Autopsy Cats lose their way in 18 points loss to Saints

[cats_09]

The "fun" part about games like tonight, is the opportunity to vent and release steam

Based on tonight, it seems the worse player on our list changes every 2 or 3 minutes and goes to whoever made the most recent error

While the list of those who should never play another game in the hoops grows every 5 minutes - think if we put all the names on a list that we'd likely struggle to field a team next week

Thankfully we aren't the coaches though - they'll remove the emotion from things, whether it's addressing the players post match, the match review on Monday or team selection later in the week

We looked a completely different team after half time compared with the one who took momentum into the break, and as I suggested during the match, it felt like that change was instructional and coming from the coaches. Not sure why we didn't switch things up or if that was also from the coaches wanting to see how the players would respond if things weren't working and then address it at 3/4 time. Though, I honestly think we'll actually learn a lot from that 3rd quarter, almost more than we'd learn from the first half

As said, no doubt were outclassed especially at centre bounces in the 3rd quarter and that's where the figures for CBAs tonight gets really interesting

Pretty sure tonight was the first time I've seen Miers in at the centre bounce - 6 times tonight, including 3 in the third quarter

Holmes attended 16 for the night, split 8 & 8 across the second & third quarters, not to be seen there in the last

But the were 2 names who stood out at absent from our CBA in the third quarter - Atkins didn't attend 1 and Bowes didn't go in for his first until the last quarter

Atkins is the one who most surprises me - he's the tough nugget in there who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty & doing the dirty work. Considering that in the 3rd quarter we had only 3 centre clearances to St Kilda's 5, and Atkins not getting a look in, is really suggesting to me that the coaches were wanting to get a different look at things tonight - but obviously not all of it was good

So yeah, losing is shit but rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I'm curious to see what learnings we take from the second half & especially the third quarter into the rest of our season

So to sum up, potential top 2 would have been nice but maybe preparing options for September could have us better prepared

 

[Footy Smarts]

Dempsey
Mullin
Mannagh
Neale
Humphries
Knevitt

All under 25 gamers. 1/4 of the team. No excuses but this team is developing and stuff like this will happen in devleopment.

No excuses but ive never seen this result not happen with a team carrying 6 under 25 gamers. And some of the them were in the best.

Go Catters

This is the truth of it. We had 5 players under 20 games in the starting 22. Stkilda had 0.

We also had Blicavs, Danger, Duncan and Stanley all over 33 and miles past their best. Stkilda have nobody over 31.

By all rights we should be bottom 4 this year. Our age demographic is all wrong. But we're still in with a shot which is incredible.

 

[Vdubs]

We will win easily next week but thats not the point.

agree, we should, but in the event that we don't, it spares us that extra week then doesn't it

 

[Cataholic]

Game of two halves. At HT was almost ready to praise Stanley, but his age showing a half against a good ruck is all we can expect.

Stewart as centre bounce sweeper has started to stabilise the midfield. It is what it is, it won't get any better from here out.

Think the biggest inhibitor for a flag is looking at being the forward line. We don't get enough from Close, Neale, Rohan or Henry. And that means Stengle and Cameron are needed to dominate and both were held quite well tonight.

Starting to change my view on Henry. He gives us little defensively but atm is also giving us little offensively and gets towelled by his opponent. Do not think he and Rohan can't both coexist in the finals.

Cataholic I don't doubt your passion, and I get you're a fan that can't see us live and the view from the Ch7 is what you go off but I'll never accuse a Cats team of not trying, they may not play well all the time, they may not win, they may even shit the bed. But the last 40 years of footy has built far too many credits to accuse a Cats side of not trying. That's what I disagreed with.

They've got credits in my bank for their efforts overall since 2007, I'll concede that.

But as 2007 rolled around I was literally ready to give up on the idea of ever seeing a premiership. Decades of underachievement was wearing thin. In that period we weren't a side that was really willing to get its hands dirty.

The last 17 years have been very rewarding. I never thought I'd see such a generational performance by the club. But there's still some scars deep down.

Yes, I can only see what Fox cares to show, but tonight I saw us cough up a lot of uncontested marks and be outnumbered at the ball regularly.

I saw a side being beaten at half time who came out after the break and simply refused to accept the status quo any more. I saw the other side stand back, watch, wait, hesitate and not run as hard.

Yeah, I called their work ethic out, as did many others in the thread, because I don't know how else to classify it. St Kilda turned their game around on sheer determination, and we didn't appear willing to match that intensity. Maybe we weren't capable......

So yeah, maybe it can be called an emotional assessment, or one influenced inaccurately by the presentation from Fox, but I'm still not sure the boys aren't choosing where and when to 'go'.

 

[Burtyl78]

Ollie Henry literally lost 10 contests in a row, that’s not even possible!

 

[Finknottle]

Prime Wayne Carey wouldn’t have been able to do anything with the way we bombed long to a 2 on 1 to Henry in the second half.

Ollie Henry is the easy target of supporters angst, but his teammates sold him up the river. He should be ropable with the position they put him in.

Bullshit, Ollie Henry wasn't interested no mater how the ball came in.

 

[Seeds]

Prime Wayne Carey wouldn’t have been able to do anything with the way we bombed long to a 2 on 1 to Henry in the second half.

Ollie Henry is the easy target of supporters angst, but his teammates sold him up the river. He should be ropable with the position they put him in.

So when the ball was perfectly kicked to henry and he dropped an uncontested sitter twenty mentres out when the game was on the line it was everyone but henrys fault? And When henry doesnt get the perfect pass its ok for him to not scrap it out and force it to ground just sometimes? He just gives it up if he doesnt have the prime position all the time. Some will say he is just soft. But i think he is just not strong enough to compete with other talls. He is playing in a position not suited to his body type.

 

[Hinkley29]

Jack Henry deplorable? Are you serious?

He would be in the votes for me.

Was almost our best player in the first half.

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

We’ll be playing Port at AO first final, book it in.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Yuck, port own us in finals in recent times.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Just a disgusting performance. Gutless, dumb and inept. Threw away a double chance home final. Now we get the ignominy of the pretence of top four but straight sets likely and a Prelim loss at best.

Sickening stuff Cats. Yuck yuck yuck.

This has a whiff of a man invested in our 2024 season and the ramifications of tonight.

Also the same man after beating Adelaide said "ain't now way in the world this team wins 3-4 finals". The sound of a man resigned to our fate and checked out

 

[Burtyl78]

Prime Wayne Carey wouldn’t have been able to do anything with the way we bombed long to a 2 on 1 to Henry in the second half.

Ollie Henry is the easy target of supporters angst, but his teammates sold him up the river. He should be ropable with the position they put him in.

Sorry but he’s allowed to punch the ball and contest it, shit excuse

 

[Cataholic]

I mean they didn't come out breathing fire, they conceded the first couple of goals of the second half.

They did, but then they stomped their foot on the accelerator and didn't look back.

They ran all over us.

 

[Vdubs]

Bullshit, Ollie Henry wasn't interested no mater how the ball came in.

As if you'd know that.

 

[Pods]

We will make top 4 but we threw away a first G final vs port or gws and likely 2 finals in vic.
Will have to win it the hard way.
To make that mistake in a bradbury year makes my blood boil.

All we needed was 1 more qtr and we shut thwm out. Our stoppages defense was good eafly fhen it disappeared after half time.

Dempsey and mannagh very good again but on the whole we had too many passengers tonight.
Team has it in them to win 3 finals but needs a rocket.

I love this post except for the last sentence…

No chance we win 3 finals. Hope you’re right though

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

2nd half was all time capitulation to the extreme. Saints adapted and we had no answers, forward line pathetic, midfield smashed, backline went into ‘every player flying and colliding’ mode.

I know it’s an even year top 8 wise, but of all the top 8 sides we have the softest underbelly when teams are on top with momentum, come finals time I can’t see how we stop that.

I fear that parts/quarters of the 2 finals they we play will be incredibly hard to watch.
Great effort to make finals, let alone top 4, but we are a really poor top 4 team.

Stopping teams that have momentum has been a consistent issue this year.
The Swans will beat us in week 1 which will probably set up a blockbuster against the Hawks week 2.

 

[Hinkley29]

So when the ball was perfectly kicked to henry and he dropped an uncontested sitter twenty mentres out when the game was on the line it was everyone but henrys fault? And When henry doesnt get the perfect pass its ok for him to not scrap it out and force it to ground just sometimes? He just gives it up if he doesnt have the prime position all the time. Some will say he is just soft. Bit i think he is just not strong enough to compete with other talls.

How the hell was he going to force the ball to ground when he had the ball kicked on his head, he was in a contest with his man and a free defender floats in to take an easy mark?

He had no chance.

Yes he dropped a mark, and that was a bad error, but the 43 other times it was his teammates fault.

But hey, don’t bother to actually analyse what happened if you can just shoot the easy target.

 

[frggr]

AFL predict ladder on the app has crashed.. I can't get on to it

Squiggle.com.au

 

[winty]

Stewart was terrible in 3rd quarter

He wasn't on his own there though.

 

[Chinacats]

Rohan, Henry & Neale won’t get it done against good back lines.. and the saints looking like the team with more to play for in the 2nd half was embarrassing….. prepare for swans now Mr. Scott….. or it’s just gonna be a 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020,2021 top 4 flop finals yet again…..

 

[standupand]

First time in a while I feel genuinely angry at the performance of the team.
Good teams find a way to wrest back control when they're under the pump and things are on the line.
This team just looked like they had no ideas and no urgency left once the opposition got on a run.
Credit to stk I guess for just running harder for longer.

 

[cats_09]

Hawkins straight back in for Week 1 if fit. Henry is losing one on ones and allowing his man to double team Neale.
Give me Hawk, Neale, Jez, Stengle, Close & Miers forward 6 any day.
If SDK doesn’t get up then Blics has to play defense. He’s no good as a midfielder anymore and Stanley is playing well.
Can’t tell me Mullin and Knevitt should be out there over Touhy, Bews, MOC. We completely lost our structure tonight and too many new players doesn’t help. Humphries, Mannagh deserve to be the only ‘inexperienced’ guys on the field.

The first week of finals will be 11 weeks since Hawkins hurt his foot

Regardless of the player, you can't play them in a final off no football for the best part of 3 months, especially when it's taken 8 weeks for them to start "running" again

Come finals, Hawkins may not be "injuredl", but I'm pretty comfortable to suggest he won't be fit

 

[kickazz]

We lost that in the first half. The Saints were atrocious and we really should have been up by fifty.

Too wasteful delivering it forward, O Henry not competing killed us. Don't think we can have him and Rohan in the same side.

 

[catempire]

This has a whiff of a man invested in our 2024 season and the ramifications of tonight.

Also the same man after beating Adelaide said "ain't now way in the world this team wins 3-4 finals". The sound of a man resigned to our fate and checked out

Indeed, it is a shame Adelaide did not put an end to the charade earlier! We knew that night that this season was not on a trajectory. The Freo win papered over Grand Canyon like cracks.

 

[Mr Meow]

We’ll be playing Port at AO first final, book it in.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Lucky we always win those finals against the Power in Adelaide.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Their midfield will obliterate ours

At the moment their midfield just gets obliterated.