Autopsy Cats lose to Blues by 8 points.

[OddYears]

God he's atrocious. When you're winning at least it takes the edge off. When you're losing it's just unbearable. I particularly hate (a) when he gets obsessed with some bullshit thing that never actually happened (e.g. the ball going out of bounds) and we have to hear about it for 10 minutes, and (b) when a real thing does happen and he quite blatantly ignores it because it doesn't suit his made up narrative (e.g. Geelong players getting hit in the head).

He’s a massive piece of collingwood sht. The way he glossed over SDK getting shouldered in head by Motlop off the ball was classic boy oh boy

 

[numbwombat]

For all the knocks Parfitt cops on here, he would’ve offered more than Atkins’ 13 touches and Bruhn’s 10 (both of whom I like). An imperfect player but should be in the team if uninjured.

Selwood’s loss was always going to be impossible to cover - in the first (and only competitive) quarter of the grand final last year he had 12 touches and next most on the ground was 8. Was still a gun as well as the best leader in the comp.

Missing Stewart a lot, and Henry, and also Kolo, who has some flaws but was in white-hot career-best form late last year.

 

[giggler99]

I don‘t see any reason to panic we’ll come good, but our backline needs some readjustments. I know it’s makeshift at the moment with no Stewart, Henry, DeKoning not 100% and Rata still raw back their. But we’ve been very sloppy and panicky under pressure, need to calm down be more smart and patient coming out from the back.

Jezza what a legend! more more more please!! Love watching him kick bags!!

 

[patmatcat]

If we are persevering with Esava in the backline that’s the last game I watch this year.
1.5 minutes left and we need 2 goals to win. Takes a mark and chips it backwards. Has no idea.

Sure, dumb kick, but felt like he contested a lot, which is all you can ask. Midfield got worked over again tonight

 

[Stocks_go_Up]

Can't wait to hear what Scott has to say - yer listen I'm not going to overreact - its a long season and we have some guys out - we know our best is good enough - Carlton deserved the win tonight - we will get back and analyse what went wrong.

LOL literally exactly what he said in the press conference. Know him too well.

 

[Mr Meow]

LOL literally exactly what he said in the press conference. Know him too well.

So you watch press conferences for some kind of cackling confirmation bias? Surely you have something more rewarding to do with your time.

 

[goyoucatters]

So you watch press conferences for some kind of cackling confirmation bias? Surely you have something more rewarding to do with your time.

Clearly not.

 

[kickazz]

I don't know whether he hates the club per se, he just hates what he perceives as our ongoing success (i.e. constantly being up near the top of the ladder for 15 or so years). He thinks it's boring from a punditry/commentary perspective, so he just wants us to, for lack of a better term, "go away". He perceives any team that faces us as a scrappy upstart underdog with an appealing narrative, whereas he perceives us as just a successful club with a story that has already been told multiple times.

And yes, all of the above is incredibly annoying and unprofessional of him.

They are all shit.

ABC Radio if I'm at the game by myself. At home on TV it's volume down and Double J or some CDs.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I don't know whether he hates the club per se, he just hates what he perceives as our ongoing success (i.e. constantly being up near the top of the ladder for 15 or so years). He thinks it's boring from a punditry/commentary perspective, so he just wants us to, for lack of a better term, "go away". He perceives any team that faces us as a scrappy upstart underdog with an appealing narrative, whereas he perceives us as just a successful club with a story that has already been told multiple times.

And yes, all of the above is incredibly annoying and unprofessional of him.

I just think he's got that geriatric mentality of a 'Big Four' club player from the eighties.

He still sees Geelong as the funny little club from down the road, completely forgetting how long it's been since that was even a possibility.

I personally don't think it's due to our success. It could contribute, but he has no problem jumping on board winning clubs as well from what I've seen.

To me, he's just completely stuck in the past. The wheel will turn eventually, once this next generation ends up in the media and have never seen Carlton, Essendon, and to a lesser extent Collingwood win flags....but we're not there yet.

It's just classic boys club, reminisce on the good old days kind of stuff.

 

[SkittleCats]

how poorly he positions himself

That's the polite way of saying that i think.

The other way of saying it is: The man has pitched himself a tent in no mans land and gets paid to count the number of balls that sail over his head.

Im not sure i have witnessed a player with worse game awareness in my life. He actually cannot read the play at all. If you are a fan of his and believe you know anything about the technical aspect of football i implore you, go to a game, stand behind the goals, and watch how he sets up. And after you're done, remember, this was the guy Chris Scott said was: "Outstanding".

 

[Catsace]

Things just haven't really gone right for Geelong this season. You just cannot suddenly have a defensive group that loses all of Stewart, Kolo, J.Henry and Duncan and expect it to be a smooth and cohesive unit. Joel's absence is a huge hole which obviously given his stature in the game cannot be readily filled. Hawkins does appear to be under the weather with his fitness at this stage, and the players have copped a few big hits in these two games as well, JC, SDK, Touhy and Stanley all had hard hits (some fair and some rather foul, like with the passing shoulder to the head from Motlop, and the knee to Stanley's ribs by TDK).

Plus this new plan so far by the two strong clubs we've come up against (Pies and Blues are top-4 contenders without doubt, and we've come short by 30 points in the two games), playing probably a long way below our best form.

It takes some time to get the continuity and team play happening, at this stage we seem to be getting done in the clearances, and being out-possessed by both opponents who have taken to switching and chipping to maintain possession and just run our side ragged. So far the pure grunt factor of our inside mids is just not quite happening, and of course the defence will struggle a bit when a side whisks the ball downfield to the forward line. I do take a little bit of consolation from being 28 points down and almost gone to being a chance late in the game, although the Blues held the score to level after Geelong's early two last quarter goals.

0-2 isn't ideal, but i'm old enough to also remember Geelong topping the ladder in 1980 and 1992 after such a start to the season. I think a day game, even in the heat of Qld in March will still enable Geelong to play a bit better, less slipperiness i think and maybe more one-touch footy. It was kind of infuriating how arsey the bounces, rebounds and smothers Geelong would endeavor to do would still wind up with a Carlton player, that period of about 30 seconds of rugby scrumming where it found an open Blue who generated a clearance and a forward mark was a microcosm of that. maybe it's just the run of the play, but we could hardly take a trick. Plus Esava gets a free against for an errant fingernail touching the jumper of Curnow whilst Hawkins in a forward ruck contest has the back of his jumper tented by a grab from TDK for no response. It also seemed to me that the free for 'hold after the play' no longer counts, several times it seemed a Cat would be thrown to the ground after being dispossessed for no response from the umps. We certainly didn't get the rub of the green from the men in white.

Reckon Geelong can come up positive against the Suns, and maybe Bowes can impart his experience of the heat and game style etc that they play. he and to a lesser extent Bruin at least have played in warmer climes. And aside from his fluffed kick for goal, Bowes looked good.

As I said nobody likes the look of 0-2, but i can't help feel that Geelong is far from out of contention. And we do finish the year with a bevy of KP games which will help a lot.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Just got home..


After last week.

I wasn't allowed to wear the same outfit.
No cats socks ,no same jeans ,no danger300 cap,no 1959 cats top..etc.

So new game new out fit.
2$ pants becuace same of my jeans don't fit atm, different top..differnt cap,different socks and jocks.

That didn't help .
What's next nude up...
Things are not going well.

 

[bombersboy]

Bruhn will be playing VFL pretty soon I think. Just not enough tricks to be an effective player in todays game.

Agreed. Thought he looked alright in first half last week but seeing him live he is a Small inside mid who does not like to put his head over the ball. Can kick long but could not hit the side of a barn from 5 metres. Waste of a first round pick

 

[Heckler]

Under manned
Under done
Under achieved
Under rated

Unmotivated
Undisciplined
Unproductive
Unexpected

Unlucky
Unfazed
Unleased

Some things matter more

It's a long long season
Just make the top 4
Don't rush back injured players
Maintain faith in player development
Be in form for the finals

Delayed Gratification is worth the wait

 

[hoopla]

Just watched the highlights because I’m OS and wasn’t able to watch the game live. There were a few very soft frees going Carlton’s way, but that’s life I suppose. I think the cats did ok last year on the umpiring front, so can’t complain too much.

I really think many have underestimated Selwood’s retirement. He’s a huge loss to the cats midfield.

 

[catsfootyfan89]

I'm not really "doom and gloom" about the loss. A few takeaways:

1) Injuries. Half the backline is out, and tonight we came up against a team with some powerhouse forwards. When you have Esava Ratugolea

27

Esava Ratugolea

Age

26

Ht

197cm

Wt

108kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.6

2star

K

4.8

2star

HB

3.8

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.2

4star

MG

131.6

2star

D

8.1

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

3.9

3star

M

2.1

2star

T

2.5

3star

MG

109.0

2star

D

9.2

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.2

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

MG

133.8

3star

playing against a Coleman candidate, you're in for a bad time. With Stewart and Kolo in the team: we're probably a 30-point better side in that game.

2) Umpiring. I'm usually not one to put results down to officiating, but last night was a really bad game for the umpires. 2-to-1 free kicks all night. The 50/50 ones all went Carlton's way. Even the ball seemed to bounce their way. In a close game, officiating like this can really tilt the field towards one team or another. Usually it works itself out by the end of the game, but it didn't. There were blatant frees not paid to us, then the same free would be paid to Carlton ten seconds later, in the corridor, against traffic when we didn't have time to set up behind it. In a close game, that sort of stuff kills you. They were also picking out borderline frees against our backmen (Esava holding the man, SDK spoiling) when you just never see those being called. Again, with an undermanned backline, it just kills you.

3) Leadership. Now I know Danger had a great Grand Final, but we've been talking about this since the day he came to Geelong. The distance between his best and worst footy is just too great. I'm not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater here, but last night he wasn't playing like a Geelong captain. Perhaps it's unfair being a captain after Harley, Ling and Selwood, but the expectations we put on our captains are immense. He just didn't measure up. he didn't show up. With Stewart out, we basically didn't have any captains last night. No on-field leadership to will us over the line.

4) Highlights: For me, there were a healthy number of players who earned their pay. Cameron, obviously. The guy is a freak. Also, he doesn't even take footy as seriously as some. Kind of hilarious that the guy is just so freakishly good that he can kick a half dozen without really trying all that hard. (I know he got busted up but you know what I mean) It's fun to watch. Atkins was a bull and really busted himself trying. Didn't get a huge payoff but worked himself into the ground. Holmes was exceptional. He's going to have a breakout year this year or next, I reckon. Blicavs was good after being put into the ruck contests. I was also really impressed with Bews. Has a lot of speed and makes really smart decisions when closing in on a free ball with an opponent on him. Almost never gets beaten one-on-one at ground level and at the least almost always gets a draw.

All in all, I think there was just too much musical chairs over the last few weeks for us to cover this one. A few things went against us and that's the story. In the coming weeks, I'm hoping for:

• More midfield cohesion and more time for Bowes/Bruhn to start working out how to play
• More games for Sav down back to practice against some lesser opponents where the stakes aren't quite as high
• Dangerfield to take the captaincy seriously
• Cam Guthrie to pull his finger out and maybe consider growing the hair back
• A more even contribution from the forwardline
• A more bolstered transition from inside mid to outside, so we don't get so badly burned when opposition teams win clearances
• Consistent umpiring would be nice

 

[TheEscapeClub]

#seasonover

Seriously, though, we really do look so easy to play against at the moment. Nowhere near hard enough for long enough throughout most of the game. And then brought a decent effort across the ground when the game was just about gone. If we can't get some momentum through the mids group, we are looking vulnerable against absolutely any opposition.

So many players just shadows of their 2022 selves right now. And while I'm a big fan of seeing the new faces in the team, the lack of cohesion is definitely costing us as well.

Really hope Jez is OK. Without him, we're not even vaguely close to winning that game. And the game up here against the Suns is now the quintessential hiding to nothing for us. Win it, and it's nothing more than everyone would expect. Lose it (which could easily happen, given how busted we look right now, and how the prospect of another Queensland 'holiday' might appeal to the boys), and I figure you can wave goodbye to any realistic top four hopes.

To be saying that after Round 3 would be sobering indeed.

#wereahardwatchrightnow
#timetolift

We were 3 and 2 after 5 rounds last year and 5 and 4 after 9 rounds.

We look slow and sore so far this year.

 

[Mr Meow]

We were 3 and 2 after 5 rounds last year and 5 and 4 after 9 rounds.

We look slow and sore so far this year.

Was actually 2-3 after 5 rounds. Win the next 3 (which are winnable...not easy, but winnable) and we're in the exact same position. Hopefully with a healthier list and a bit more cohesion. I still don't believe form will desert several players at the same time for more than 2 consecutive matches.

 

[volcboy]

Another loss, with some of the same repeated problems from round 1

* We were horrible at defending the ground as a team again. Too much movement of the ball allowed through the corridor, and our structure didn't cover their spread

* The spread by Carlton from the stoppage - we couldn't or wouldn't defend their extra, so their second 'spread' possession out of the stoppage killed us all night again. I think the Stanley/Blicavs tactic has to be changed - opposition coaches have worked it out.

The Good:

* We at least put up a fight, but only for a stretch in the 2nd quarter and when the game was already gone in the last. Without Cameron, it wouldn't have even been close.

* Bowes was good. Shame his shanked kick in the last killed our chances - not a fair reflection on his game

The Bad:

* Our ball movement again. 'Long down the line to a contest' isn't a strategy.

* Our midfield. Uncompetitive and horrible defensively. Put some young guys (Holmes, Bruhn, Bowes) in there please. Guthrie showed up in the last quarter after being unsighted, but Danger and Atkins were woeful.

* Danger as captain. Not liking it at the moment - where is the inspiration?

The Ugly

* Hawkins. He's not right, so why play him?

* Our backline. Without Stewart, Kolo and Henry, it is very porous. Where are the Kolo haters now?

 

[Bunnings]

Don’t worry about the missing defenders, who is coming into save that midfield?
……. Yup, no one

 

[gogeelongcats]

As usual, the fringe players and young players cop the flak. Turn your attention to Danger and Cuthrie. Seriously average tonight. Great players but they aren't ammune from criticism.

We are heavily reliant on those two in the middle and we won't be massively successful unless at least one of them fires. They will lift, but neither have performed to expectations in the first two rounds so far.

Cameron again showing hes worth and he is fast challenging Ottens on the best value trade we've ever had. Coughed up a lot for him but looking like a bargain now.

Bowes and Bruhn will be fine, but tonight is a reminder that these guys have come from expansion clubs, playing in front of 20 people every week. They will be better for the experience playing at the MCG in front of big crowds. Both showed poor composure in the last qtr, but they will be better for the exposure.

I thought Smith and Holmes were great and provided lots of run. Smith, what can you say, what a pick-up as an UFA. He's playing as well as he ever has. Genius list management call to bring him in.

I am not that impressed with Holmes. In my opinion, he does not have the impact or the speed that everyone talks about.

 

[Interdimensional Bigfoot]

I'm not really "doom and gloom" about the loss. A few takeaways:

1) Injuries. Half the backline is out, and tonight we came up against a team with some powerhouse forwards. When you have Esava Ratugolea playing against a Coleman candidate, you're in for a bad time. With Stewart and Kolo in the team: we're probably a 30-point better side in that game.

2) Umpiring. I'm usually not one to put results down to officiating, but last night was a really bad game for the umpires. 2-to-1 free kicks all night. The 50/50 ones all went Carlton's way. Even the ball seemed to bounce their way. In a close game, officiating like this can really tilt the field towards one team or another. Usually it works itself out by the end of the game, but it didn't. There were blatant frees not paid to us, then the same free would be paid to Carlton ten seconds later, in the corridor, against traffic when we didn't have time to set up behind it. In a close game, that sort of stuff kills you. They were also picking out borderline frees against our backmen (Esava holding the man, SDK spoiling) when you just never see those being called. Again, with an undermanned backline, it just kills you.

3) Leadership. Now I know Danger had a great Grand Final, but we've been talking about this since the day he came to Geelong. The distance between his best and worst footy is just too great. I'm not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater here, but last night he wasn't playing like a Geelong captain. Perhaps it's unfair being a captain after Harley, Ling and Selwood, but the expectations we put on our captains are immense. He just didn't measure up. he didn't show up. With Stewart out, we basically didn't have any captains last night. No on-field leadership to will us over the line.

4) Highlights: For me, there were a healthy number of players who earned their pay. Cameron, obviously. The guy is a freak. Also, he doesn't even take footy as seriously as some. Kind of hilarious that the guy is just so freakishly good that he can kick a half dozen without really trying all that hard. (I know he got busted up but you know what I mean) It's fun to watch. Atkins was a bull and really busted himself trying. Didn't get a huge payoff but worked himself into the ground. Holmes was exceptional. He's going to have a breakout year this year or next, I reckon. Blicavs was good after being put into the ruck contests. I was also really impressed with Bews. Has a lot of speed and makes really smart decisions when closing in on a free ball with an opponent on him. Almost never gets beaten one-on-one at ground level and at the least almost always gets a draw.

All in all, I think there was just too much musical chairs over the last few weeks for us to cover this one. A few things went against us and that's the story. In the coming weeks, I'm hoping for:

• More midfield cohesion and more time for Bowes/Bruhn to start working out how to play
• More games for Sav down back to practice against some lesser opponents where the stakes aren't quite as high
• Dangerfield to take the captaincy seriously
• Cam Guthrie to pull his finger out and maybe consider growing the hair back
• A more even contribution from the forwardline
• A more bolstered transition from inside mid to outside, so we don't get so badly burned when opposition teams win clearances
• Consistent umpiring would be nice

Bowes done well enough and looked an AFL player, as for bruhn let's just say I'm happy I sold all bruhn stocks last week.
Let's get our boys back from injury and have sav as emergency only.
If Danger isn't taking the captaincy seriously already he shouldn't of been made captain.
Cams never been a in and under mid he's always waiting for the pass, if Danger doesn't supply him his game goes to shit.
I think our forwards are doing fine cam is a gun, stengle doing stengle Rohan up and about. Not sure what hawk is doing and Ollie has been okay but seems to get pushed off the ball to easy.
Umps gon ump.

 

[foxdog50]

It’s only March! We should be content shouldn’t we? Haha oh dear who ever said that? Imagine Roy Keane and Sor Alex Ferguson walking into Man United and being content before the season started? Dear oh dear…

Like I said, I wasn't to worried before the game... but it's the way we played tonight... just look so slow , and we're doing the chasing....
Plus who cares about Man United... Liverpool YNWA

 

[BORIS332]

For all the knocks Parfitt cops on here, he would’ve offered more than Atkins’ 13 touches and Bruhn’s 10 (both of whom I like). An imperfect player but should be in the team if uninjured.

Selwood’s loss was always going to be impossible to cover - in the first (and only competitive) quarter of the grand final last year he had 12 touches and next most on the ground was 8. Was still a gun as well as the best leader in the comp.

Missing Stewart a lot, and Henry, and also Kolo, who has some flaws but was in white-hot career-best form late last year.

Parfitt played three quarters last week and finished the game with five handballs, zero kicks.

 

[Warhorse]

Not concerned about Forward/backline, they will sort themselves out in time. Concerned about getting annihilated in the midfield though