Autopsy Port Downs Cats by 38

[Willo_]

We just haven't had the bounce of the ball this season, and to be honest if we used all our good fortune and luck last year then i am still pretty content with it all.
The biggest weakness we had was in the midfield in terms of depth, and that has been the area impacted the most by injuries. We looked great the first quarter when all fresh and well, Blitz as a solo ruck just doesn't work and that roll of the dice was a boo boo, he starts to get worn down especially against the big aggressive physical rucks, and it further weakens our midfield depth. We just couldn't get our hands on the ball as he started getting smashed just in the contest the longer it went and by then Danger and Bruhn were in strife and Port waltzed it out of the middle at will, the defenders are all getting exposed with zero pressure up the ground and then because they start to feel the pinch they start making mistakes and get reactive.
Really the flow on from Rhys being hurt has been huge as it just has caused a domino effect.

Jezza must be carrying something, he looks a shadow of himself and they won't even chuck him on the ball to try run him into the game. Do we have access to the GPS numbers? I would suggest his distance or repeat sprints would be well well down on the start of the year. If Neale is fit soon I half wonder if they give him a game with Hawk and just give Jez a couple of weeks off... but the season may be over by that point anyway.

It is such a shame that Clark is hurt, perfect time to give him some bonus games that will pay off in the coming years... but as is our season, it just hasn't bounced our way.

It isn't the end of the world, but some forward planning may start to take precedence over all in on this year... some may say that is a shit thing to say but for me i would prefer getting games into Knev, Bowes etc and dropping games rather than a frantic sprint to finals that just ends in us cooked and smacked in an elimination final anyway.

We have been unbelievably blessed as Cats fans so I don't see the need to get too down in the dumps about it all... just is what it is this year

 

[you pick one]

A bit of man on man would be nice

For Christ sake don't google that if the kids are around.

 

[Scottland2007]

How long does a cracked rib and punctured lung take to heal? Asking for a friend

 

[you pick one]

Anyone have the VFL side for this week and what day do they play?

 

[Just do something]

For Christ sake don't google that if the kids are around.

 

[Just do something]

Anyone have the VFL side for this week and what day do they play?

Tonight I think

 

[you pick one]

How long does a cracked rib and punctured lung take to heal? Asking for a friend

Depends on how tough you are.

 

[BORIS332]

Our season has been derailed by injuries. It’s as simple as that. We have rarely had our best 22 on the park, and those that have missed matches have never been fully fit.

It’s not that we miss Selwood, it’s not that we don’t have a top 5 draft pick midfielder, Rhys Stanley

1

Rhys Stanley

Age

33

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

isn’t the missing puzzle piece.

 

[catscratchfever]

Unfortunately...

 

[Gavin Excell]

Unfortunately...

Ah well

Twas a good run

 

[Shadow89]

I think it's time to put a fork in this season and start preparing for the next batch of kids:

Dangerfield Health Update

The club has provided an update on the health of captain, Patrick Dangerfield

www.geelongcats.com.au

"Geelong Captain Patrick Dangerfield has suffered a partially collapsed lung and cracked rib following a marking contest during the second quarter of Thursday’s night match against Port Adelaide."

 

[kittypurry]

Damn. I had a bit of hope after the Doggies game but that's fine. Well done to Port! They are electric this year and so much fun as a neutral to watch. Plus I'd love to see Finlayson win a flag with everything his family is going through.

We've had some really good times. We are the reigning premiers. So I'm pretty at peace with our year, considering we've had a shocking run with injuries, lost the greatest captain of all time to retirement, and are in a comp that makes it hard to stay on top year after year.

Last year was an absolute dream. I'm grateful for our years of success and excited to see how the club navigates this new challenge going forward.

 

[cats_09]

 

[cats_09]

Unfortunately...

More like

 

[patience]

That’s just s**t.

 

[cats_09]

I think it's time to put a fork in this season and start preparing for the next batch of kids:

Dangerfield Health Update

The club has provided an update on the health of captain, Patrick Dangerfield

www.geelongcats.com.au

"Geelong Captain Patrick Dangerfield has suffered a partially collapsed lung and cracked rib following a marking contest during the second quarter of Thursday’s night match against Port Adelaide."

I feel like that's what we've already been doing and by necessity across the majority of the season

No reason why we won't continue to balance the team with experience and that next gen coming through

But highly doubt we suddenly drop half a dozen senior/experienced players just "to play the kids", and not sure that's actually beneficial either this year or next yea

If we tip the scales too far with youth, it doesn't necessarily help their development - just need to look at teams perennial at the bottom, where an influx of youth doesn't magically change their trajectory

 

[Strange Cat]

I feel like that's what we've already been doing and by necessity across the majority of the season

No reason why we won't continue to balance the team with experience and that next gen coming through

But highly doubt we suddenly drop half a dozen senior/experienced players just "to play the kids", and not sure that's actually beneficial either this year or next yea

If we tip the scales too far with youth, it doesn't necessarily help their development - just need to look at teams perennial at the bottom, where an influx of youth doesn't magically change their trajectory

I don’t think we will have too much choice with the rate of injuries we have been getting this year

 

[Shadow89]

I feel like that's what we've already been doing and by necessity across the majority of the season

No reason why we won't continue to balance the team with experience and that next gen coming through

But highly doubt we suddenly drop half a dozen senior/experienced players just "to play the kids", and not sure that's actually beneficial either this year or next yea

If we tip the scales too far with youth, it doesn't necessarily help their development - just need to look at teams perennial at the bottom, where an influx of youth doesn't magically change their trajectory

Oh 100%. I was more thinking like Knevitt coming back in, Dempsey given another crack etc. Knev definitely proved himself last week, and didn't deserve to be dropped this week.

More acceptance of the fact that the cohesion won't come in time, and that dropping those early 3 games probably means finishing this season early, and gearing up for one last crack in 2024 with a full pre-season for all of our guys.

We don't do full rebuilds, so expect we're hoping for Neale to get some games. Conway to get some games. And then transition with TDK, a full pre-season for Clark. Another for Bruhn, O. Henry and Bowes. Some new faces etc.

Definitely think this feels like coming to the end of an era though, and there's no shame admitting that, IMO, after the wonderful year we had last year.

 

[The Unforgiven]

This loss and Port's form is reminiscent of 2014. Port rolled us by 40 at Adelaide Oval, which marked its first win against Geelong since Round 21, 2007.

Geelong was on the decline at that point, and Port was motoring towards a potential Grand Final berth.

In this case, I feel we're more like Geelong of 2015. We're facing a cliff, will we fall off it, or can we use the trade system cleverly and re-launch?

If we somehow managed to land Parish, and get ourselves continuity in the ruck, I think Danger and Hawk could have one last crack in 2024.

Last night didn't make for great viewing (trust me, it was worse being at the ground), but I don't think it's all doom and gloom just yet.

 

[thejester]

It isn't the end of the world, but some forward planning may start to take precedence over all in on this year... some may say that is a s**t thing to say but for me i would prefer getting games into Knev, Bowes etc and dropping games rather than a frantic sprint to finals that just ends in us cooked and smacked in an elimination final anyway.

Reckon there might not end up being much difference between 'trying to get into the finals' and 'playing for the future' anyway given the injury list.

 

[cats_09]

Oh 100%. I was more thinking like Knevitt coming back in, Dempsey given another crack etc. Knev definitely proved himself last week, and didn't deserve to be dropped this week.

More acceptance of the fact that the cohesion won't come in time, and that dropping those early 3 games probably means finishing this season early, and gearing up for one last crack in 2024 with a full pre-season for all of our guys.

We don't do full rebuilds, so expect we're hoping for Neale to get some games. Conway to get some games. And then transition with TDK, a full pre-season for Clark. Another for Bruhn, O. Henry and Bowes. Some new faces etc.

Definitely think this feels like coming to the end of an era though, and there's no shame admitting that, IMO, after the wonderful year we had last year.

Knevitt was unlucky to be omitted, but looking at our ins ahead of last night i understood why he was one who was omitted - Dangerfield, Duncan & Holmes were always coming in once available

What pissed me off after the match though was Bowes efforts as the sub and his lack of impact & intent when he came on - I know he only came on in the third quarter, but easily his worse match for us, and it's frustrating as I thought he had showed some good signs earlier in the season

It's likely both Dangerfield & Bruhn miss the next week or two, so surely Knevitt is straight back in on Thursday night - give him half a match in the VFL tonight to ensure he gets a run in his legs after last weeks bye, but then rest him in the second half

 

[Warhorse]

Knevitt was unlucky to be omitted, but looking at our ins ahead of last night i understood why he was one who was omitted - Dangerfield, Duncan & Holmes were always coming in once available

What pissed me off after the match though was Bowes efforts as the sub and his lack of impact & intent when he came on - I know he only came on in the third quarter, but easily his worse match for us, and it's frustrating as I thought he had showed some good signs earlier in the season

It's likely both Dangerfield & Bruhn miss the next week or two, so surely Knevitt is straight back in on Thursday night - give him half a match in the VFL tonight to ensure he gets a run in his legs after last weeks bye, but then rest him in the second half

I would have dropped Bruhn and kept Knevitt in the team. Cant carry a midfielder who can only play 60% game time.

 

[standupand]

When, a few years back, we got used to sitting around the top of the ladder at this point of the season, it was typical to say that we would reserve judgment until we see the team play finals.

I'm going with that same attitude this year.

Thursday night's game was an old school Geelong post-bye howler. I just refuse to judge the team off that performance. Credit to Port - they brought the heat and we refused to go with them.

But don't lose the faith cats fans - we're still in it. And there's no reason why we can't start to see us playing like we did in Q1 for longer periods of games as we build toward the pointy end.

 

[fpm84]

Fractured eye socket
Nasal fracture
Ruptured testicle
Toe joint injured costing our reigning B&F 3/4 of the season
Partially collapsed lung


What other freak injury awaits us?

 

[thejester]

I would have dropped Bruhn and kept Knevitt in the team. Cant carry a midfielder who can only play 60% game time.

Pretty sure that's been standard for all our stoppage players for years. One of the reasons they like players like Smith and Menegola - can eat up the minutes on the ground.