Geelong: why are they just not good enough?

[HolyWars]

crappest team to make finals in the last 20 years.

No.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

They're 55-8 at GMHBA since 2012 and 70-53-2 everywhere else.

It's a weird shaped ground that nobody else seems to be able to play except for the Swans (who've beaten them 3 times). The Cats train on the ground multiple times a week and then play 7-9 games a year there. They've mastered it's unique dimensions and their game plan suits it.

They've been an average team away from the Cattery since 2012 and it shows up in finals when they can't play there.

Interesting numbers.

 

[iBeng]

I couldn't believe that they didn't play Stanley.

An absolutely farcical decision.

If it was a season match it'd be tanking.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

A tad prem. Qf losers usually revert to form the next week, and then the discussion changes radically.


I wouldnt write the Cats off, but Scott gets too cute fiddling under the hood when the engine was running okay. He is like that in his inrerviews too: everything is too complex and he is all muddled up. He was a pretty low IQ player, it is now necessary for the cats that he learns this immediately and stops behaving like he is a Wittgenstein.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

Scott watches too much Ross Lyon, tried to semi troll in his pressers now. Like his brother he can’t help but use an excuse

 

[ScragCity]

Geelong need to get a new everything, crappest team to make finals in the last 20 years.

Nah. Essington this year were the weakest finals team in the history of the AFL/VFL.

 

[The 747]

A tad prem. Qf losers usually revert to form the next week, and then the discussion changes radically.


I wouldnt write the Cats off, but Scott gets too cute fiddling under the hood when the engine was running okay. He is like that in his inrerviews too: everything is too complex and he is all muddled up. He was a pretty low IQ player, it is now necessary for the cats that he learns this immediately and stops behaving like he is a Wittgenstein.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

Completely agree with this analysis. Too cute by half. Play a ruck, and play the game style we played in rounds 1-11 where we caned everyone. But for whatever reason, post the bye started trying to get away with no ruck and playing a very low scoring defensive gameplan.

Last night was deja vu for us Cats supporters, rock up to a final after a week off, start slowly and well off the pace, drop too far behind to win. Then grind back for the next three quarters to lose by an honourable margin. Happens every final series we have been in since 2012. That is on the coach.

 

[Brunswick Trap King]

They should be ok once they finish their intensive training block. Right?

 

[FootyNoobie]

Every year Geelong get into finals because of their special home ground and every year they lose finals. It's an anomaly of our great game.Despite this mediocre team getting a free ride every year, Chris Scott blames the AFL ,the weather ect , and football is the poorer for it.
When will the AFL act to rid this team of their unfair advantage that ruins the finals every year? Chris Scott has done a good job pretending they are persecuted, but the real elephant in the room is the free 8 wins given to Geelong every year on their cheat ground.
Hey Geelong, take a leaf out of West Coast's book and get some normal ground dimensions .

Yes, completely agree, can't wait for Gil to stamp out the rampant amount of cheating in our league by announcing that all interstate teams will play their H&A home games at the MCG, in the 2020 season. This rorting of the system has gone on for too long.

 

[AlcoaCat]

A tad prem. Qf losers usually revert to form the next week, and then the discussion changes radically.


I wouldnt write the Cats off, but Scott gets too cute fiddling under the hood when the engine was running okay. He is like that in his inrerviews too: everything is too complex and he is all muddled up. He was a pretty low IQ player, it is now necessary for the cats that he learns this immediately and stops behaving like he is a Wittgenstein.

On SM-G955F using BigFooty.com mobile app

Spot on. Footy's a simple game played in plain view, but Scotty pretends that it's rocket science. Going to Harvard on one of those backslapping quickie courses was the worst thing that could have happened to this at heart ordinary decent bloke. He's turned into a faux intellectual who can't answer a straight question and he's constantly trying to make what he has in terms of players and resources fit a theory which is utterly opposed to the club's ethos. That theory was horribly exposed last night as it is every year. He needs to start working out what has consistently gone wrong in the past if he wants to improve, not just live in hopeless denial.

Chris scott is a good manager but a poor coach. Too many former players -- and now most of the supporter base - whinge about his inability to connect and inspire. It's time for him to quit the Cats and start climbing the greasy pole at AFL House - this is his true calling. How I wish we had someone like David Teague or Bevo at the helm.

 

[kickazz]

during the H&A the players didn’t have to hear their coach bitch & moan at every chance he gets about not playing at GMHBA for 2 weeks straight though.

I think theres something in it. The sooking surely does not help.

What I will say is that the defensive, slow game style we've used post mid season bye is definitely more suited to KP. It can give big wins.

Our wins at the 'G this year saw fast ball movement. Then the second time we played Hawthorn we went slow and lost. Go figure.

Winning finals are about taking the game on, being prepared to make mistakes but knowing your opposition will too, and just keep taking it on. Cats haven't done it for months.

 

[Sir_Loin]

Every year Geelong get into finals because of their special home ground and every year they lose finals. It's an anomaly of our great game.Despite this mediocre team getting a free ride every year, Chris Scott blames the AFL ,the weather ect , and football is the poorer for it.
When will the AFL act to rid this team of their unfair advantage that ruins the finals every year? Chris Scott has done a good job pretending they are persecuted, but the real elephant in the room is the free 8 wins given to Geelong every year on their cheat ground.
Hey Geelong, take a leaf out of West Coast's book and get some normal ground dimensions .

 

[Leather Poisoning]

As much as I've ragged on him his entire career - I'm actually feeling a bit of pity for old mate Joel.

Has lost of a lot of pace. Was never 'quick' but now he look outright slow. Still has the same intent but just can't impact the contest. They've got him playing 5 metres off the pack but that wasn't working last night.

Hawkins has had a huge season but in finals needs someone to pave some space for him. Darcy Moore had a picnic while Roughead scragged Hawkins.

They've patched the side up really well (Tuohy is a great pickup, Zac Smith a great pick up, Rohan has played a role but ffs you can't treat him like a serious second forward option) but the midfield is the hardest to restump. The cats have done well to ease out Bartell, Johnson, Kelly, and all those guys. From key roles, to side roles to traded out. But the midfield is just damn hard to replace.

 

[Sir_Loin]

As much as I've ragged on him his entire career - I'm actually feeling a bit of pity for old mate Joel.

Has lost of a lot of pace. Was never 'quick' but now he look outright slow. Still has the same intent but just can't impact the contest. They've got him playing 5 metres off the pack but that wasn't working last night.

Hawkins has had a huge season but in finals needs someone to pave some space for him. Darcy Moore had a picnic while Roughead scragged Hawkins.

They've patched the side up really well (Tuohy is a great pickup, Zac Smith a great pick up, Rohan has played a role but ffs you can't treat him like a serious second forward option) but the midfield is the hardest to restump. The cats have done well to ease out Bartell, Johnson, Kelly, and all those guys. From key roles, to side roles to traded out. But the midfield is just damn hard to replace.

Playing a ruckman against Grundy would have helped

 

[Mitchell Madness]

I've said it before, but geelongs position is as much psychological as it is their form.
Teams say they don't pay attention to external noise, but there's no doubt the media fawning over the cats and talking them up sinks into some opposition. Their opponents for yrs have gotten a quick 3-4 goal lead then seem to stop, expecting a fight back.

 

[threesixpio]

Could still win their next game...







Won’t but

 

[The 747]

As much as I've ragged on him his entire career - I'm actually feeling a bit of pity for old mate Joel.

Has lost of a lot of pace. Was never 'quick' but now he look outright slow. Still has the same intent but just can't impact the contest. They've got him playing 5 metres off the pack but that wasn't working last night.

He's played 250 games as an inside mid and now he is being asked to play a different role.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Scott watches too much Ross Lyon, tried to semi troll in his pressers now. Like his brother he can’t help but use an excuse

He is actually resembling Lyon more and more with the failed, defeatist game plan.

 

[asanque]

Chris Scott.

 

[PerthBoy86]

That 3-8 in finals is now 3-10, and they’ve got the reigning premiers next week.

Five top 4 finishes in that time.

A straight sets exit from top spot would surely raise some major questions...?

It’s quite strange really, they look so good throughout the H&A season.

They looked good in the first half but I alwsys got a weird NM 2016 feel from them. Just felt their elite players were papering over some cracks and they'd crumble without their wobbly foundation. Often they'd just fall over the line in games. After the bye confirmed my suspicions. If you take away their home advantage they'd probably have finished about 6th. A most unconvincing minor premier.

 

[PerthBoy86]

They're 55-8 at GMHBA since 2012 and 70-53-2 everywhere else.

It's a weird shaped ground that nobody else seems to be able to play except for the Swans (who've beaten them 3 times). The Cats train on the ground multiple times a week and then play 7-9 games a year there. They've mastered it's unique dimensions and their game plan suits it.

They've been an average team away from the Cattery since 2012 and it shows up in finals when they can't play there.

Yeah I honestly feel they should've just built a new stadium with MCG like dimensions to fit 50-60k like we did. The tradeoff would be worth it. They could also play all their home games there and finals.

 

[Aishole]

What I will say is that the defensive, slow game style we've used post mid season bye is definitely more suited to KP. It can give big wins.

Our wins at the 'G this year saw fast ball movement. Then the second time we played Hawthorn we went slow and lost. Go figure.

Winning finals are about taking the game on, being prepared to make mistakes but knowing your opposition will too, and just keep taking it on. Cats haven't done it for months.

Yeah your game plan is very boring and average. But to me, the fumbles, players running into each other signalled a team that weren’t focused. Especially early. Sure the pressure was on from Pies, but yous should have expected that. Looked like yous wouldve rather be an hr down the highway.

 

[QueenslanderTiger]

Quick question.

When does Scott come under some sort of pressure?

Is he that protected by Geelong and the media?

I honestly don't pay too much attention to Geelong anymore so apologies in advance if there is a simple answer to the above.

 

[Aishole]

Geelong need to get a new everything, crappest team to make finals in the last 20 years.

Worst to finish on top - Maybe. But, definitely not the worst to make finals. Not even the worst this year... Essendon made it remember?

 

[PerthBoy86]

What I will say is that the defensive, slow game style we've used post mid season bye is definitely more suited to KP. It can give big wins.

Our wins at the 'G this year saw fast ball movement. Then the second time we played Hawthorn we went slow and lost. Go figure.

Winning finals are about taking the game on, being prepared to make mistakes but knowing your opposition will too, and just keep taking it on. Cats haven't done it for months.

Cats didn't look like scoring almost all night. Collingwood are a defensively tight unit, and Moore, Howe etc were gobbling up inside 50 entries, but the Cats just didn't look dangerous going into 50, it was like a machine gun up against a tank. They only looked dangerous (mind the pun) when Dangerfield surged forward. Kelly and Ablett were shut down. It's obvious they've become too reliant on too few.

I thonk most Geelong fans realise their game suits congestion better, and they suffer from teams finding space. Dockers likewise opened them up at Optus.

 

[The 747]

Quick question.

When does Scott come under some sort of pressure?

Is he that protected by Geelong and the media?

I honestly don't pay too much attention to Geelong anymore so apologies in advance if there is a simple answer to the above.

If we lose next week he will come under pressure - there are a lot of supporters who are tired of repeating the same year over and over again, finish top 4, get jumped in a final early and claw back for an honourable loss. However, he is the winningest coach in the H&A of all time which makes it a difficult debate. Maybe he is getting an average side to a strong position with good coaching but they get exposed in the finals. Maybe another coach could fix the finals issue.