Well played Geelong

[daddy_4_eyes]

Geelong played really well and had me on the edge of my seat till the final siren. I really thought we would lose at 3qtr time. They are a much better team than their 1-6 win/loss ration suggests. After talking down Geelongs chances all week I must say I was really impressed, especially by Wojcinski, he's so damn fast!

 

[Catman]

Overall I thought we were the better side but whether we ran out of legs in the last few minutes who knows, but in the end the Eagles had the luck, especially that 'mark' to Munro that was never a mark. That turned the game.

But no matter how well we played it is still a loss and we are 1-6, even though we aren't playing like the 16th placed side.

Yes, Bomber Wojcinski is fast, bloody fast. It is a pity he doesn't get more game time.

 

[Panzer_Blinky]

Well, the season is just about over for us (at least as far as finals are concerned), but there is still a lot to be gained this year, such as preparing for a finals assault next season and providing as much experience to the younger players as well. Today showed that we are far from the usual crap side that sits on the bottom (I would probably rate us as the "best" team who's sat on the bottom for some time), and that when pushed to, we can play a decent game.

A loss is a loss is a loss, but these are the games we need to be playing more of. Close, tight games provide the pressure-cooker situations that can closely resemble finals football, and if the Cats aren't going to face the real thing, then these types of game are reasonable substitutes. I also hope Bomber can bring this sort of performance out of the team and make it the norm, instead of the fleeting exception that we've seen only over the past two weeks. They can go to Sydney encouraged by their performance, a win may not be far away.

Directly concerning today (since this is what this topic is all about), I thought it was a 50/50 game. Could've gone either way, and yes, I thought the umpiring at a couple of critical points in the second half helped the Eagles considerably (I know the Cats had more frees, it was the location of where each team got the frees that hurt). But, can't complain, can't complain, it was a gutsy effort, and it would be a tough (and probably rather stupid) Cats follower who, after getting over the initial disappointment of the loss, continued to bag them for this week's narrow defeat.

 

[JUBJUB]

Originally posted by Catman


Yes, Bomber Wojcinski is fast, bloody fast. It is a pity he doesn't get more game time.

He was good today.He did a good job when moved onto Snoop Sampi Sampi. [or was it Leon Davis's twin ? ].

 

[Mr Q]

Excellent game, you guys probably deserved to win. It was a good sign for us that we could win that one, but you should take heart from that performance (and last week's as well).

Pre season I tipped Geelong for about 4th. Probably won't happen now, but I reckon that 16th is an insult to you guys (especially as truly weak teams like Melbourne are above you). With a bit of luck though I could see you guys sneak into 8th though and you can certainly cause a bit of havoc.

 

[jod23]

Geelong had me worried their for a while but the better team won on the day....just. Have no idea how the Cats are in 16th though??? Much better than that.

I though Gardiner and King broke even, as did the midfields which is why the game turned into an arm wrestle. Green really stood up in the last quarter though and kicked two important goals. I thought the Cats squandered opportunities in the last quarter which could have won the game but it's all over now. West Coast win! Hoorah

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by jod23

I though Gardiner and King broke even

Yep, pretty even.

The difference was that Gardiner has a more able backup, makes it much easier for the Eagles.

 

[jod23]

Originally posted by phatandphreaky
Yep, pretty even.

The difference was that Gardiner has a more able backup, makes it much easier for the Eagles.

Yep, Cox is certainly a pretty good backup ruckmen. Gardiner and King though played a scoreless draw

 

[Mattster]

Honestly, i am sick of losing. Despite playing well again, the fact is we have played two games in a row which we should have won. And Catman, i know what you mean when you say we aren't playing like a 16th place side, but look at the ladder, we are the 16th team, and we are playing like the 16th side.

If you can't tell, I am disappointed.

 

[JUBJUB]

Originally posted by Mattster
And Catman, i know what you mean when you say we aren't playing like a 16th place side, but look at the ladder, we are the 16th team, and we are playing like the 16th side.

We might not be a 16th placed team now.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by jod23
Geelong had me worried their for a while but the better team won on the day....just. Have no idea how the Cats are in 16th though??? Much better than that.

We shouldn't be, Jod-- we had 22 guys play their little hearts out at Subiaco on Saturday, and I felt absolutely gutted at the end of the match (just imagine how the players must have felt, with a long flight home on top of that). The only thing we were lacking was the four points.

All in all, I think Geelong are playing better and with a greater amount of commitment in the last two weeks, against Brisbane and versus your Eagles, than they did in previous losses against Collingwood and St. Kilda.

With any luck at all, Mark Thompson will keep the momentum intact during the week, and the next two-week cycle will produce wins over Sydney and Hawthorn to close out the month of May.

But all things considered, I'm not surprised that West Coast is a top-four side, they really lifted their game at a particular point in the final term when they really needed to. As I've said before, the really good sides do that. I already had a good deal of respect for the Eagles entering this game (players like Judd and Cousins are going to be fantastic stars for years to come), and the way the team saw the game out has only reinforced my admiration for them.

Yet having said that, with the match in the balance, those are qualities that the Cats have to emulate. All too often in the closing minutes on Saturday was I reminded about how the Cats let another close game slip away, just like last year's Round 17 game against Adelaide, and that was a game Geelong never recovered from. It will be interesting to see with what all has transpired this season, how the Cats rebound from a narrow defeat like this.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by JUBJUB
We might not be a 16th placed team now.

Only 0.1% separates Geelong in 16th from the Western Bulldogs in 15th, after today's results.

We won't be bottom after next weekend, that's something I feel very, very confident about.

 

[JUBJUB]

Originally posted by you_idiot
Only 0.1% separates Geelong in 16th from the Western Bulldogs in 15th, after today's results.

We won't be bottom after next weekend, that's something I feel very, very confident about.

So the Bulldogs will lose by more than us ?

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by JUBJUB
So the Bulldogs will lose by more than us ?

Hopefully it won't have to come to that.

For the record, while the Cats play Sydney at the SCG on Sunday, the Bulldogs play Carlton at Optus Oval, an hour apart.

Right now, I'd say the chances are good, IMO, for the Cats and Doggies to trade places.

 

[ScouseCat]

Originally posted by daddy_4_eyes
They are a much better team than their 1-6 win/loss ration suggests.

Unfortunately, we only have ourselves to blame for the position we find ourselves in after the first 7 rounds. We may not be the worst side in the competition, but we have lost games we should have won and until that changes, we will stay on or near the bottom of the ladder.

 

[Catman]

Originally posted by Mattster
Honestly, i am sick of losing. Despite playing well again, the fact is we have played two games in a row which we should have won. And Catman, i know what you mean when you say we aren't playing like a 16th place side, but look at the ladder, we are the 16th team, and we are playing like the 16th side.

If you can't tell, I am disappointed.

Mattster, if we were playing like the 16th placed side, we would not have been beaten by only 16pts. We'd have been flogged.

West Coast haven't had a close game like that at Subi for ages and we pushed them all the way. There was no way that our effort on Saturday was a reflection of our position on the ladder.