Autopsy Cats lose to Freo by 7 points.

[D BRIDGE]

Geez just sussed the VFL score.

I know they played trash oppo but after seeing the stats I'll be watching the replay 100%.

Dempsey 28 and 5 goals 3 behinds (too good for VFL).

Knevitt 27 and 2 goals 1 behind (should be playing ones already).

Neale 21 and 3 goals 4 behinds (his time is clearly now).

Play these kids for full games (no subs games) so they are a bit more experienced and further progressed for next year.

I wanted it weeks ago... fair enough, our season was still alive (mathematically & in people's eyes but not in reality so they didn't get a run at it)... but the time is now.

 

[volcboy]

Disappointing day yesterday. Didn't show up with the required intent to attack the contest, which is disappointing. In 2023 it seems we haven't recaptured the ability to move the ball with speed as we did for 16 games in 2022; kicking long down the line to a contest over and over again as we have the past two weeks is never going to work.

The most disappointing and revealing incidents for me; Stewart pushing Blicavs and telling him off after we lost a clearance yesterday and Hawkins mouthing off at the mids against Brisbane the week before. These two incidents and behaviours from senior leaders speak volumes to me. Totally unacceptable behaviour in both cases. Yes - you're frustrated Stewart/Hawkins, but that sort of negative interaction is never going to improve the situation. Symptomatic of a team that isn't 'clicking' and is lacking leadership. No surprise that we didn't see this sort of thing while a certain leader was playing up until the end of last year. It signals to me that, as a group, we're frustrated, unsure of what to do, and done for 2023.

Interestingly, Stewart was playing pretty well until he confronted Blicavs yesterday, then fell off a cliff with turnovers and allowed goals afterwards; I'm not surprised. He's a passionate player, and I think when Blitz got injured right after this interaction, it got to him.

I fully expect that they will bring SavRat and Parfitt in next week to cover for injuries next week. IMHO, they should be bringing in Neale to cover Hawkins (and cover 2nd ruck duties) and and Dempsey for the midfield. Parfitt has gone backwards and will be traded, and SavRat in the ruck has been tried for years without great success. Just accept that we need to move forward and start doing it. I'd also prefer to see Knevitt in for Smith and Smith retired at the end of 2023, although I'm not sure either will happen.

I'll be there at GMHBA for the next two games, and maybe the Melbourne games as well. I'm very interested to see how the group responds and who stands up.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Well done to Fremantle on the win - just too good

Re the loss for Geel a bitterly dissappointing ONE - and i do think that is the end of the run for the Cats re this extended era

And as other realistic posters have pointed out Geel have had a terrific run plus the 4 Premierships - but at some point - and it is Now the older players will finish up and Geel will go down

Chris Scott

Chris Scott

Age

48

Ht

182cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.6

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.4

3star

No current season stats available

D

13.2

4star

K

10.2

4star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.8

5star

G

0.4

3star

has done a 1st class job - but i hope at the end of next year he calls it quits - not because of his coaching ability - but dont hang around for the rebuild because you are on a hiding to nothing - and it then tarnishes your great record at that club - eg -look at Simpson at West Coast

I think from now on Geelongs recruiting emphasis should be on youth - or good players like Zac Tuohy who was what 25-26 and became available then yes fair enough - but no more 30 year olds

I watched that Ade v Pt Ade game last night and im highly impressed by the Crows - alot of teams get talked up but theve got holes galore and too many oprdinary players - but i think the Crows are the next big thing - they have got a good spread of young talent with pace and great agility and they just kept beating their Port opponent with that agility - the Port blokes just could not go with them . Also the Crows have got alot of players who kick the ball beautifully

Thats the model Geelong should try to follow - even if naturally they are in the wilderness for a few years

 

[gogeelongcats]

The only team I am confident we can beat at the moment are the Eagles.

 

[catsfootyfan89]

And as other realistic posters have pointed out Geel have had a terrific run plus the 4 Premierships - but at some point - and it is Now the older players will finish up and Geel will go down

It's so hard to come up with a reason for why this would be true this season, when it hasn't been true for the last 12.

I'm yet to see a definitive reason as to why it would be so.

I know we look like dogshit at the moment, but it's easy to imagine a timeline in which Bruhn steps up with Atkins in the middle, Holmes takes his game to another level, Miers, Close and Stengle keep improving and the bolstered backline solidifies again once the injuries start clearing away.

At this stage, I feel like I can't believe in the slide until I really see it. You could argue we're seeing it already this season, but to me this has just been one of those years where we've been absolutely cruelled by injury. The luck just hasn't gone our way this year. And in so many of the close games we've lost, we've had Cameron missing absolute sitters, and the free kick counts have been skewed.

We were terrible on the weekend, but I still don't think we're as far off as our current ladder position suggests.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

It's so hard to come up with a reason for why this would be true this season, when it hasn't been true for the last 12.

I'm yet to see a definitive reason as to why it would be so.

I know we look like dogshit at the moment, but it's easy to imagine a timeline in which Bruhn steps up with Atkins in the middle, Holmes takes his game to another level, Miers, Close and Stengle keep improving and the bolstered backline solidifies again once the injuries start clearing away.

At this stage, I feel like I can't believe in the slide until I really see it. You could argue we're seeing it already this season, but to me this has just been one of those years where we've been absolutely cruelled by injury. The luck just hasn't gone our way this year. And in so many of the close games we've lost, we've had Cameron missing absolute sitters, and the free kick counts have been skewed.

We were terrible on the weekend, but I still don't think we're as far off as our current ladder position suggests.

The thing is Geel have to fall at some stage - and its been remarkable how long they stayed up - and luck with injuries will play a key part

You look at Luke Shuey who was a very good player - Norm Smith medalist - he keeps breaking down with hamstrings - just imagine us with Blicavs unavailable for a long time - Yeo has been off the park for so long - same with Nic Nat - Josh Kennedy their champion key forward retires and look how much they have fallen

Im not upset re Geelong because they had a great run - but i reckon it is over for the Cats - and the only game im worried about re the remaining ones is the Coll one - because if they are switched on - they could beat Geel by 100

Looking to the future - next year onwards - the only side id be really really excited about is the Crows - i think they are the next big thing - and i actually hope they get in the finals this year - because they are very good to watch and could do some damage

 

[Catman]

The midfield woes seems like a list management/recruitment problem. The good teams have 4 or 5 genuine midfielders and another few who can rotate through the middle. Look at Collingwood, Melbourne, Port, Brisbane, Bulldogs. Geelong has only two genuine midfielders, Dangerfield and Bruhn. Blicavs is the modern day utility who can rotate through the middle. Atkins, Holmes are playing midfield because we don't have any more genuine midfielders. We are 2 or 3 genuine midfielders short. On top of that we don't have a genuine ruckman. No wonder we are struggling. Geelong exceeded all expectations last year when injuries were not a problem, Selwood was captain and Cameron, Hawkins and Stengle had stellar form. This year we have not met expectations but they were not based on reality in the first place.

We're paying the price now for the moves we made over the past 7 years. Deals for Danger, Henderson, Tuohy and Cameron cost us first round picks. Obviously we have no idea who we'd have drafted had we had those picks or how they'd have developed, but if you nailed two of them, you could have two regular starting midfielders with 3-7 years under their belts.

But those deals got us a flag, so we can't complain.

 

[Finknottle]

We're paying the price now for the moves we made over the past 7 years. Deals for Danger, Henderson, Tuohy and Cameron, all cost us first round picks. Obviously we have no idea who we'd have drafted had we had those picks or how they'd have developed, but if you nailed two of them, you could have two regular starting midfielders with 3-7 years under their belts.

But those deals got us a flag, so we can't complain.

Yep, I agree it got us a flag so I'm not complaining either. It just shows what to focus on in this year's draft. Knevitt and Dempsey look good for next year and Jai Clark should help with the midfield.

 

[calder_daddy]

Disposal efficiency takes two to tango

Not if it was turnover
Which 11 of his disposals were

 

[cats_09]

Aside from Cameron’s misses, we also had Tuohy drop a couple of marks in our 50, Bowes with that mark about 30 metres that he thought wasn’t 15.

One thing that irritates me so much is when we get flippant with the ball use, so many cute short or high degree of difficulty kicks that don’t come off, particularly heading forward. Rohan, Miers etc. A few went out of bounds, or got smothered or went straight to the opposition. Just need to keep it simple sometimes, bad turnovers hurt when you don’t have the speed to run with them.

But the worst passage of play for the day goes to Isaac Smith. Around 7 minutes to go not long after he’d kicked a goal, instead of picking it up on the wing he kicked it out of mid air and it went 40 metres to the middle of the ground straight to Brayshaw and led to directly to the goal that put them back in front. Very, very soft which is how he’s been playing for a lot of this year. Take possession and he had a runner inside to hand it off to (Zac Guthrie who gave him a spray), or could have steadied and used it to our advantage. See short video here.

That was an interesting one

Bowes claimed the mark & it seemed to be acknowledged by all players as a mark but the umpire was bloody slow to blow his whistle - with no whistle from the umpire, Bowes took a step thinking he'd need to play on and at that stage the umpire blew the whistle for the mark. Bowes stopped, put the ball above his head to say he's stopped but the umpire then blew the whistle for play on and paid a free kick against Bowes for "holding the ball"

This came not long after a passage where a Fremantle player took a mark which again the umpire was late to call, and the Fremantle player actually handball to a teammate before the mark was even paid - after the handball, the umpire finally blew the whistle for the mark, he stopped the play to award the mark with the ball returned to the first Fremantle player and had him go back over the mark to take his kicks, even though he had more than played on having already disposed of the ball


fair to say that the crowd wasn't happy when the Bowes situation occurred

 

[TheCatStevensExperience]

Aside from Cameron’s misses, we also had Tuohy drop a couple of marks in our 50, Bowes with that mark about 30 metres that he thought wasn’t 15.

One thing that irritates me so much is when we get flippant with the ball use, so many cute short or high degree of difficulty kicks that don’t come off, particularly heading forward. Rohan, Miers etc. A few went out of bounds, or got smothered or went straight to the opposition. Just need to keep it simple sometimes, bad turnovers hurt when you don’t have the speed to run with them.

But the worst passage of play for the day goes to Isaac Smith. Around 7 minutes to go not long after he’d kicked a goal, instead of picking it up on the wing he kicked it out of mid air and it went 40 metres to the middle of the ground straight to Brayshaw and led to directly to the goal that put them back in front. Very, very soft which is how he’s been playing for a lot of this year. Take possession and he had a runner inside to hand it off to (Zac Guthrie who gave him a spray), or could have steadied and used it to our advantage. See short video here.

Yeah but he would have looked like a genius if it went to a Geelong player

 

[cats_09]

Feeling snarky so want to point out some disgraceful efforts yesterday:

1. Tom Stewart - paying no respect to opponents standing 15m off looks great when the opposition kicks it straight to you, not so great when they lead you to the ball and setup/kick goals. Arrogantly kicking the ball to a contest on D50 and turning it over by foot several other times. If he didn’t play yesterday we win.

2. Isaac Smith - one of the softer elite level games I’ve witnessed in 35+ years of watching footy. I hope he is playing hurt because if that’s the new normal he should be ashamed. Enjoy your Norm and accolades but times up buddy.

3. Dropped chest mark brigade - Jack Bowes (once plus one dumb play on), Zach Guthrie, Zac Tuohy, Sam De Koning - AFL level players in perfect conditions sh!tting the bed. Get in the bin all of you.

4. Jeremy Cameron’s kicking - 1.5 and I think one other shot that didn’t score. Maybe less time making funny instagram stories on your hobby farm and more time getting your act together.

5. Bombing it down the line and inside 50. Slow clap s. Unlock the secret last year - run in waves and handball but abandon that for what we know fails routinely.





*I am 95% serious with all of this. If I can be stuffed I’ll do a praise version later.

I got called a internet troll on FB when I pointed out that yesterday wasn't a good game for Stewart, that it was likely his worse games in the Hoops, that he was a liability and I would have happily subbed him off if Blicavs wasn't injured

I'm still having people telling me he was amongst our best players yesterday and he only had a down 4th quarter - I know we all like to see the best in our players, but I feel like Stewart's game do get seen through rose coloured glasses more than any other player. When he is on song, there's no doubt he's one of our best players & one of the best defenders in the league, but he does have the odd really poor/bordering on shit games which seem to get ignored by some

And one of those was yesterday - I know Cameron was frustrating with his goal kicking & we expect more from him, but I'd rank Stewarts game as worse as he was basically a liability from half-way through the second quarter. The way he was able to pick out Fremantle players with his kicks & hit them on the chest without a Geelong player in the area, I joked it was like he was aiming for them because it was almost laughable the frequency with which is occurred


I reckon if Stewart's game yesterday was instead played by a guy named Kolodjashnij, Bews, Bowes, Z. Guthrie, Duncan, or Miers etc, we would have been seeing calls post match for them to be dropped next week

 

[TheCatStevensExperience]

It would be handy if one of our small forwards (Stngle, Miers, Close) could go next level and turn themselves into a serious mid.

I thought Stengle had a little bit of young Gaz about him in the preseason games... Looked like they couldn't lay a hand on him, but he got smashed by Howe in R1 and he just has not been at his best al year after that.

Bit of an out of left field suggestion, but I reckon Close would be a great fit. He's wiry but you can see how strong he is. Clever, quick and clean. Would be worth a shot.

 

[catempire]

I got called a internet troll on FB when I pointed out that yesterday wasn't a good game for Stewart, that it was likely his worse games in the Hoops, that he was a liability and I would have happily subbed him off if Blicavs wasn't injured

I'm still having people telling me he was amongst our best players yesterday and he only had a down 4th quarter - I know we all like to see the best in our players, but I feel like Stewart's game do get seen through rose coloured glasses more than any other player. When he is on song, there's no doubt he's one of our best players & one of the best defenders in the league, but he does have the odd really poor/bordering on s**t games which seem to get ignored by some

And one of those was yesterday - I know Cameron was frustrating with his goal kicking & we expect more from him, but I'd rank Stewarts game as worse as he was basically a liability from half-way through the second quarter. The way he was able to pick out Fremantle players with his kicks & hit them on the chest without a Geelong player in the area, I joked it was like he was aiming for them because it was almost laughable the frequency with which is occurred


I reckon if Stewart's game yesterday was instead played by a guy named Kolodjashnij, Bews, Bowes, Z. Guthrie, Duncan, or Miers etc, we would have been seeing calls post match for them to be dropped next week

Your first mistake was engaging in footy talk on FB.

 

[allrighty]

I thought it live and the replay confirms to me that he should have simply picked it up and absorbed the tackle. There was an opponent right on him so it wouldn’t have been a HTB call.

Zuthrie turns around and throws his hands up as soon as he sees the kick went straight to Brayshaw.

Yes it was high risk low reward, and worse it was low input from Smith. **** it and kick it and let's see what happens.

Hubris 101.

 

[Jumping Jack]

Will be a bit of soul searching at the Cattery before next year.

Isaac Smith

7

Isaac Smith

Age

35

Ht

188cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.3

5star

K

13.0

5star

HB

8.4

5star

M

5.5

5star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.7

4star

D

19.4

4star

K

11.1

4star

HB

8.3

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.5

3star

CL

1.3

4star

D

19.2

5star

K

10.6

4star

HB

8.6

5star

M

7.6

5star

T

2.0

4star

CL

0.6

3star

is cooked. Will be amazed if he’s offered another contract. He knows it’s time I think. Knevitt steps up.

Hawkins will get another year. I’m worried about the looming cliff but he’s probably earned it. But some worrying signs in the last month …. Mainly the way he’s struggling to cover ground when out of the contest.

Mitch Duncan. Unsure of his contract status but crikey he looks done to me. Been a great player but the cliff might come very fast for Mitch.

Stanley is a tough one. He frustrates but with Conway developing, and likely to get games, I think Rhys gets a year and effectively replaces the spot freed up after Ceglar is lowered into the dirt.

Danger will go again but he might hit the wall quicker than we thought. Looked genuinely shot in some recent games. Completely lacking impact. Has the benefit of being able to play forward, and with cameos on the ball, but if we’re relying on him to carry the midfield next year then I shudder at the thought.

And Esava. Unless he’s bursting to get out the door I’d keep him. There’s a few at the club who reckon they see SDK as a forward alongside Jezza when Hawkins retires. That creates a spot for Esava until we develop someone else.

There’s probably other scenarios I’ve overlooked but the club might have to reshuffle the magnets if they want to be in the mix at the pointy end next year.




Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[D BRIDGE]

Will be a bit of soul searching at the Cattery before next year.

Isaac Smith is cooked. Will be amazed if he’s offered another contract. He knows it’s time I think. Knevitt steps up.

Hawkins will get another year. I’m worried about the looming cliff but he’s probably earned it. But some worrying signs in the last month …. Mainly the way he’s struggling to cover ground when out of the contest.

Mitch Duncan. Unsure of his contract status but crikey he looks done to me. Been a great player but the cliff might come very fast for Mitch.

Stanley is a tough one. He frustrates but with Conway developing, and likely to get games, I think Rhys gets a year and effectively replaces the spot freed up after Ceglar is lowered into the dirt.

Danger will go again but he might hit the wall quicker than we thought. Looked genuinely shot in some recent games. Completely lacking impact. Has the benefit of being able to play forward, and with cameos on the ball, but if we’re relying on him to carry the midfield next year then I shudder at the thought.

When Danger has played like Danger we have looked strong... But when he is off (happening a bit of late) we just look limp in the guts.

Don't think anyone else is ready to take over yet and the other guys continue to age.

Worrying signs for mine.

 

[BotsMaster]

Your first mistake was engaging in footy talk on FB.

Second mistake was doing the same on BigFooty.

 

[catempire]

Second mistake was doing the same on BigFooty.

 

[Mr Meow]

It would be handy if one of our small forwards (Stngle, Miers, Close) could go next level and turn themselves into a serious mid.

I thought Stengle had a little bit of young Gaz about him in the preseason games... Looked like they couldn't lay a hand on him, but he got smashed by Howe in R1 and he just has not been at his best al year after that.

Stengle and Close both still have potential in that role. And need to push next year to see if they can SJ/Chapman it with a blend of half forward and mids.

 

[And_ROOS]

Will be a bit of soul searching at the Cattery before next year.

Isaac Smith is cooked. Will be amazed if he’s offered another contract. He knows it’s time I think. Knevitt steps up.

Hawkins will get another year. I’m worried about the looming cliff but he’s probably earned it. But some worrying signs in the last month …. Mainly the way he’s struggling to cover ground when out of the contest.

Mitch Duncan. Unsure of his contract status but crikey he looks done to me. Been a great player but the cliff might come very fast for Mitch.

Stanley is a tough one. He frustrates but with Conway developing, and likely to get games, I think Rhys gets a year and effectively replaces the spot freed up after Ceglar is lowered into the dirt.

Danger will go again but he might hit the wall quicker than we thought. Looked genuinely shot in some recent games. Completely lacking impact. Has the benefit of being able to play forward, and with cameos on the ball, but if we’re relying on him to carry the midfield next year then I shudder at the thought.

And Esava. Unless he’s bursting to get out the door I’d keep him. There’s a few at the club who reckon they see SDK as a forward alongside Jezza when Hawkins retires. That creates a spot for Esava until we develop someone else.

There’s probably other scenarios I’ve overlooked but the club might have to reshuffle the magnets if they want to be in the mix at the pointy end next year.




Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

I mean over the next few weeks we have the opportunity to see Neale get a game at FF, or SDK go forward and use Esava in defense, and my worry is they drop Esava forward which is the worst possible outcome.

But with players not in form and not deserving of a spot, and Neale/Dempsey/Knevitt killing it on the weekend, theres absolutely no excuses for some changes this week.

 

[foxdog50]

I got called a internet troll on FB when I pointed out that yesterday wasn't a good game for Stewart, that it was likely his worse games in the Hoops, that he was a liability and I would have happily subbed him off if Blicavs wasn't injured

I'm still having people telling me he was amongst our best players yesterday and he only had a down 4th quarter - I know we all like to see the best in our players, but I feel like Stewart's game do get seen through rose coloured glasses more than any other player. When he is on song, there's no doubt he's one of our best players & one of the best defenders in the league, but he does have the odd really poor/bordering on s**t games which seem to get ignored by some

And one of those was yesterday - I know Cameron was frustrating with his goal kicking & we expect more from him, but I'd rank Stewarts game as worse as he was basically a liability from half-way through the second quarter. The way he was able to pick out Fremantle players with his kicks & hit them on the chest without a Geelong player in the area, I joked it was like he was aiming for them because it was almost laughable the frequency with which is occurred


I reckon if Stewart's game yesterday was instead played by a guy named Kolodjashnij, Bews, Bowes, Z. Guthrie, Duncan, or Miers etc, we would have been seeing calls post match for them to be dropped next week

For some reason the Geelong FB supporter pages, the people on there are muppts for some reason. I feel like alot of them got no idea.
Eg " I'm so proud of Geelong, on how they played. We should always support them, bad or good "

It's not like you would been a feral abuser supporter.
Nothing wrong with criticism to the club or players in a meaningful way "
Stewart game yesterday was terrible. We all know how good he is, and he will be All Australian this year. But his turnovers he did yesterday were highly costly

 

[Kobe Gryant]

We're paying the price now for the moves we made over the past 7 years. Deals for Danger, Henderson, Tuohy and Cameron cost us first round picks. Obviously we have no idea who we'd have drafted had we had those picks or how they'd have developed, but if you nailed two of them, you could have two regular starting midfielders with 3-7 years under their belts.

But those deals got us a flag, so we can't complain.

Cameron doesn't count, we got Holmes, Bruhn and Henry regardless.

Popular belief is they're the three we would have drafted had we kept our 3 first round picks.

Touhy was an 8(?) pick downgrade. Odds are we still take Parfitt, or someone else in that range...but unless we were into Shai Bolton there isn't much quality there.

Danger and Hendo you could argue, but again there wasn't much quality in the range we traded them for, and you can't exactly knock back the best player in the comp.

Genuinely serious here, look through the picks, we wouldn't be any better off had we kept them...and we wouldn't have a flag either.

It makes you realise how much of a lottery the draft is if anything.

 

[And_ROOS]

For some reason the Geelong FB supporter pages, the people on there are muppts for some reason. I feel like alot of them got no idea.
Eg " I'm so proud of Geelong, on how they played. We should always support them, bad or good "

It's not like you would been a feral abuser supporter.
Nothing wrong with criticism to the club or players in a meaningful way "
Stewart game yesterday was terrible. We all know how good he is, and he will be All Australian this year. But his turnovers he did yesterday were highly costly

Its why I stopped going on them. If you say ANYTHING negative you get jumped on. After a bad loss like the Freo match, everyone would still be like "this loss helps us iron out the kinks, you will look stupid when we go on a winning streak and win this years flag".

 

[Finknottle]

Will be a bit of soul searching at the Cattery before next year.

Isaac Smith is cooked. Will be amazed if he’s offered another contract. He knows it’s time I think. Knevitt steps up.

Hawkins will get another year. I’m worried about the looming cliff but he’s probably earned it. But some worrying signs in the last month …. Mainly the way he’s struggling to cover ground when out of the contest.

Mitch Duncan. Unsure of his contract status but crikey he looks done to me. Been a great player but the cliff might come very fast for Mitch.

Stanley is a tough one. He frustrates but with Conway developing, and likely to get games, I think Rhys gets a year and effectively replaces the spot freed up after Ceglar is lowered into the dirt.

Danger will go again but he might hit the wall quicker than we thought. Looked genuinely shot in some recent games. Completely lacking impact. Has the benefit of being able to play forward, and with cameos on the ball, but if we’re relying on him to carry the midfield next year then I shudder at the thought.

And Esava. Unless he’s bursting to get out the door I’d keep him. There’s a few at the club who reckon they see SDK as a forward alongside Jezza when Hawkins retires. That creates a spot for Esava until we develop someone else.

There’s probably other scenarios I’ve overlooked but the club might have to reshuffle the magnets if they want to be in the mix at the pointy end next year.




Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

I think Isaac Smith will probably retire. He's been a very good player in his short time at Geelong and had a couple of good years that culminated in the Norm Smith medal last year. No surprise he is struggling to maintain the rage. Geelong were lucky to get him.