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Geelong lacks drive: Jeff Kennett
Mark Robinson | March 24, 2009 12:00am
JEFF Kennett has lobbed a grenade at Geelong on the eve of Round 1, accusing the Cats of not having the "mental drive" of the Hawks.
Kennett said yesterday he was not accusing the Cats of being mentally weak, although it is understood the Cats have taken it that way.
"I don't think I called them psychologically weak. What I said there was a psychological thing in play," Kennett said.
"When we play them, it's a different game from when they play anyone else."
A Cats official said yesterday: "Not bad motivation for the boys."
The Hawthorn president, speaking on the ABC's The Offsiders on Sunday, highly praised last year's Grand Finalists, and then added: "What they don't have, I don't think, is the quality of some of our players . . . they don't have the psychological drive that we have.
[I]"We've beaten Geelong when it mattered over the last five years consistently." [/I]
Kennett said yesterday: "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant is our guys are very focused and for some reason this record between the two clubs plays on Geelong.
"They know we've beaten them in the most encounters and it plays on them," he said.
"That's not anything we've done, it's more something that Geelong reacts to when we play them. That's all I mean."
The Hawks have won four of the past five encounters against Geelong and Kennett says the one loss - in Round 17 last year by 11 points - was the most significant of the recent matches.
During the past five years Geelong has won five games to Hawthorn's four.
"Geelong is the best team in the league. They have hard bodies, they are well trained, have got wonderful individual players. But we have consistently performed well against them," Kennett said.
"And it's become a psychological thing more than anything else.
"We didn't win in Round 17 last year mainly because we fouled up on two occasions in the last quarter.
"But that to me was the game that gave our guys the knowledge that if we met in the Grand Final we could beat them, because we lost it through error rather than lost by the competition.
"We've always had good players, the clubs are similar, but for some reason over the past five years we've won the majority of the games (sic).
"So what I meant, therefore, for some reason when we meet there is psychological element that plays into being.
"I don't know what it is.
"I think I said on Sunday, Geelong won most of the stats on the Grand Final, they just didn't win the last one (the scoreboard)."
Kennett yesterday continued to praise the Cats - "We've got great respect for each other, good administrations, good organisations," he said - and says the Cats are the team to beat this year.
A win on Friday would be difficult, Kennett said.
"They were the best team last year, except on one day, and I think they go into this year clearly being the favourites again and they start this season against us," he said.
"They have a lot more fitter bodies than us, we've lost a lot to injury, etc, so I'm not holding my breath.
"But I'm not as concerned about the first game as much as I am the last."
As arrogant and disrespectful that they are, its hard to argue with them until we put the score on the board, so to speak...nonetheless if the players feel like I do after reading them, they should come out firing on all cylinders. We need to smash them, really make a statement.
Mark Robinson | March 24, 2009 12:00am
JEFF Kennett has lobbed a grenade at Geelong on the eve of Round 1, accusing the Cats of not having the "mental drive" of the Hawks.
Kennett said yesterday he was not accusing the Cats of being mentally weak, although it is understood the Cats have taken it that way.
"I don't think I called them psychologically weak. What I said there was a psychological thing in play," Kennett said.
"When we play them, it's a different game from when they play anyone else."
A Cats official said yesterday: "Not bad motivation for the boys."
The Hawthorn president, speaking on the ABC's The Offsiders on Sunday, highly praised last year's Grand Finalists, and then added: "What they don't have, I don't think, is the quality of some of our players . . . they don't have the psychological drive that we have.
[I]"We've beaten Geelong when it mattered over the last five years consistently." [/I]
Kennett said yesterday: "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant is our guys are very focused and for some reason this record between the two clubs plays on Geelong.
"They know we've beaten them in the most encounters and it plays on them," he said.
"That's not anything we've done, it's more something that Geelong reacts to when we play them. That's all I mean."
The Hawks have won four of the past five encounters against Geelong and Kennett says the one loss - in Round 17 last year by 11 points - was the most significant of the recent matches.
During the past five years Geelong has won five games to Hawthorn's four.
"Geelong is the best team in the league. They have hard bodies, they are well trained, have got wonderful individual players. But we have consistently performed well against them," Kennett said.
"And it's become a psychological thing more than anything else.
"We didn't win in Round 17 last year mainly because we fouled up on two occasions in the last quarter.
"But that to me was the game that gave our guys the knowledge that if we met in the Grand Final we could beat them, because we lost it through error rather than lost by the competition.
"We've always had good players, the clubs are similar, but for some reason over the past five years we've won the majority of the games (sic).
"So what I meant, therefore, for some reason when we meet there is psychological element that plays into being.
"I don't know what it is.
"I think I said on Sunday, Geelong won most of the stats on the Grand Final, they just didn't win the last one (the scoreboard)."
Kennett yesterday continued to praise the Cats - "We've got great respect for each other, good administrations, good organisations," he said - and says the Cats are the team to beat this year.
A win on Friday would be difficult, Kennett said.
"They were the best team last year, except on one day, and I think they go into this year clearly being the favourites again and they start this season against us," he said.
"They have a lot more fitter bodies than us, we've lost a lot to injury, etc, so I'm not holding my breath.
"But I'm not as concerned about the first game as much as I am the last."
As arrogant and disrespectful that they are, its hard to argue with them until we put the score on the board, so to speak...nonetheless if the players feel like I do after reading them, they should come out firing on all cylinders. We need to smash them, really make a statement.
