Autopsy Cats lose to Port by 6 points after being down by 10 goals

[Reppie]

I was at the game. Couldnt work it out. Can someone explain it to me?

Chain was too long

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Resting Bowes was utterly stupid and totally arrogant

Made my view very clear on Parfitt over the years , thats why i was dissappointed neither Mannagh or Hardie were picked - hard to know if there is more upside in those 2 players because he wont pick them

And for any supporter who doesnt know , Dangerfield has carried Geelong for years , only need to go back to the flag winning year of 22 , opening game of the season , Ess at the MCG , the 1st qtr and a bit playing in the Centre , he by himself destroyed Ess , ripped them to pieces , take him out of the side and Geel are no where near as good

Cats keep clocking up the losses , some posters might have a change of tune re some players talent and ability levels

 

[Pure_Ownage]

All of those guys need to be tested for sure. Humphries and Clohesy I have faith in. Hardie I'm happy to give them a shot at changing my mind. Mannagh needs to go past stengle and I don't see that

Mannagh doesnt need to go past stengle.
He should be playing up on a wing as a POD.

 

[feelinfeline]

I still don't know why we didn't just bring a mature age ruck onto the list with a very late pick or rookie selection.

It would be almost impossible to ruck worse than Stanley and they'd be on minimum wage.

We did. Forgotten Ceglar already?

I think they’ve given up on the idea after that.

 

[FootyLad0]

He played in a premiership in 2022, and played very well. Forgotten already?

But I think he’s done now.

What is 2024 minus 2022 mate? That equals 2....2 years like i said.
He was done and very obviously done in 2023...my oppo supporter mates are baffled he still gets a game.

I can't keep standing up for the guy. He doesn't do enough to hold a spot and we are actively losing games now out of the middle.

Conway will build his tank, but in the mean time there's plenty of young ruck options at other clubs not getting a gig that could fill the transition

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Proud of the second half and the fight they showed to never give up.
Embarrassed by the first quarter and pissed about the second.
Bipolar ****ing team I swear.
Rhys Stanley

1

Rhys Stanley

Age

34

Ht

200cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.6

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

6.4

4star

CL

3.4

5star

HO

27.6

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

7.5

3star

HB

4.5

3star

CL

5.0

5star

HO

21.5

5star

D

11.8

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

6.4

4star

CL

3.0

5star

HO

33.0

5star

might be one of the loveliest blokes going around, and at times a really solid player, but he shouldn't ever be first ruck option ever again.

 

[Generalissimo]

And the haircut is an improvement!

I dunno. The man bun was unique anyway. right now he kinds looks like if Hollywood were making a movie about AFL and cast 1980s Johnny Depp as Brad Close. He was pretty damn good tonight though!

 

[Vdubs]

Look theres no doubt we need to draft more and in time it will help once guys like clark are more ready.
And i agree we are ageing and need to restock.
BUT
We drafted the best player in the vfl last year (who happens to be a goalkicking mid with speed which we lack) and we arent playing him
And we drafted one of the better state league mids the year before who is our best vfl player most weeks and we dont play him
Which is where the criticism comes from
Not playing those two guys seems to imply that we are not accepting we have a problem and trying to deal with it.

VFL best players are mostly irrelevant- occasional gems, but not reliably.
The MC knows the S & W of our current players and VFL players and would see them at training, and make the appropriate selections every week.
Those 2 players will get a game soon, but the class difference against guys like the Port, Blues, Demons, GC, GWS MF is stark.

 

[Finknottle]

We are not winning anything with Neale as a key forward. Just have to try and play Hawkins into form.

We are not winning right now with Hawkins as a key forward and he is not getting any younger. Tonight was his best game for 5 weeks and he kicked one goal... a beautiful goal. However 1 goal in 5 games is not a good sign. And by the way, we won the only game Neale played as a key forward this year which nullifies your first statement.

 

[Vdubs]

Dangerfield, Bruhn and Bowes are probably our best 3 midfielders at this stage. Our B cast is not a very good one.

2 injured, 1 hardly a mid.

 

[Strange Cat]

It’s kinda amazing that the last two years all the losses has been close

 

[Mr Meow]

2 injured, 1 hardly a mid.

All will be important additions to the midfield mix.

 

[Vdubs]

Duncan Guthrie Danger if not cooked well done...put games into the youth...great group

Duncan is NOT a mid these days.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I also have noticed Duncan looks flustered when the opposition are really swarming us. When we are on the front foot he remains a jet. So a lot depends on what sort of side we are going to be from here. It's kind of unsurprising to me to see him drop off so badly when Melbourne and Port were all over us.

Guthrie in midfield is a concern for sure. I'd say Dangerfield, Bruhn and Bowes are ahead of him. Guthrie and Parfitt struggling the last two weeks has killed us.

He's just a step behind in pace. Needs his disposals on the outside and that means we need more pressure on the inside.

I feel like Duncan struggling is a symptom of our contested game going to custard

 

[Play it Sam]

I gotta say this is something that concerns me with Clark.

I can give him an out for not holding tackles or breaking through them because he is undersized... but I still want him being clean and making good plays when he gets the pill.

He probably should be playing VFL but our midfield is shocking and Bowes was rested.

I hope he has plenty of improvement in him.

I'm sure he has some... I hope it's plenty more than some though.

Catch 22, he has some terrific involvements that show his class, some great gutsy moves and poise last quarter. On other occasions he seems to lose sight of the ball in the scrum, well, he did tonight. Just not quite strong and aware enough. That allows the bulky, experienced and hungry Port players the edge to run it through.
Despite being imperfect, he's got what it takes, he should keep on getting the experience to enable his development at top level.

 

[FootyLad0]

Duncan is NOT a mid these days.

He's not best 23 is what he is

 

[Reppie]

Duncan is NOT a mid these days.

no but hes done

 

[Baudolino]

Parfitt, Clark and Mullin all need to be sent back to the VFL but not to many options to replace them. Midfield is diabolical and one of the worst in the league.

Disagree on Mullin, he looked good tonight. Concur with the others.

Parfitt is the personification of a VFL plodder, it's embarrassing that he's out there for us. Clark on the other hand is just being gifted games right now, which would be fine for long-term planning reasons if we had the top-end midfield quality to carry him, but since we don't it just seems like arrogance to play him when we're in absolutely desperate need of any improvement through that area of the ground. Bowes should have played ahead of him, and Holmes should have been in midfield ahead of him too.

 

[Baudolino]

Managing Bowes for tonight an absurd call reminiscent of the worst match committee calls under Scott's tenure. I'm talking "Chapman as sub in the 2013 Qualifying Final" tier inexplicable stupidity.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

We did. Forgotten Ceglar already?

I think they’ve given up on the idea after that.

Then they should go look for another job.

Hopefully this isnt true.

 

[year of the cat]

Yeah i agree regarding duncan. The telltale is when they keep trying to soccer the ball off the ground because they cant go to ground because they cant get back up quick
Duncan is still all class but the calf injuries have cooked his mobility.

Hawk will be given the record game against gws and maybe a couple more but if it doesnt change i think hes done. Id probably go smaller with mannagh up in there before neale though..we need movement.

What would you do with the ruck? Conway clearly isnt ready and rhys is stuffed.

I’m not sure that Conway “isn’t ready”. He’s not ready to play a whole game in the middle but he can probably play 60%. Play Blicavs the other 40. Or you could bring Neale in as well and he could take the forward 50 stoppages to relieve part of the load.

I’d bring Mannagh in for Duncan. Bruhn and Bowes straight back in. Think Clark probably needs a run in the VFL - Hardie finally gets his opportunity.

 

[TEDDY24INC]

I was at the game. Couldnt work it out. Can someone explain it to me?

It was a shite call, nothing to explain

 

[frggr]

Stanley's consistency is becoming more of an issue. Getting subbed before half time and our improvement thereafter shows that.

That said, the pace and strength of Mullin might just have been what was needed in the centre given the unusually low output from the mids.


Cats a bit stiff to have the goal called back, but that's footy.

Not a "bad" loss - it'll take the spotlight off us and add pressure to Port.

 

[Generalissimo]

It was a shite call, nothing to explain

100% guarantee a similar situation down the other end resulting in a Port goal wouldn't have been called back.

 

[FootyLad0]

We did. Forgotten Ceglar already?

I think they’ve given up on the idea after that.

So we replaced a cooked Stanley with a guy that was even more cooked than Stanley?

Here's an idea, maybe go after a younger ruckman not getting a crack that has a little bit of experience to bridge the gap between older and young blokes.