Autopsy Geelong defeated by Port by 16 points.

[strauchnyy]

Richmond have a mindfulness coach. Puts the players on their baseline mentally. They seem to play well when it matters and not get over awed like we do.

This should be the biggest investment the club makes in the offseason

 

[OddYears]

The thing I found most frustrating with Motlops first goal is that Stewart was back in the goal square when the ball was kicked in, but then he got sucked in to going for the loose ball, made no impact on the contest and Motlop kicks the goal

Exactly this.

 

[Finknottle]

Cmon, it wasn't so bad...let's just get some perspective here...

I think we should extend Chris Scott's contract after this hard fought loss. He's a great coach with that stoic commitment to that One-Tall forward line and that methodical slow one paced possession at all costs sideways footy. It's beautiful to behold.

Honestly though, I love how Chris sticks to his guns with his Plan A (Plan B - do Plan A) game plan in the face of finals failure year after year after year after...it's truly awe-inspiring.

Another three year extension on his contract to 2025 should show our appreciation for Chris' commitment to failure...and our own commitment to mediocrity.

A Finals record of 4-12 since 2012 is amazing...Let's keep it up GFC...thanks Chris!

And Scott's game plan - all round zone and anal retentive ball movement does not work in finals.

Im just saying sav is a random unit that can be dangerous on his day and is worth his place in the side.
People dont agree thats fine.
How did today turn out?

I can see the merit in bringing in Sav. A t least he can crash a pack. We lacked that presence tonight. Rohan crashed in a couple of times but out on the forward 50 which is just as likely to send the ball back on the rebound. I'd bring in Narkle, Clark, Close as well. Time to turn this slow moving barge around. Out with Atkins. Kolodjashnij, Taylor and Miers. I'd rather go down playing some more exciting football than watch a team doing it's best impression of severe constipation.

 

[Chinacats]

which years were the straight sets?

14. 16 was W L actually

 

[BuRgeRs82]

We actually defended really well for a lot of the third quarter and won the ball back in defence. But we were really aggressive taking the game on and turned it over. From memory there was Henry being tackled, Danger with a missed handball and Guthrie, Duncan and Stewart all missing kicks through the middle from defence. The kicks were on but if there's any time we should've gone conservative for a few minutes it was with Port running on top of us.

Yeah a lot of the turnovers were due to ports pressure. Quick kicks out of the backline (to no specific target), handballs to other players under pressure.

When Port bring their front half game they are very hard to beat.

I feel like teams have also worked out how to defend geelong kick outs. We are so predictable. We either kick to danger, hendo, kola or stanley and most of the time, near the boundary.

Opposition teams know that they just have to block these players off the ball and bang you have a turnover.

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[foodles05]

I was at the game tonight and behind the goals. If anyone is criticising Harry Taylor tonight they have an agenda or simply don't understand the game. He was absolutely sensational against Dixon tonight. He destroyed him in one on one contests and more often than not didn't receive any help in the air. Dixon didn't take one mark for the entire game. Not 1 ****ing mark. He had six touches and a goal from a free kick. Seriously anyone that bags Harry is a complete and utter moron. He was enormous and probably BOG for us!! Stop embarrassing yourselves people seriously

 

[Finknottle]

Taylor wasn’t in my team

Ok, so Narkle on the bench instead of someone else you had on the bench.

 

[Chinacats]

Fogarty would be eaten alive in a final.
He's not ready.

Still staggers me how Gary Rohan avoids criticism. He's an absolute dud of a footballer. When the lights are shining brightest, some guys just don't have the ticker to cope with it.
He couldn't even work up the ground and get the ball or push himself into the contests.
Ratugolea at least hits the packs and busts it open.

Too many low possession forwards. Comes home to roost in finals.

 

[Play it Sam]

The thing I found most frustrating with Motlops first goal is that Stewart was back in the goal square when the ball was kicked in, but then he got sucked in to going for the loose ball, made no impact on the contest and Motlop kicks the goal

And Menegola did exactly the same thing on the second one. Very uncoordinated and slow tonight, the old misfits

 

[frggr]

Yeah those 5 points were brutal.

You're missing the point. They weren't 5 points, they were 5 opportunities to kick goals. 5 opportunities he wouldn't have gotten if Ratugolea plays - because Ratugolea's defender would have peeled off him all night.

 

[Play it Sam]

Too many low possession forwards. Comes home to roost in finals.

Yes that too, but the game was lost in the midfield. No one home.

 

[BuRgeRs82]

I was at the game tonight and behind the goals. If anyone is criticising Harry Taylor tonight they have an agenda or simply don't understand the game. He was absolutely sensational against Dixon tonight. He destroyed him in one on one contests and more often than not didn't receive any help in the air. Dixon didn't take one mark for the entire game. Not 1 ******* mark. He had six touches and a goal from a free kick. Seriously anyone that bags Harry is a complete and utter moron. He was enormous and probably BOG for us!! Stop embarrassing yourselves people seriously

Totally agree. Taylor was by no means was our worst player.

He actually played his role and beat Dixon tonight.

He just knows how to play against the brute forwards. Scragging, holding of the arm, play in tight from behind.


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[Baudolino]

I was at the game tonight and behind the goals. If anyone is criticising Harry Taylor tonight they have an agenda or simply don't understand the game. He was absolutely sensational against Dixon tonight. He destroyed him in one on one contests and more often than not didn't receive any help in the air. Dixon didn't take one mark for the entire game. Not 1 ******* mark. He had six touches and a goal from a free kick. Seriously anyone that bags Harry is a complete and utter moron. He was enormous and probably BOG for us!! Stop embarrassing yourselves people seriously

Agree with this. Harry was good. Him and Hendo were among our best.

 

[Chinacats]

I was at the game tonight and behind the goals. If anyone is criticising Harry Taylor tonight they have an agenda or simply don't understand the game. He was absolutely sensational against Dixon tonight. He destroyed him in one on one contests and more often than not didn't receive any help in the air. Dixon didn't take one mark for the entire game. Not 1 ******* mark. He had six touches and a goal from a free kick. Seriously anyone that bags Harry is a complete and utter moron. He was enormous and probably BOG for us!! Stop embarrassing yourselves people seriously

First time Dixon hasn’t taken a Mark in 101 games. Dropped a couple though.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Richmond have a mindfulness coach. Puts the players on their baseline mentally. They seem to play well when it matters and not get over awed like we do.

This should be the biggest investment the club makes in the offseason

that and a goal-kicking coach.

Totally agree. Taylor was by no means was our worst player.

He actually played his role and beat Dixon tonight.

He just knows how to play against the brute forwards. Scragging, holding of the arm, play in tight from behind.


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managed to spoil Dixon at one point by simply standing in the right spot - can't fake that kind of experience.

 

[BuRgeRs82]

Totally agree. Taylor was by no means was our worst player.

He actually played his role and beat Dixon tonight.

He just knows how to play against the brute forwards. Scragging, holding of the arm, play in tight from behind.


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His limitations seem to only be magnified when he's caught on a small forward.

Slow turning circle. Lack of pace when caught off goal side.

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[Footy Smarts]

Open question to everyone: to what extent does a coach impact the mental strength of his players? I don't ask this rhetorically to imply that I know the answer; I'm genuinely unsure which side to come down on and would love to know people's thoughts. Although it would be absurd to suggest that the entire team choked tonight - as I said in an earlier post, if it were the case that *everyone* choked, we'd have lost by 50+ points - it's certainly true that *some* did, and individual players choking in finals has been an issue for years now. I guess it just makes me think, does the coach have any influence over that, and if so, how? Is it possible for a coach to prepare his players well from a strategic and game plan perspective, but not from a mental preparedness perspective?

How do we think of the Hawthorn 3-peat side? Because they "choked" against a very ordinary Freo team in 2010. They lost 2 close finals in 2011. They choked in the GF in 2012 and they were choking massively against us in the 2013 PF when we were shot to bits with injuries and suspensions. Did Clarkson's game plan not stand up or was he unable to breed mental toughness in his players? Next thing you know a few good players stood up and they got a bit lucky with Varcoe missing and suddenly they believed in themselves.

And most great teams have chokes. We cooked in the last quarter in 2005, choked but somehow hung on in the 2007 prelim and choked in the 2008 GF. Our game plan failed us in 2010 but we almost dragged the win in the QF and there was no hint of choking in 2011. You can flick the switch on mental toughness quickly.

The worst thing about tonight is in general play we didn't choke. We stepped up and won the footy and right now we could be celebrating the monkey off the back and massive belief. Instead in the 3rd quarter we find ourselves behind rather than 3-4 goals up and facing an opponent with rising confidence and all the doubts rise and we don't handle it well enough. Same could've happened last year in the prelim. But clearly we're performing better early in finals than previously in the last few so there's hope but the mental demons are probably pretty deep right now.

 

[Play it Sam]

Richmond have a mindfulness coach. Puts the players on their baseline mentally. They seem to play well when it matters and not get over awed like we do.

This should be the biggest investment the club makes in the offseason

They have one...and there's only so much you can do.
Trust me.

 

[Whit3y]

We are like a book you have read many many times. You know how the story goes, you know how the ending goes. As much as you want the ending to be different it is still the same. You try your very best to read the book in a different perspective and perhaps for half of it it feels new, but the ending is always the same.

Geelong are great in the home and away season,, full credit to Scott, his record speaks for itself. But come finals we are shit. how can anyone think otherwise.

How many years now has geelong been that same old same old book?

 

[My Tilly]

And Scott's game plan - all round zone and anal retentive ball movement does not work in finals.

I can see the merit in bringing in Sav. A t least he can crash a pack. We lacked that presence tonight. Rohan crashed in a couple of times but out on the forward 50 which is just as likely to send the ball back on the rebound. I'd bring in Narkle, Clark, Close as well. Time to turn this slow moving barge around. Out with Atkins. Kolodjashnij, Taylor and Miers. I'd rather go down playing some more exciting football than watch a team doing it's best impression of severe constipation.

Too late now.
Season is finished.

May sneak a win next week but expect a blow out in the preliminary final.

 

[Finknottle]

We need another skillful player who can go through the midfield. That player is Quinton Narkle. Then you would never have to resort to a desperate act of putting Atkins or Dahlhaus in the midfield when it was crunch time.

 

[Footy Smarts]

Yeah a lot of the turnovers were due to ports pressure. Quick kicks out of the backline (to no specific target), handballs to other players under pressure.

There were just some rushed kicks out but the turnovers from Duncan, Guthrie and Stewart were all after marks so under no pressure. They pulled the trigger on risky but makeable kicks into the middle and missed them all when probably a bit of go slow was in order.

 

[Baudolino]

I don’t know why everyone keeps saying kolo was on Motlop? Stewart was on Motlop. And some how Stanley was left on Motlop for motlops first goal. There’s a couple of his goals/goal involvements on the afl website. Have a look. Stanley peels off, Motlop left on his own, goal. Stewart ran off him multiple times to try and get an intercept/effect the contest. Motlop is left unmanned and bang goals and goal assists.

This.

Stewart had a shocker. He's had a few of these days in finals where it seems like he's playing on adrenaline too much and wants to make a difference so he makes stupidly aggressive decisions leaving his man to try to impact the contest when he's not in good position to do so and leaves us completely exposed when his attempts to spoil or intercept don't work out. He sort of has the opposite problem of Henry and Kolo in a way. The latter two seem terrified whenever they get the ball or the ball comes their way. Stewart seems almost overly-determined to go *towards* where the ball is during finals and doesn't pick and choose his moments to do so as well as he does during the home and away season.

 

[Catter]

I am a 10-year member, 3 year Social club member. I’m really heartbroken after tonight, but we will move on. GFC will last longer than me, but how can we have perform the same 1st final year after year. The Bye is becoming a joke to everyone that supports the AFL. We won’t win a flag whilst we continually top up with older players. If you're happy to make top 4 and fail (good for you). If you’re a member id be pretty pissed off.

 

[Cursed Cat]

We need another skillful player who can go through the midfield. That player is Quinton Narkle. Then you would never have to resort to a desperate act of putting Atkins or Dahlhaus in the midfield when it was crunch time.

Would hate to lose Narkle at the end of the year - to be fair on the club Narkle did find himself injured at inopportune times after being given opportunities (and performing well) earlier in the year. I really hope we retain him, and would be happy for him to get a run next week.