- Dec 11, 2009
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We played, or were at least made to look like, premiers last week, but were nothing like it tonight.
What role does psychology have in this, in your opinion?
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Autopsy Cats lose to Lions by 11 points
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We played, or were at least made to look like, premiers last week, but were nothing like it tonight.
What role does psychology have in this, in your opinion?
They should put the cue in the rack with the realization that this team is not good enough this year, on paper it looked good, but once again they got travel sickness and were let off the hook by Brisbane who are well off the pace of Port and Collingwood. A poor day by Geelong and Scott is dreaming if he thinks this team is a threat to anyone and they are certainly not "coming" at anyone. The loss hurts more as Richmond gets up in the final minute, but they deserve to be in the 8 more than Geelong. The Cats won't make the finals from here.It's hard to believe that was the same team as last week.
Geel did fight out the game - so you have to give plenty of credit for that - because alot of teams 5-6 goals down given the opposition and on the home ground they would have lost by 10 goals plus
But when the Cats got within 2 goals - had all the momentum and a stack of time left - he got badly beaten in a one on one marking contest - Bris goal - in a low scoring contest - that was the end of the game
There has been alot of hype about him - at this point i cant see why -lucky to be 6 ft and i think he has been border line gifted games
I know there isnt that much in the 2nds - but i can remember Bomber Thompson with Enright - he really made him earn his senior spot - played quite a few reserve grade games - i would suggest a hell of alot more than Mullin has played
Im sick of Geel - with their good feeling story stuff - id just rather get the 4 pts - and that was a vital game today - so winnable in the last qtr
Jezza did smash Harris Andrews head in while playing for GWS and copped a massive suspension for it.
Post was not about the last two weeks. The week Scott spoke about this "premiers" concept to his players, and went on to tell the media, we won. Sports psychology is always prevalent, including what your Coach says in public.
- Sep 18, 2014
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I think the club is suffering badly from this notion of “our best is as good if not better than anyone else’s”. It was in 2022, it’s why we shat the flag in, but the comp has moved on and teams have moved past us. I genuinely think the players think it’ll all just switch on for them when the time comes, but it’s not going to happen. We’ve had so many games this year where a win was there for the taking and we just failed to capitalize, I’d like to know how many games we’ve won from trailing? Doubt it’s any, it’s almost like we decide on the day whether we want to turn up and play or not.
Just not at the races this year, mentally and physically.
Just not at the races this year, mentally and physically.
- Dec 11, 2009
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Maybe he should've spoken about the 'premiers' concept again this week.
The boys seemed to have forgotten.
Mitch has crummy first halves - makes costly mistakes-but he’s actually pretty good in the second halves. My recommendation is he can be on the field, but he is not allowed to touch the ball until after half time!
A lot of criticism and complaints posted today
Borne out of disappointment and frustration.
Not much analysis or solutions offered.
Q: Why didn't Cats play their usual style of footy?
A: Because they were playing to Scott's instructions.
Sag off the mark: Guard space: Defend the D50.
Hoping to create space for fast rebound to an open F50
Instead, with no pressure, allowed Lions to dictate terms.
Obviously not working... Scott allowed it till Half Time.
Why? Safety first? Not confident? Injuries? Not Yet?
2nd Half saw Cats play their instinctive attacking style.
Momentum shifted Cats way: Almost stole the same.
Much like the Swans, This game was squandered.
Bad planning, Bad execution of skills, Bad outcome.
Only consolation is Jezza starting to find some form.
Another major concern is the Cats stoppages strategy.
Contrast Cats mid's v Lions, Dees, Port, Pies, etc.
They gather ball and instantly flip handball forward
Tap, Kick, Anything to get the ball moving forward.
One player gets ball the others stream forward.
Cats try to gain possession, break free, burst away.
or search for a handball to a still outside player.
Great when it works but a low percentage play.
Plenty to work on, so close yet so far.
Borne out of disappointment and frustration.
Not much analysis or solutions offered.
Q: Why didn't Cats play their usual style of footy?
A: Because they were playing to Scott's instructions.
Sag off the mark: Guard space: Defend the D50.
Hoping to create space for fast rebound to an open F50
Instead, with no pressure, allowed Lions to dictate terms.
Obviously not working... Scott allowed it till Half Time.
Why? Safety first? Not confident? Injuries? Not Yet?
2nd Half saw Cats play their instinctive attacking style.
Momentum shifted Cats way: Almost stole the same.
Much like the Swans, This game was squandered.
Bad planning, Bad execution of skills, Bad outcome.
Only consolation is Jezza starting to find some form.
Another major concern is the Cats stoppages strategy.
Contrast Cats mid's v Lions, Dees, Port, Pies, etc.
They gather ball and instantly flip handball forward
Tap, Kick, Anything to get the ball moving forward.
One player gets ball the others stream forward.
Cats try to gain possession, break free, burst away.
or search for a handball to a still outside player.
Great when it works but a low percentage play.
Plenty to work on, so close yet so far.
It's been pretty clear this year that we lack run, particularly from the back half and he's really the only option we have coming through in the VFL.
On Bomber, he gifted games to plenty of players early in their careers. J.Corey, Gaz Ablett jr, Nathan Ablett, Mackie & Varcoe off the top of my head.
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It's just more of the same this season. Some weirdly unmotivated efforts. The games against Carlton, GC, GWS, Richmond, Freo and now tonight are defining our season.
We are no chance of winning a final outside Victoria at this rate, and not even a guaranteed chance of even making it. It's not that we have losses, I didn't expect a win tonight, but it's the manner of the losses that's concerning.
Odds are we win the games at GMHBA, lose to the Pies and then who knows what Geelong is showing up in finals.
We are no chance of winning a final outside Victoria at this rate, and not even a guaranteed chance of even making it. It's not that we have losses, I didn't expect a win tonight, but it's the manner of the losses that's concerning.
Odds are we win the games at GMHBA, lose to the Pies and then who knows what Geelong is showing up in finals.
EFA.
- Feb 9, 2015
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I don’t think we’re particularly close to Melbourne or Brissy. Both have beaten Collingwood, both seem to have a level in them we can’t match.
We might improve though, who knows.
- Dec 11, 2009
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Why would Scott employ tactics in the first half that were essentially proven useless in 20/21?
Who is responsible for the stoppage strategy?
- Nov 18, 2015
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Defence was outstanding. Got beaten in the middle and the forwards didn't take their chances. Scores probably about right all things considered. Walked in expecting at a minimum a competitive loss, and that's what I saw. No change in the read for the season based on this game.
cats_09
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- Jun 21, 2011
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I’m not sure it will, and if anything the closeness of the final score will probably be more frustating for Scott & Co compared with losing
At half time we saw Dangerfield pull the team together & addressed the group before heading to the rooms, something we don’t see all to often from Geelong
And then at 3/4 time, Scott looked really really pissed off & not very happy as he was walking off. With the final margin I can actually see him being pissed off and questioning why we could play like that in the 4th quarter but not across the previous 3
Andrews averages 7.7 intercepts this season, and while we did well to ultimately restrict him to just 5 intercepts today, he had 3 in the first quarter & numerous other times of getting a fist in on a marking contest where his clearing punch was as good as a possession. Surely it shouldn’t have taken a talking to from Scott at 1/4 time or 1/2 time to say that Harris needed to be made accountable and stop just kicking in hope in his direction
The one change we could/should have made earlier if we did actually made it at all, was to stop playing the spare down back & even up the numbers around the contest - if we’re on top around the ground then playing the spare isn’t a bad option, but with Brisbane on top at the heat of the contest, we really needed to even up those numbers
- Feb 28, 2011
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Calm down i was about 9 deep when i wrote that Professor Dubs!!!
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Well that was bitterly disappointing and extremely frustrating.
I hoped that this week would give us a good guide as to our prospects going forward, and it probably has. In the current state, we aren't winning anything, nor are we the threat that has been spruiked by the media and to a lesser extent the club over the past fortnight.
Today was reminiscent of so many games pre-2022, where we put in an substandard effort for the majority of the game, yet charge home late to fall just short that tantalises but frustrates, and ultimately sums up where we were as a side, and I think this year is a similar situation. Though the reasons for this are probably different this year than those in the past.
We're very Jekyll and Hyde. One week we are sublime, the next we look like a group who have never met each other or seen a football in their life, and that gets compounded the moment we jump on a plane.
The amount of times we missed targets, fumbled, dropped marks, missed tackles today was embarrassing to be honest, let alone the slow ball movement which played into Brisbane's and particularly Harris Andrews hands.
What made it worse was that Brisbane weren't great and in one quarter we almost overran them. Not sure who that says more about. Probably should have been further behind than we were, and we can thank the defence for holding out them without any support from further afield. Jack and Stewy were excellent in the first half. The midfield was once again a problem, getting destroyed around the ball, and the fact we threw Stewart in there showed just how bad that group was. If they're wanting to contend again next year (a why wouldn't we?), we need reinforcements badly.
The forward line was diabolically bad. Gary Rohan is almost our most important player. There was no spark whatsoever, especially without the ball. Brad Close was putrid and his decision to handball to Jez on the boundary (who is clearly not right and was a liability for much of the night) at the end when we needed the ball put deep in to the 50 summed up his game. Hawkins unselfishness works against us when we're not playing well. There were times he had chances to go for goal, yet chose the much harder pass to a teammate under pressure. Great when it comes off, but low percentage options weren't what was required today. Rohan is the firestarter for the group and boy we missed him.
Having said this, the last quarter was very good, but why did it take the game to be effectively over before we showed it? That game was there for the taking today, as was the chance to keep in touch with the top 4 and we served up the same rubbish we've seen in almost all our losses this year. Scotty is probably right, we are the danger, but bringing it every second to third week isn't going to scare anybody.
I hoped that this week would give us a good guide as to our prospects going forward, and it probably has. In the current state, we aren't winning anything, nor are we the threat that has been spruiked by the media and to a lesser extent the club over the past fortnight.
Today was reminiscent of so many games pre-2022, where we put in an substandard effort for the majority of the game, yet charge home late to fall just short that tantalises but frustrates, and ultimately sums up where we were as a side, and I think this year is a similar situation. Though the reasons for this are probably different this year than those in the past.
We're very Jekyll and Hyde. One week we are sublime, the next we look like a group who have never met each other or seen a football in their life, and that gets compounded the moment we jump on a plane.
The amount of times we missed targets, fumbled, dropped marks, missed tackles today was embarrassing to be honest, let alone the slow ball movement which played into Brisbane's and particularly Harris Andrews hands.
What made it worse was that Brisbane weren't great and in one quarter we almost overran them. Not sure who that says more about. Probably should have been further behind than we were, and we can thank the defence for holding out them without any support from further afield. Jack and Stewy were excellent in the first half. The midfield was once again a problem, getting destroyed around the ball, and the fact we threw Stewart in there showed just how bad that group was. If they're wanting to contend again next year (a why wouldn't we?), we need reinforcements badly.
The forward line was diabolically bad. Gary Rohan is almost our most important player. There was no spark whatsoever, especially without the ball. Brad Close was putrid and his decision to handball to Jez on the boundary (who is clearly not right and was a liability for much of the night) at the end when we needed the ball put deep in to the 50 summed up his game. Hawkins unselfishness works against us when we're not playing well. There were times he had chances to go for goal, yet chose the much harder pass to a teammate under pressure. Great when it comes off, but low percentage options weren't what was required today. Rohan is the firestarter for the group and boy we missed him.
Having said this, the last quarter was very good, but why did it take the game to be effectively over before we showed it? That game was there for the taking today, as was the chance to keep in touch with the top 4 and we served up the same rubbish we've seen in almost all our losses this year. Scotty is probably right, we are the danger, but bringing it every second to third week isn't going to scare anybody.
Duncan kept kicking it to him
Have the Cats ever experienced such a monumental clearance differential, since they started recording the stat? And yet we lost by less than two goals, and burned some epic chances to go forward and win it in the last quarter.
#bizarregame
#areweanygood
#aretheyanygood
#bizarregame
#areweanygood
#aretheyanygood
- Jan 25, 2008
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Work rate was very poor and our system going forward was atrocious.
It is a minor miracle that we got as close as we did.
Or perhaps Brisbane were only marginally better than we were.
That was just a crap game of footy between 2 big ordinary teams.
Last thing whilst I am ranting - Stengel’s work rate at times tonight was beyond bad. He is either injured (or struggling with lack of continuity due to injury earlier this season) or he is not fit enough. It feels like the whole team (Stengel included) might have enjoyed the offseason a bit too much and just didn’t get enough fitness base in the preseason to be able to play 4 intense quarters. If that is the price you pay for winning a flag I guess you will pay it, but it sure is frustrating right now.
It is a minor miracle that we got as close as we did.
Or perhaps Brisbane were only marginally better than we were.
That was just a crap game of footy between 2 big ordinary teams.
Last thing whilst I am ranting - Stengel’s work rate at times tonight was beyond bad. He is either injured (or struggling with lack of continuity due to injury earlier this season) or he is not fit enough. It feels like the whole team (Stengel included) might have enjoyed the offseason a bit too much and just didn’t get enough fitness base in the preseason to be able to play 4 intense quarters. If that is the price you pay for winning a flag I guess you will pay it, but it sure is frustrating right now.
- Dec 11, 2009
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Good reply.
As you say, it's hard to understand how and why it took some hard words from Scott and Danger to finally get the boys to have a crack.
They've had all week to discuss, plan and comprehend the importance of this game, and it beggars belief that it was lost on them, but clearly they weren't ready for the contest at the first bounce.
Their intensity was low, and their focus just wasn't there, as evidenced by their decision making and ball use.
Did Scott miss a beat with the spare down back?
cats_09
Otters United
- Jun 21, 2011
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I thought that was extremely noticeable when he missed those 4 games between Rnds 8 & 11, and we lost 3 of those 4 games he was out - matches we did have out chances in, and someone like Rohan up forward would have been helpful
I know Rohan can be one of our most frustrating players as he will go through those ”almost“ periods, but I still think he’s one player we need to re-sign for next season as we just don’t seem to have any obvious replacement for what he brings to the team, and as long as he’s still bringing the pressure & intensity, he has a spot in the 22
- Dec 11, 2009
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This.
We simply can't choose if, where and when to throw our heart and soul into a game.
We have to bring it from the opening bounce, every game.
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