Geelong's last 22 games. Interesting stat.

[geelong_boy]

Pull your head in. If you reckon some of Kelly and Corey's recent performances represent passion and a full on effort you are kidding yourself. Of course they don't want to lose but are they working hard enough? I don't think they are..as a team that is.

Apologies if rational (if a little emotional) debate offends you to the point that you feel the need to abuse your fellow Cat fans.

I guess that's just it Catnip, we just don't know what effort the players are putting in cos we aren't the players. I really would hope they are, I'd be seriously pi$$ed if they weren't given the amount of $$$ they get and how many other people (ie. us) pay them that money so they can have that lifestyle. Kelly has been playing well below his best lately but for all we know he could be trying his best but be badly out of form. Again, how do we know when we aren't him?

 

[WestCat]

Stats are a wonderful thing, and can be twisted and manipulated anyway any individual would like to take an argument.

For example I took the 22 games prior to the ones Hulkster was talking about. Here our win loss ratio is

16 wins & 6 losses.

A bit of a different perspective huh?

IMO I just think people in the footy world get lost in stats, and you can basically manipulate to support all arguments both FOR & AGAINST.

IMO Here are the important things to consider:

04 Geelong lost by 9 points in the prelim
05 Geelong lost by 3 points in the second semi against the eventual premiers.

In 06 we sit 2 & 4 after 6 rounds. Why speculate about anything else? We could go on a big winning streak and all this talk could pale into insignficance. Or we could lose the next 4 and ruin our season. The fact is we don't know whats going to happen, and the finals are played in 14 weeks from now.

I have just about lost interest in this board at the moment.

Talk of coach sacking, questioning our players commitment, ability & skill.

Our current situation is what it is, and Yes it could be worse in two weeks, but it could also be a whole lot better. People just need to chill out a bit.

Last time I checked a flag was won in September, and it sure as hell isn't lost in May.

Ahh yes, good old stats. Don't forget that we were 2-4 at this time in 2004 for a top 4 spot, but 4-2 at this time last year for a 5th placed finish. Funny how things work out!

Anyway, I personally look at how they play. I knew the Cats were done 10 mins into the game, they didn't have the same intensity they they had early in the season. From the Melbourne loss last year through to the Roos game this year we won 10 of 11 games including the preseason comp. The one loss took perhaps the greatest quarter of footy played for a long long time in Sydney. If the boys regain that same intensity they will win every game, but if they don't they won't. It's as simple as that.

 

[Live in hope]

The good news - it is a very good list and we will definitely bounce back.

The bad news - we have a team that (injuries permitting) could get us to final 4 or possibly to final 2 but unlikely to get us the big one.

Problem is that most of the list have one or more flaws in their game - particularly kicking. Let's be honest with this - even our best five (with the foot) would maybe just break even with the Eagles or Swans 12-22. This is a big problem and has hurt us for years (including in the "glory" days 89-95.). This showed again the last three weeks (definitely cost us the game against Bulldogs) as opposition sides respond to Bomber's one on one tactic with a flood (Daniher simply moved half his side into our forward 50 and 10 of our guys followed). Makes it hard for the key forwards to get any confidence when the passes are so inconsistent or the ball comes up the slow way, chipped around because we don't have any confience in our ability to pin-point a pass. We get away with this at home, because the visting sides can't cope with the "fluky" wind at the ground and come back to our level. This is no problem for them at telstra and (to lesser extent) the 'G.
Would love to know what kicking skill development the Cats do (any??) or what emphasis they place on kicking skills when they recruit.

Our pace is good, although all sides are good or improving here. Problem is that our super quicks (Byrnes, Tenace and, to a lesser extent, Monika) are not good by foot (and Tenace is terrible short) and there are some shockers (Gardner #1) in the team. Our ball winners aren't slow, but can't match it with the Eagle's fab 4 or SS's Bolton, Buchannan etc. off the first 5 metres. Hopefully Varcoe will help with both first 5 m pace/kicking.

Of course the big problem is no match winning tall forward. Think Ottens is great value as a resting ruck for 2-3 goals, but he ain't a Treadrea/Hall/Pavlich. Kingsley is a great decoy, but we all know about his consistency.

Think that in other departments - toughness, fitness - Cats are very good. Tackling is down, but this is a confidence thing ( as is that "spirit" thing).

Hopefully I'm wrong and we'll not only get top 4 , but we'll win the flag with this mob. If we don't, think we bite the bullet with the ones with no foot skills and trade a couple of our top 10 (aghast !) to get a top 3 pick gun forward.

End of sermon (or dummy spit)

 

[VikingCat]

In response to the comment along the lines of "I refuse to accept this bullsh*t": what choice do you have? You can either:
1. Accept it, and hope it changes, or
2. Support another club.
If you're not on the selection committee, or the draft committee, or some other infernal committee, you can't really do a damn thing. Except cut up your membership out of spite, then miss out on finals tickets and get your cut-up card posted back to you next year a la Mick Malthouse.

Everyone's frustrated. The players, the supporters, the coach...
Patience is a virtue. What goes up comes down, but if it went up in the first place, it can go up again.

 

[Live in hope]

None of us are going to go for another club.

You're right, of course. None of the stuff on this page is going to change strategy etc. . But I do think that (collectively) we, the supporters think that we have a better side than we actually have. And foot skills (for mine) is the number one problem. I hope that the committees are also focused on this.

 

[bluejay]

When we are up, I'm never the number 1 fan. I hate losing. Ever. Losing 1 game is unacceptable so how do you think I feel about losing 4 straight. There are certain football institutions around the world (Barcelona for example) that would riot if their team lost 4 in a row - so why must we endure these horrendous performances without complaint?

Just let me tell you that we wouldn't riot, although it would be close to that. But I understand what was the point you were trying to tell .

About the guy who talks about injuries, I must say the Saints endured even more injuries than the Cats, and their record in the last 22 is 15-7, compared to the 9-13 of Geelong. Although I agree injuries can be mentioned as an excuse, you can't say that to the whole extend.

Having said this, I wish the Cats luck for the rest of the season (except for the games the play against St. Kilda).

 

[Copernicus]

That's not a real flattering stat. It definitely tells us that there has been a little overrating going on, whether by the players themselves or the fans. Unfortunately, us fans are used to trying to find positives where they may not always exist

It just tells the frustrating tale of GFC right now. We're in a rut and I hope to God we can get out of it tonight.

 

[Catnip]

I guess that's just it Catnip, we just don't know what effort the players are putting in cos we aren't the players. I really would hope they are, I'd be seriously pi$$ed if they weren't given the amount of $$$ they get and how many other people (ie. us) pay them that money so they can have that lifestyle. Kelly has been playing well below his best lately but for all we know he could be trying his best but be badly out of form. Again, how do we know when we aren't him?

Check out some of Scarlos comments in that Hun artcile about our pace (Brereton I think it was). It keeps coming up 'we aren't/weren't working hard enough for each other'. This is what I was alluding to.