Autopsy Doggies Woof all over Cats by 47 points.

[CHAWKTS]

I made the trip from Melbourne down to the game, crikey it was cold down at Geelong. The Cats were off right from the start and leaving out Neale confounded me. The stoppages/clearance stats might have looked even but in reality the Dogs were all over us, they got good clearances, ours were rushed and desperate. The Dogs were composed and always had players ready to receive a handball or a kick along the flanks. Their bigger bodied forwards monstered our medium sized defenders. Treloar's output alone matched our entire midfield but he wasn't alone, Bontempelli also dominant in there with 18 contested possessions! It was really a case of men against boys such was the difference in class and strength. Dangerfield was ineffective and the Ollies had shockers. Miers, Stengle and Close never had a chance due to the ball being bombed in and Geelong lacking big forwards to halve contests and bring the ball to ground. We need to find a couple of midfielders in a hurry or we will be cannon fodder come finals.

I agree…but it was mostly because they did a HB out of clearance (often 2) to relieve the pressure and then get an uncontested clearance…whereas our clearance players nearly always hack kicked it.

Didn’t give any chance to get Dempsey, miers, close to get involved (they are usually the beneficiaries of overlap) who are our smartest players going into the 50

Hopefully just an “off” night

 

[CHAWKTS]

Good night for me to have a family commitment preventing me from watching the game.

Bit stunned by how low we’re Dempsey’s stats (took a peek at half time and thought he must have been injured!). Was he tagged? (Cats have heavily relied on him for transition so it would have been smart move by Bevo).

Not really any tagging…little bit of close checking. Combination of him not at his best but also not being used at all in overlap. Ignored a lot as we went corridor going forward (to Lob) and also we had no overlap HB at all really. Was moved forward in second half and had good impact in 3rd from limited entries but missing in last qtr as were all the forwards tbh

 

[Finknottle]

Have you watched us at all this year?

Hawkins is not the answer.

 

[Cadillac]

Probably looking at the Hawks now

Bailey Smith doesn’t care about wins and losses. He’s much more focused on being an influencer. That’s why he’s 100% guaranteed to be a Cat next year. Cotton On have done a fantastic job over the years.

Him out of the side has created a spot for Ed Richards. Massive win for us.

 

[InnocentBystandr]

My first time at KP for several years, now wondering why I bothered (beautiful new stadium though).
The Dogs were better structured for a wet and slippery game, they attacked with vigor while we static. Very lucky they were so inaccurate otherwise it would have been very ugly.
Other posters have identified disposal efficiency- we seemed to kick directly to their defenders (Buku Khamis et al). They weren’t really ‘intercepts’, they just had to stand there and we kicked it to them .

 

[Mr Meow]

So 6 of our top 10 possession winners had less than 50% efficiency for the game. Can’t win when that happens. Those 6 all had very high kick to handball % which means (when poor disposal) no overlap or run to open up for good kickers into F50.

Stewart (50% Eff, 22 kicks 4 HB)
Holmes (30%, 15k 8HB)
2E (45% 15k 5HB)
Mannagh (42% 15k 4HB)
Bowes (50%. 15k 3HB)
Danger (35%. 13k 4HB)

For the Dogs top 10 possession winners only 1 player (JUH) had 50% efficiency (and most had higher handball %)

We can blame Miers, Knevitt, Dempsey, Close etc for not getting involved and Jezza, Henry, Rohan for poor forward work but the stats show that our main ball winners going forward butchered it.

Fine that they get credit for trying (Mannagh Stewart in particular) but when your ball winners are bombing or not getting it to open players (and there were players working hard tonight to get free) then we can’t win

With those stats we were lucky to be in it for as long as we were


EDIT

As a team we had 12 more turnovers and 14 less intercepts reflecting a disposal efficiency 15% worse (55% vs 65%) - that is the game

Mitch "Should've retired 6 weeks ago" Duncan, our 3rd highest ball winner (22 disposals) at 77.3% DE - compare that to the players above.

Interesting reading isn't it BORIS332?

I expect you to ignore it as usual and double down on foolish snipes next game.

 

[CHAWKTS]

Mitch "Should've retired 6 weeks ago" Duncan, our 3rd highest ball winner (22 disposals) at 77.3% DE - compare that to the players above.

Duncan, other than a couple of poor entries, was important to us. Of course 5 of those kicks were kick ins (and if you kick over 40m it is effective) but still taking those out is 17 possessions at 70% which is still much better than those others in top 10. Now his uncontested ratio of course is a lot higher reflecting his role vs Stewart, mannagh, Danger etc (Holmes was the dissapointing one as a lot of uncontested and still very poor eff)…

But Duncan remains important and I don’t see Bowes as a replacement….maybe Lawson is over time. I do have a slight issue with Duncan AND 2E in the backline (who is also playing ok though) just because they can’t compete in the air nor athletically anymore. Good when they get it

 

[Pure_Ownage]

I agree Henry needs games but I would look at him on the wing. We played Knevitt there all night. Play Ollie there instead and get him involved. He can sneak forward too. Getting his hands on the footy a bit in the chain will help him.

Reasonable idea but im not sure he has the tank.

 

[ShaunWDT]

We desperately need a forward that can take a ****ing contested mark, made Lobb and Khamis look like prime Scarlett

 

[Commando]

Bailey Smith doesn’t care about wins and losses. He’s much more focused on being an influencer. That’s why he’s 100% guaranteed to be a Cat next year. Cotton On have done a fantastic job over the years.

Him out of the side has created a spot for Ed Richards. Massive win for us.

Ed Richards is an honest footballer but I'm sure he played in teams with Smith
More like opened a door for a McNeil

 

[Cats_R_Cool_4_Ever]

Such a shit take. Coming in with no leaders at all in the midfield while we get smashed and you pick on the kid who is least expected to take control of the situation. Needs some games to see what he has. We gift plenty of games to others, might as well give him a few.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, that’s yours that was mine. Leave it at that.

 

[Cursed Cat]

We desperately need a forward that can take a ****ing contested mark, made Lobb and Khamis look like prime Scarlett

Neale's omission looked - retrospectively - misjudged as the game wore on. He's earned better treatment than that.

 

[witsend]

JC should start winning his own footy instead of scabbing off the players who did. OK fine, the dish-off works if he's running onto his left, past the man on the mark, receiving from a teammate not renowned for long set shots from 50. But Blitz in the better forward pocket for a right-footer 30m out? Nah. Just let him take the shot.

That one drove me crazy! JC had not right asking for that hand-off other than trying to cherry pick a cheap goal. Which he missed. Blicavs was a 70/30 chance from where he was. JC was 10/90.


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[ShaunWDT]

Neale's omission looked - retrospectively - misjudged as the game wore on. He's earned better treatment than that.

Its not a strength of his either, is another guy that plays his best footy on the lead or using his athleticism to get out the back, dont think he'd have made a great deal of difference.

Have too many of the exact same type of forward for mine.

Ever since Hawk lost the ability to jump we've badly missed having a genuine contested marker, in games where not everyrhings going your way you just need that outlet that will crash the pack and bring the ball to ground at bare minimum, Rohan tries hard but hes always going to get outbodied by guys that have 10cm and 10kg on him.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Hindsight can be both enlightening and frustrating, but I believe we'll look back on this season as a significant success, regardless of how things progress from here.

Tonight's game was really shit, there's no doubt about that. Our reactions, however, are shaped by our individual perspectives on where we think we stand, and naturally, this varies among us from poster to poster.

My main point is that we've made substantial progress this year, even if our ladder position come the end of the season may not reflect that jump.

We've identified a core group of players who seem poised to be essential in our next serious bid for the premiership, which is truly exciting.

If you had told me this in late 2022, I would have found it hard to believe. The improvement in the quality of our players under 25, particularly those under 23, is remarkable.

However, with such growth comes inconsistency, and we will likely contend with this for another season or three.

It's been a long time since we've had a team perform brilliantly one week, and so poorly the next, but this is to be expected with younger players, and some veterans who can't carry the load all the time.

Dempsey and Humphries exemplified this tonight, but it's not their fault. They will learn and improve, and their time to carry the side will come.

Whether we acquire Smith, someone else, or just go to the draft, I feel confident about our club's direction, and really comfortable with where we sit.

It might not always seem this way, especially after nights like tonight, but I am more excited about our potential as a side in the coming years than I have been in a long time.

There's an eye to the future that wasn't there during the '16-21 'era' so to speak, and it makes performances like tonight much more palatable when they do come.

 

[Gyno79]

Nights like tonight make me wish we don't make the top 4 because we're at risk of a straight sets exit and coping a hiding. Scotty's largely put it down to an aberration and "a few guys being off." The last few weeks might have given a slight bit of hope but it feels like we're just making up the numbers. I'd love to know Scotty's assented assessment of the team and the expectation at the start of the year, during our slump and now...

 

[ShaunWDT]

Nights like tonight make me wish we don't make the top 4 because we're at risk of a straight sets exit and coping a hiding. Scotty's largely put it down to an aberration and "a few guys being off." The last few weeks might have given a slight bit of hope but it feels like we're just making up the numbers. I'd love to know Scotty's assented assessment of the team and the expectation at the start of the year, during our slump and now...

Think the reality is we just arent that good, soon as the opposition actually has a Ruckman and a good quality midfield we've been made to look very average this year, will make finals as theres enough sides shitter than us and we have a pretty easy run home but we are definitely just making up the numbers.

 

[juzcat]

Why not leave Neale in. Lobb goes to Neale. Cameron would hv a better match up. Blitz and SDk rotate off Darcy. Neale the chop out.
Was excrutiating watching kick after kick get swallowed by Lobb and English.

Did we have any leads from OH?

Please please no more Parfitt ever again.

Thought Mannagh awesome first half. So much intent.

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[Stocks_go_Up]

How are the Bulldogs with the salary cap? They have A grade players across the field. They make us look like a VFL team on paper and the game turned out like that.

 

[juzcat]

We have been DOMINATED and embarrassed at home. Even though we have an easy run home there is no certainty we will make the 8.

To strengthen our team, we need to focus on bolstering our midfield, securing a key defender, a reliable ruckman, and a strong marking forward. Comprehensively beaten in the middle. Dangerfield tapered off when we needed him. Today's performance underscored our weaknesses and there are many; a loss next week against North Melbourne wouldn't be surprising.


. [/B]

And how do.you propose we get the 3 or 4 first rounders for that need? Great wishlist but ain't gonna happen.
I do seriously wish for a decent ruck. 13 yes now since Otto

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[Catsace]

Neale's omission looked - retrospectively - misjudged as the game wore on. He's earned better treatment than that.

Did he have any residual effects from that throat knock last week? Or just dropped due to the rain/wet?

I am still flummoxed as to how the Dogs with their much taller side still seemed quicker and they had the stickiest hands and surest handling you could believe. Lobb, well we made Petty look like Wayne Carey when we played the Dees, this hitherto disappointing 31-y/o journeyman suddenly looking like an AA CHB. The way the Dogs tall forwards would 'pluck' one grab marks in those conditions rankled big time. And our forwards couldn't even influence a contest to even bring ball to ground. A comprehensive thrashing at K.P the likes I've not seen in a long time, well in terms of the game flow. We were dominated in every aspect of the game.

 

[Warhorse]

Bulldogs are a top 4 side on quality and their percentage is more a reflection of where they are at rather than ladder.

They have a very very good contested ball winning midfield and the weather made the gap even bigger.

Best to delete this one for the memory bank and move on

 

[Hamingja]

I just don't think we are a wet weather team at all now.

Too many players either no good or reduced effectiveness in the wet.

It ended up a perfect storm so to speak.

Not being able to use one side of the ground because it was a mud pit was terminal.

Guys like Dempsey, Miers and Knevitt who use their running capacity to offer the option on the open side all effectively become ashtrays on a motorbike.

Dogs can just set up with English and their key backs on one side of the ground and force us to kick long to them. Rohan will have a bit of crack for you in a pack marking contest but is undersized against the opponents and Cameron and Henry will go AWOL on the long down the line kick in a pack situation.

 

[Catman]

The previous three weeks were a step forward, last night was two steps back. That was pathetic really.

One side came ready to get their hands dirty, the other looked like they didn't want to be there. Outworked, outrun, outplayed all night and at no point did I feel we had any momentum or look like being any sort of a threat. The ease with which they moved the ball after extracting the contest was reminiscent of the losing streak two months ago.

The less said about the ability to make Khamis and Lobb look like prime Scarlett and Jakovich the better. Jez will want to forget that one very quickly.

Losing Atkins didn't help. That was his type of game. I reckon they made a mistake by leaving Stanley out as SDK was probably needed down back. Though with the ball coming in as it did, it might not have made any difference.

I said last week that I don't know how good we actually are. I think last night's result is a better example of where we truly sit - the midfield deficiency isn't going to see us win anything this year. Having said that it, it's no excuse for what looked like a lack of will to get to work in testing conditions.

 

[ctravm]

Poor performance all game and lucky to be close to them at any stage. Hopefully there was a lot to learn and more intel on what our best 23 looks like.
Top 4 us still well within our grasp. We only have the one 8 point game against the other contenders wheres some of them have plenty more. Get the wins we should and we are well in the finals. Play again like we did tonight and it won't matter.

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