Autopsy Cats lose their way in 18 points loss to Saints

[Mr Meow]

Did you watch the game tonight? Geelong was owned by a team that was 14th on the ladder. Your scenarios assume Geelong will flick the switch and start playing good football. There is an obvious fitness problem at the club with few players able to run out a game. At this stage there is nothing we can do about that. First job is to beat WC at home. I'd say that's a 50/50 proposition. Winning a final is fanciful.

Their form line since round 12 has been good though, outside of one shocker at home to Brisbane.

The rest have been:

-14 point win against WCE in Perth
-3 point win against GC at Marvel
-20 point loss against Brisbane at Gabba
-2 point loss against Port at Marvel
-2 point win against Sydney at Marvel
-32 point loss against Adelaide in Adelaide
-72 point win against WCE at Marvel
-53 point win against Essendon at Marvel
-48 point win against Richmond at Marvel

That's why I was worried heading into this game. The above form line is closer to that of the team that finished 6th in 2023, with 10 games under the roof this season while we were playing our first. A danger game from the outset and we couldn't bury them in the first half when we had the opportunity to do so. 3 more goals and it was probably done and dusted.

As for the rest, Geelong's form line also hasn't been shocking since round 16. We had a dreadful game in the wet against the Bulldogs and an awful half against St Kilda under the roof. Otherwise we've beaten Essendon, Collingwood, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle while playing some pretty good but not spectacular footy.

I, like everyone else, fears and maybe anticipates a horror quarter or half in finals. But it's silly to declare back to back thrashings and a straight set exit a foregone conclusion. Let alone calling West Coast at home next week a 50/50 game. What a silly overreaction. That's just emotion talking, not logic.

 

[Ricky Vaughn]

seems like the players had the same level of apathy for this game as I did after watching Collingwood win.

A very St.Kilda win. Nothing on the line, with no tangle effect on either teams season, and that’s the one they get up for.

 

[Warhorse]

It was clear the Fremantle game took its toll and we looked like running through sand for most of the 2nd half. St Kilda played well but we beat them when not coming back from an interstate trip.

Jed Bews has to play. We can't go into games without a small who can't lock down. Mullins should be nowhere near the team.

Ollie Henry should play for the next of the year. Not only was he beaten in every facet of the game he also wet the bed and short stepped on multiple occasions. Completely unacceptable performance and needs to stay in the VFL until he can learn a 2nd position or have more involvement further up the ground.

Knevitt 7 disposals 0 tackles
Mullin 9 disposals at 44%
Blitz 10 disposals 0 tackles
Close 9 and 1 tackle no goals
Rohan 5 and 0 tackles
Both Henry’s ****ing deplorable

We lost this at the selection table.

Our bottom 6-10 are simply uncompetitive.

Close was praised on this board for a similar stat line last week.

 

[Warhorse]

The second half showed us that we were rooted after a brutal game in Perth last week.

Exactly how I saw it. We are still in the thick of things this year and anyone could win it this year. Dissappointing loss but it was clear we were cooked from the trip and couldnt run in the 2nd half

 

[foxdog50]

We would have been better off with port at the G than sydney at SCG. Scg doesnt suit us.

I don't know really... id some how rather play Sydney for some reason ... As the crowd sometimes plays a 19th man, and Port fans are really loud compared to Swans, we lost 2 x at Port Adelaide in finals

 

[Seeds]

It was clear the Fremantle game took its toll and we looked like running through sand for most of the 2nd half. St Kilda played well but we beat them when not coming back from an interstate trip.

Jed Bews has to play. We can't go into games without a small who can't lock down. Mullins should be nowhere near the team.

Ollie Henry should play for the next of the year. Not only was he beaten in every facet of the game he also wet the bed and short stepped on multiple occasions. Completely unacceptable performance and needs to stay in the VFL until he can learn a 2nd position or have more involvement further up the ground.


Close was praised on this board for a similar stat line last week.

This.

Too much the season is over posting last night. It was one bad half and thanks to collingwood top 4 is still ours to take. There was a lot to like in the first half.

But in saying that there is still to much of scott picking favourites. O.henry and mullins out. Bews in. O. Henry needs to build up a tank over the pre season and try and find another position.

And if sdk comes back from injury serious questions need to be asked about whether blicavs should still be in the team come finals. He cant play midfield anymore. Sdk can play the second ruck role while also playing defence (neale can also play some ruck if sdk is needed im defence). I dont think there is a spot for blicavs anymore.

 

[catempire]

Still mad. What a waste.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

You're overdoing it PO.

I get that it's emotional in the moment, and yes the competition isn't what it once was - but trust me - if you can't see that we're punching well above our weight this year, then you'll realise sometime down the track with the benefit of hindsight.

2007 was a golden opportunity.

2008 was a golden opportunity gone begging.

2009 & '11 were golden opportunities, as we knew we were at minimum the second best team in it...and even if you thought that way, the gap wasn't big.

2022 was a golden opportunity by August of that year.

These were years where we were clearly the best side in it, and had we not walked away with the silverware (like '08) we would've rued the wasted chance for years down the track. It's unforgettable.

2024 is nothing like that. If we don't win the flag this year, nobody's going to look back and think "Jeez, the '24 Cats really let that one get away".

We'll just be another pretty good side to not quite get there. You see them every year.

We've got kids all over the park, veterans who half this board think should have already retired, and some valuable role players who whilst we love as supporters, aren't absolute top liners.

Could we pinch it? Absolutely we could, but we'd be doing just that, "pinching" a flag.

It's not a golden opportunity, it's an unlikely opportunity that we can hopefully make the most of.

Thats my point..whoever wins the flag will pinch it. No one in the top 8 is really that good. Sydney is a classic example. Which makes it worse if we dont take the door that is ajar. It would be different if there was a standout team.as then we wouldnt win anyway so it would be irrelevant. To me thats exactly what a golden opportunity is but you and i might have different definitions of it.⁰

 

[Pure_Ownage]

This.

Too much the season is over posting last night. It was one bad half and thanks to collingwood top 4 is still ours to take. There was a lot to like in the first half.

But in saying that there is still to much of scott picking favourites. O.henry and mullins out. Bews in. O. Henry needs to build up a tank over the pre season and try and find another position.

And if sdk comes back from injury serious questions need to be asked about whether blicavs should still be in the team come finals. He cant play midfield anymore. Sdk can play the second ruck role while also playing defence (neale can also play some ruck if sdk is needed im defence). I dont think there is a spot for blicavs anymore.

Jed cant lock down on anyone. His last game he got torched.

And i share the concerns re blicavs but they wont drop him due to structure.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Why?
Port are winning ugly and getting it done this year in Melbourne.
Their midfield is better than Sydney and Aliir is arguably top three at the moment at full back.

Because small grounds dont suit our midfield contested issues. We needed 3 finals at the scg so we can ger the ball out into space. That said sydney are beatable.

 

[Mr Meow]

Still mad. What a waste.

I don't get how you're mad though as you called it season over in the 3rd term against Adelaide. Surely you're well and truly into the acceptance phase by this point.

 

[allrighty]

Very physical Freo game and trip back from WA was a massive factor.

We were absolutely cooked by 10 mins into the third qtr.

Use of ball into the forward line in the second half was diabolical. Gave our forwards no chance. That is also a symptom of a very tired team. Just kick it long and hope for the best.

That's what I thought. They looked sluggish and unable to position and chase

 

[joe444]

I started fretting as soon as a graphic on 7 reminded me of the topsy-turvy form line between us.

The odd thing was we played quite well. The pressure was there, as well as plenty of dare and run. That first half had me optimistic about the finals.

If I could blame one thing, it is the way we went forward with long bombs.

It's disappointing, but you can't doubt the effort. St Kilda just turned it on.

 

[Commando]

Because small grounds dont suit our midfield contested issues. We needed 3 finals at the scg so we can ger the ball out into space. That said sydney are beatable.

You're right probably take Sydney away over Port right now

 

[catempire]

I don't get how you're mad though as you called it season over in the 3rd term against Adelaide. Surely you're well and truly into the acceptance phase by this point.

The season opened up massively last weekend. The flag is there for the taking and we’ve just said “nah, we’re ok.”

 

[Cataholic]

That's what I thought. They looked sluggish and unable to position and chase

Didn't we put a lot of running in over the preseason to build our aerobic capacity?

 

[Seeds]

I don't get how you're mad though as you called it season over in the 3rd term against Adelaide. Surely you're well and truly into the acceptance phase by this point.

Catempire is the boards mr negative. Every board has one. Nothing wrong with it. We all have our own way of viewing things

 

[MisterMarcus]

We're upset about last night....but imagine how Saints fans must be feeling.

They'd be lookin at the second half and saying "Why didn't we play like this all season?"

 

[allrighty]

Didn't we put a lot of running in over the preseason to build our aerobic capacity?

That's what we were told. Up until now we have held up, but last night they looked totally out of gas

 

[MisterMarcus]

Catempire is the boards mr negative. Every board has one. Nothing wrong with it. We all have our own way of viewing things

A few could compete for that title.....

 

[allrighty]

I started fretting as soon as a graphic on 7 reminded me of the topsy-turvy form line between us.

The odd thing was we played quite well. The pressure was there, as well as plenty of dare and run. That first half had me optimistic about the finals.

If I could blame one thing, it is the way we went forward with long bombs.

It's disappointing, but you can't doubt the effort. St Kilda just turned it on.

As said above the bombing looked like and is a sign of fatigue - physical and mental.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

So had to watch the replay before I could work out what happened - it was so hard to tell at the game…

Actually the replay wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. Yes the third qtr was a "disaster" as was a 3 minute patch in the 4th (where they kicked 3 goals). Other than that our footy was ok and we just couldn't sustain the pressure for long enough.

Some of the negative posts in this forum is quite astounding. For people to now write us off as any chance of winning the flag is just hyperbole...EVERY single team in the mix (which St Kilda is NOT) has had shocking qtrs and bad games. We have to accept the even-ness of the competition is real and it doesn't take much to make a team look second rate.

Match ups are also a real thing...and St Kilda seem to always play well against the Cats - especially at Marvel Stadium.

Would I bet my house on us winning - no...Car...maybe not...But can we win it -absolutely. It is a competition which means we need to compare ourselves not against out emotional fan wish for perfection but against other teams. Brisbane were certainties 2 weeks ago and have lost two in a row...before that Carlton took over as favourites and are now struggling to make the 8...and of course Sydney were clear favourites (as were Geelong at round 7!) but look vulnerable.

So focussing on this game - a lot went right for St Kilda in the second half - but they did also play well. Marshall got on top and Wilke was amazing. I have seen O Henry been blamed for that but in the first half all of his intercept marks were against Rohan. In the second he switched on to Henry but often had the benefit of an extra number.

My view on some players

Humpries - amazing. Grows each week. Career high disposals (second half only 5 but..) at 92% efficiency

Bowes - one of his best I think for us. Certainly his best when not playing MF (only went in CBA 4 times) although DE let him down (58% given 19 of his 31 were uncontested). Still trying to work out how to use him best?

Kolo and J Henry I thought were pretty good in the backline. Guthrie was below his high standards

Mannagh another good game. A little more uncontested ratio than normal and 5 turnovers is high for him. But 21 and 2 goals I will take every week along with 4 stoppage clearances.

Dempsey to me was more impressive on the replay. 20 and a goal and a goal assist is now pretty much his average - which from the wing is elite. 85% DE and 8 score involvements (cats high) shows how key he now is to our team

Danger was also pretty good but not able to repeat the 4th qtr heroics of last week. We need him firing in finals!

I thought Stewart and Jezza were both poor despite statistics being ok. both to my eye looked fumble and just a little off - in particular when it mattered. They are stars but are going to have a "bad one" ever so often. Just can't afford any in Sept!

Miers ok but no great impact and Holmes was pretty good but did have 8 turnovers - too many for a good game

Mullin will be rewarded by the coaches - we can't underestimate the tagging role on Hill

O Henry does seem a little off of late. I am not in the camp that he is "no good" - I think he will be a very very good player forus. But it isn't quite happening for him. Despite that he was miles more impactful than Rohan which I assume is why they subbed him. If Rohan is going to stay in 23 I think it will be as sub.

I thought Neale was ok - pretty good in parts.

Duncan I don't think is a natural sub - and can get exposed in the backline. If we are going to play Bowes down back (I wouldn't but maybe he gets squeezed there) then I find it hard to see where they want to play Duncan (with bowes and Humphries in backline)

Bad loss - but not as impactful as it would have been if Brisbane won...which they didn't.

We can win 3 games (in 5 weeks including two byes) if we don't have to play them all in a row. Our "big 3" need to play 3 huge games - if they do we can win.

I agree with a lot of that summary.

But for our MF to get streeted like that in 10mins is poor. We need to lift our ability to slow the game down and kill the tempo for a few mins. We had the same issue in the sydney game up there and it will cost us if we dont.

I still think the impact is big as we will struggle to win more at the SCG than MCG. 2 MCG finals and i would have said we can make GF.

 

[PzBlinky]

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.

It's a broader pattern that's been happening all year when we get behind. We get desperate and just start bombing into the F50 without much of a look. Was especially bad in the GWS game, saw it in the Port game, and a couple of other instances. How we expect our forwards to kick goals doing this (especially when our smalls aren't noted for being at the drop of the ball) is beyond me.

That said, he did have a bit of a shocker. Other than the early goal, it felt like he was either out of the contest or he stuffed it up (e.g. that pack contest in the last where he handballed straight to a Saint).

 

[catempire]

Some of the negative posts in this forum is quite astounding. For people to now write us off as any chance of winning the flag is just hyperbole...EVERY single team in the mix (which St Kilda is NOT) has had shocking qtrs and bad games. We have to accept the even-ness of the competition is real and it doesn't take much to make a team look second rate.

I get that without hope, watching competitive sport is pretty pointless so hope has a sustaining role for supporters. But this is head in the sand stuff. There is zero chance Geelong can win three finals in a row. Zero. The inconsistency within games, let alone across them, this season proves that.

This is both a personnel but also a killer instinct issue. We have issues with both this year and they are terminal.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Pressure on the ball carrier = high bombs.
No time for laces out

Just extra numbers everywhere for saints because they outworked us