Review Cats down Blues by 13 points.

[Finknottle]

He's still taking a quality defender though, which allows others to shine. If we were without Hawkins today for example, Weitering would've gone to Cameron and possibly blanketed him.

Like others have said, we only looked for Hawkins deep forward 4 times today, yet we still kicked 18 goals.

Weitering was the 4th highest rated player on the ground. He had 19 disposals and took 12 marks. He took some of those marks in Carlton's forward half with Tom Hawkins watching on from some distance. Seriously, Hawkins wasn't shown any respect by his opponent who pretty much did as he wanted. So to refer to Hawkins as fulfilling his role by taking a quality defender is just not true.

 

[Wish Wellingtons]

That's just weird. Whateley is an out-and-out Geelong supporter! Do commentators feel obligated to be seen as fellating the opposition? All our ex-players turned commentators have had a disgraceful record of two-eyed commentary if not favouring the opposition. All the other former players can be as biased as f*ck towards their clubs.

Why is it different for our exes?

Hudson is the worst for this. Terrified of being seen as biased.

 

[MacStradbroke]

How long until we get taken seriously, and we start being shown some respect for what we're doing

I caught bit of Armchair Experts last night, and they asked the question about would the winner of today's clash be the new premiership favourite. They seemed to agree that it would be the case if Carlton won, but there'd likely still be questions over us

Yep last week we hadn’t played anyone, we’ll know more next week , now, just heard Riewoldt say we won’t be winning many more games giving up clearances like that for the rest of the year. I’m sure there’s a positive in there somewhere

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I wish I were a happier person who could just enjoy wins.

Sadly, I worry about areas that I think we have issues in.

We are top of the ladder, undefeated and obviously doing well... Most other supporters would be over the moon.

I'm out here worrying about things that could cost us flags like:

*Our rucks... Stanley is back to his being a liability best, Conway is a pup.
*Our midfield... Especially with Dangers issues.
*Hawkins and his lack of competitiveness.

We have got the job done so far... but how long can this hold up? Hopefully all year.

I think Dangers hammy has put a real dampener on tonight's win for me.

Danger missing the next 2 will hurt but i doubt we would have taken him to darwin anyway and he should be back after that.
I share your concerns about our issues but if we can get to the bye with only 2 or 3 losses..
Then we are in a great position to manage critical older guys (danger, hawkins, stanley etc) given our soft run home.

I am concerned about our midfield issues but we have time to fix them.
Plus i remind myself that richmond won 3 flags while routinely being bottom 4 for contested ball and clearances in midfield so you can win despite this if you are tactically smart and your pressure is elite.

 

[you pick one]

Dempsey may need a rest. Could potentially bring Neale in for him though Rohan may be a better fit.

Rohan is a rolled gold certainty for next week.

 

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

It wasn’t even that close.

This is control. We’ve seen it before. Ours to lose.

 

[Heckler]

I like Dempsey but he was average/… pulled out of a contest that was embarrassing

Agree it looked bad and Dempsey could have done better
Heavier players will toss youngsters aside easily
Often smarter to corral a bigger opponent if possible.
Also, youngsters come off second best in contact clashes
Put it down to sensible self preservation at this stage.
Be patient, he is developing well and will be a beast one day.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

It wasn’t even that close.

This is control. We’ve seen it before. Ours to lose.

The lid is at best wobbling in my view. It's the end of April!! It's a good start, but Journey's End it is not.

Yet.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Isn’t he? I am not sure about that.

One thing I do know, if Conway played today we would have had a much better chance of success at stoppages.

If Stanley serves that up again against Gawn it will get super ugly.

I will back Conway to be a better option.

Conway will be better at the stoppages initially but he doesnt have the tank for a full game at the G with max bashing into him. Which means after half time he will probably have to gas which will a) mean gawn could dominate and b) will force blitz into the ruck (when we want him on viney or petracca). Stanley at least has the endurance to run it out so i would keep it that way. But very soon conway will go past stanley.

 

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

The lid is at best wobbling in my view. It's the end of April!! It's a good start, but Journey's End it is not.

Yet.

A few crowd pleasers after we had closed the game out. If Durdin had kicked straight at the start of the last, maybe it’s game on. But he didn’t, and it wasn’t.

 

[Pods]

That looked more like not wanting to risk a suspension, there’s a few moments like that now where players pull out of front on moments.

I get that in theory but at his career stage I reckon you go hard and cop what comes. Make a statement. If he happened to miss weeks, and to be honest I’m not sure he would have as I think he could have gotten to the ball without issue, then so be it. Was a pathetic effort.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

They were in rounds three and four, today was his third game in a row where he's been goalless, worrying signs, especially for a bloke his age.


Anyway, on a brighter note, think I'm now pretty much convinced that we're a decent show this year. Even though we were sitting on top of the ladder going into todays game I was far from convinced, thought our form had been patchy, and the teams we'd beaten had won just nine games between them.

Todays win against quality opposition was excellent, especially given we went in without Stewart and lost Dangerfield, who I thought was our best player in the first half.

It's sacrilege to even say this, and I still believe it's going to take another month of poor form to be a conversation.

However....

With Neale's performance at both levels, and Hawk's form the last few weeks....are we potentially reaching another Mooney/Hawkins situation ala 2011?

I hate saying it, and feel almost cruel doing so.

As much as I love Neale, Tomahawk is a legend of the club and has given us so much...but watching the game today it did cross my mind.

Knowing Hawk, he'll kick 5 this week and make us all look stupid for critiquing him, but I'd be lying if said I wasn't starting to get worried.

 

[Biggy_Boy]

Went out and watched the game live, and pretty happy with what I saw. The younger players provide much to be excited by, though they don't quite have the consistency within the game of the older stagers. Still, Dempsey's run and carry early in the game was exciting. Bowes also very good early on in the midfield. Hawkins didn't have a great day, but I think he can be excused that every now and then. Looked a decent first outing for Guthrie after so much time missed, and Tuohy was involved in some key moments, which was nice to see after it had looked like his game had deteriorated significantly last year.

Prior to the injury, Dangerfield was playing a hallmark game - great attack on the footy and attempts to break through packs, but disposal still often lets him and the team down.

The only player whose selection and future in the side I question is Stanley. Against an average ruck division, and he wasn't helping us in the ruck contests much while giving away so much in general play. His defensive efforts post-contest were so lackluster and he looked to be fatiguing badly by half time. I think we looked better with Conway, and I think we should continue with him. I'd rather he and Blicavs share duties than rely on Stanley. He's just such a pronounced liability in the game these days.

 

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

I like Dempsey but he was average/… pulled out of a contest that was embarrassing

Aside from that moment, which viewing live actually looked the smart option to try to close down a contest, thought he was brilliant and got involved in a few key contests inside D50.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Atkins gets a full game. Rohan comes in.

I wouldnt bring rohan in unless we are managing dempsey (and hes probably due to be managed soon).

Id bring atkins into the 22 for danger.
I dont think parfitt is an ideal sub so id probably leave him out.
Hardie and knevitt would be the 2 id look to bring in but i wont be surprised if they bring clark straight in..they clearly want to pump games into him (not what i would do this week though).

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Not sure about his calling bias, but I seem to recall that Gerard is a Cats supporter.

It makes the 'Monday means test' interesting viewing.

Gerard doing his absolute best to never appear biased when it comes to Geelong. His efforts would be praised by the likes of Harley & Ling.

On the other side, you've got Kingy, who starts the season writing us off, then proceeds to just ignore us all together, and then begrudgingly starts to respect what we're doing later on.

All in all, it's a snore fest if you're looking to hear anything positive about the Cats, at least until late into the year.

 

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

Blues board calling for an umpiring inquiry. Fair ****ing dinkum.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

They wanted to try three talls before tonight. Today’s game cemented that they will try it.

Our forward line pressure is better than it has been in years. I wouldnt risk disrupting it with the extra tall.
We just need to heavily manage hawk from here on out and play neale instead in a fair few of those games.

Rohan probably needs dempsey or henry to be rested to get in.

 

[CatsDoItBetter]

Great win, just got to keep notches the wins and building towards finals.
Another injury to Danger is a concern, he was leading from the front until the injury. He might need to find a way to play his game slightly differently to try and stay injury free.

We can’t keep playing Stanley he needs to play vfl and be back up. Let Conway play as many games as we can, when he’s not able to play we’d be better off playing Neale than Stanley. It’s not his best position but he’ll still compete better than Stanley is.

Not sure who we’re to leave out but I’d love to see Rohan back he’ll add to our mix so well, rotated with Jezza forward and moving up the ground.

Should have Stewart back next week, big games coming up over the next few weeks.

 

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

Wasn’t Parfs best game, but he had a hand on each one of our three most critical centre clearances in the last quarter.

Similarly, Stanley had a game to forget, but came up pretty clutch down back a few times.

Not much to complain about as a cats man today. Imagine supporting anyone else. Not for me thanks.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

Our forward line pressure is better than it has been in years. I wouldnt risk disrupting it with the extra tall.
We just need to heavily manage hawk from here on out and play neale instead in a fair few of those games.

Rohan probably needs dempsey or henry to be rested to get in.

Tom Hawkins will always need an opposition minder. Always. YET, if they mind Hawkins, does Jezza get off the chain? If the opposition mind both do Stengle and Close plus others get off the chain?

 

[feelinfeline]

Went out and watched the game live, and pretty happy with what I saw. The younger players provide much to be excited by, though they don't quite have the consistency within the game of the older stagers. Still, Dempsey's run and carry early in the game was exciting. Bowes also very good early on in the midfield. Hawkins had a great day, but I think he can be excused that every now and then. Looked a decent first outing for Guthrie after so much time missed, and Tuohy was involved in some key moments, which was nice to see after it had looked like his game had deteriorated significantly last year.

Prior to the injury, Dangerfield was playing a hallmark game - great attack on the footy and attempts to break through packs, but disposal still often lets him and the team down.

The only player whose selection and future in the side I question is Stanley. Against an average ruck division, and he wasn't helping us in the ruck contests much while giving away so much in general play. His defensive efforts post-contest were so lackluster and he looked to be fatiguing badly by half time. I think we looked better with Conway, and I think we should continue with him. I'd rather he and Blicavs share duties than rely on Stanley. He's just such a pronounced liability in the game these days.

Stanley played a great game only three weeks ago against the Bulldogs and their All Australian ruckman.

Yes, he was poor but he’s always been up and down, and Pittonet played a blinder.

He wouldn’t want another game as bad as that, however, or his AFL career might be over quick smart.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Stanley got balted by a second string ruck. It's not really much of a risk. I'd back him in.

Parfitt particularly disappointing. With him finally getting regular games you'd hope he'd have shown a lot more vigor.

Watching live at the ground today I left thinking he was far too good for whoever it was in the Blues lineup but the frequency with which he came to the bench increased in the 2nd half, and did spend 5-10 minutes in the 3rd Q getting physio work on his hip flexor.

First half he was running on top of the ground, long sprints from central positions to the goal line as blues players took set shots. Then running back through the ground in open play.

2nd half and that became less frequent and his bench spells showed red rosy cheeks. He was blowing hard.
With an interchange cap, I actually think Stanley should ruck v Gawn this next game. Conway still doesn't quite have the tank.

 

[allrighty]

Blues board calling for an umpiring inquiry. Fair ******* dinkum.

Blues supporters have always been delusional, and I know quite a few

 

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

Thought Atkins was superb once he came on. In the same way Danger set up a few (there’ll be next to no mention of how we overcame that loss), Atkins saved a few the other way.