the same player as 2022 where he would dominate in the air.

 

[thecatattack]

Our youth. Just unreal.

Dempsey might be the best of them. Give Holmes what he wants. Bruhn is a hard nut, tackling machine. Clark is an absolute nutcase with no regard for himself or what's in front of him.

The rest, Henry, SDK, Stengle etc we know what that can produce.

Not worried about our future at all, in fact, I'm very excited about it.

 

[Baudolino]

Not sure what to make of Stanley’s game? He was ok at times and tried to compete well but dropped some gettable marks. Obviously he’s considered to be ahead of Conway but the gap can’t be too wide now.

It's interesting, I actually think he's lifted the baseline level of his ruckwork over the last two years - I'd argue that he usually breaks even or is at least competitive with his opponent at ruck contests, and I genuinely think his vertical leap at center bounces is better than it's ever been - and that continued tonight, but on the other hand around the ground he seems to have dropped off from his 2022 level and isn't offering much in that area.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Our youth. Just unreal.

Dempsey might be the best of them. Give Holmes what he wants. Bruhn is a hard nut, tackling machine. Clark is an absolute nutcase with no regard for himself or what's in front of him.

The rest, Henry, SDK, Stengle etc we know what that can produce.

Not worried about our future at all, in fact, I'm very excited about it.

They keep this up and you can't blame the Smiths & Perkins of the world for having a peek down the highway.

With what we've got coming through, and what we're going to continue to add, we'll win another flag within the next 4-5 years.

 

[thecatattack]

A lot of negativity here, just on the first page. Now I know why I'd rather stick to Twitter and talk with Cats fans there.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Not sure what to make of Stanley’s game? He was ok at times and tried to compete well but dropped some gettable marks. Obviously he’s considered to be ahead of Conway but the gap can’t be too wide now.

Edit - Marshall 19 possessions and 36 hit outs
Stanley 8 and 25

Marshall contested 86/91 ruck contests for 12 H.O to Adv.
Geelong rucks combined had 9.

But Rhys' Adv rate was lower and he gave away some frees.
Overall we combated a very good ruck collectively, and you'd have to say Stanley played his part in that. With help.

I would like to see 6-10 games as a target for Conway this season though.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

What i liked:
-Clark. Theres still room for improvement in his outside gane but i havent seen a 19yo care less about his personal safety than this kid in a long time. His attack is manic. If that says anything he will be a 200 gamer.
-Bruhn was great-noticeably fitter running between the arcs and no surprise both his ability to get ball away from the stoppage and defend oppo spread was way better. Hes always had the ability and his contest work is great he just needed a tank..good signs.
-Stewart was stewart and danger looked noticeably fresher. Cameron was class.
-Midfield was better than i thought it would be (admittedly not against a top line midfield so you cant measure it til we play a better team)
-Dempsey. Clearly nervous early but has x factor in spades. Like clark i think we simply have to pump games into him and he will grow hugely.
-oconnor playing fwd of centre was interesting tactically but he was good at times. Played like a guy who knows hes on the edge.
-i liked miers higher up the ground it was noticeable our transition was way better when he and cameron were connecting the fwds and mids

What i didnt like
-Ball use. Too much bombing i50 didnt give our fwds good looks. I know part of that was ross stupid flood but the few times we lowered the eyes in 2nd qtr we were much better.
-Goalkicking-woeful and needs work
-I actually thought our pressure at stoppages was really good and our intent to turn the ball over, but once they got past our 1st layer of numbers they got out the back too easily. At ghmba we will cover that and win most games due to the ground dimensions but on the bigger grounds this is going to be a real problem for us.
-Which idiot made mannagh sub. He did more in 15 minutes than half a dozen guys in a full game. If he doesnt start next week something is wrong.
-sdk had a mare, its only round 1 but hes got things he needs to work on.
-close was good with finishing but at times i felt he was very lackadaisical and seemed to be coasting. Someone ought to remind him that dempsey will stay in if he keeps playing like that and mannagh will probably be best 22 very soon. Close cant afford to coast.

Good signs from the blue chip kids, in general the rest not much to write home about, move onto next week.

 

[thecatattack]

They keep this up and you can't blame the Smiths & Perkins of the world for having a peek down the highway.

With what we've got coming through, and what we're going to continue to add, we'll win another flag within the next 4-5 years.

I'm almost certain we can win one very soon.

I'd even say this season if our midfield clicks, which is a big ask due to their age.

 

[Mr Meow]

SDK had a couple of howlers but I think majority of our defensive holes were just pushing up into the forward line to hard and then having to try outrun Liam Henry.

I put that on Chris Scott. Like we just lost the institutional memory of how to play against this Ross Lyon clusterf*

Scott always starts the season more aggressive. We usually leak counters and then tighten up a bit after a few weeks.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I thought Close played with very low desperation, urgency. He will need to lift with Mannagh on the scene.

Yep 100 %. Will find himself in the vfl soon if he doesnt as we have depth in his spot.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Not sure what to make of Stanley’s game? He was ok at times and tried to compete well but dropped some gettable marks. Obviously he’s considered to be ahead of Conway but the gap can’t be too wide now.

Edit - Marshall 19 possessions and 36 hit outs
Stanley 8 and 25

Marshall is a very good player. Not sure if I'd expect Conway to fare better

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Not sure what to make of Stanley’s game? He was ok at times and tried to compete well but dropped some gettable marks. Obviously he’s considered to be ahead of Conway but the gap can’t be too wide now.

Edit - Marshall 19 possessions and 36 hit outs
Stanley 8 and 25

His actual ruckwork against marshall was good. Hes dropped off a bit around the ground (not unexpected at 33) but still better than conway (who lacks the running capacity) in that regard. If we had played conway against a mobile ruck like marshall he would have got burned more in transition. The key is to play conway against the less mobile non athletic types.eg games against guys like reeves and xerri are ones you could target for conway.

 

[thecatattack]

Can see him coming in for Stengle. Tyson was still limping after the game, and can't see us risking him next week travelling to Adelaide off a six day break.

Seemed like a cramp tbh

 

[CatToTheFuture]

A lot of negativity here, just on the first page. Now I know why I'd rather stick to Twitter and talk with Cats fans there.

Less negativity on Twitter? That's dire

 

[Catastrophe!]

Thoughts:

- Dempsey should get a rising star nom after tonight, was the difference in the game

- Holmes was absolutely electric, and is doing better at not fading out of games

- Hawkins was the worst I've seen him in years. Looked slow, annoyed, fumbly, and was often beaten to the ball by his man. Definitely think this is his last year

- Mannagh had 3 moments in that last quarter that literally made me jump out of my seat. Cleared the ball from a contested situation near their forward 50 Dangerfield style, got tackled by Steele and craftily toe poked it right to Dempsey who centered it to Tuohy, and nearly kicked the sealer in another contested situation. Definitely needs to be in the 22 next week

- Ross Lyon football makes me want to break things. They're extraordinarily fit and well drilled, and as a result they ALL flood back and make it impossible to move the ball into your forward line. Then they slingshot it back out with their good kickers. Was an awful spectacle

- My god we couldn't kick straight tonight. Neither could they, but it felt like we had a lot more easy opportunities that we would usually nail

- Jhye Clark is an absolute animal. Will get better with disposal as the season wears on, but can never fault his endeavour

- Bruhn played like he belonged tonight. Spent a lot of the first quarter off the ground, yet still racked up 20 disposals and 8 tackles. Best game I've seen from him, and has definitely gone to another level

- Stanley just kept giving away free kicks to Marshall, and wasn't in his league. The sooner we get Conway ready and persist with him, the sooner we can move on from Stanley

- Danger very solid, and had that burst of speed that we all love back

- Jez is just a freak and that goal of the year contender was just pure bliss

- Zuthrie is now the mini Tom Stewart, and just makes so many good decisions with ball in hand/intercepts well

- Kolo was surprisingly very good, and didn't have one brain fart. Best game I've seen from him since the 2022 Finals series

- Tuohy and O'Connor with some ok moments, but ultimately, I think our depth pushes them out

- Looking to next week:

OUT: Stengle (sore)

IN: Bowes

B: Zuthrie, SDK, J. Henry
HB: Stewart, Kolo, Holmes
C: Blics, Bowes, Miers
FO: Stanley, Danger, Bruhn
HF: O'Henry, J. Cameron, Mannagh
F: Close, Hawkins, Dempsey
INT: Duncan, J. Clark, T. Atkins, O'Connor, Tuohy

 

[Baudolino]

If SDK continues this form against Tex Walker next week...

 

[Kobe Gryant]

A lot of negativity here, just on the first page. Now I know why I'd rather stick to Twitter and talk with Cats fans there.

Weirdly enough, trolling seems to be more common on BigFooty than it is Twitter, particularly nowadays.

It's getting harder and harder to engage in legit discussion, and I've said it ever since I signed up here: If we're this negative now, god forbid if we ever suck, it'll be unbearable.

Let's just be happy and grateful. The seasons kicked off with a win. At this time of the year, that's all that matters.

 

[thecatattack]

Less negativity on Twitter? That's dire

It is.

On Twitter you can at least build your own community of who you follow and interact with. I've built a good community of Cats fans to interact with.