Swans storm fortress to clean up Cats

THE last time Geelong played an AFL match without Patrick Dangerfield was Round 23, 2015.

Incidentally, the 2016 Brownlow medallist was running around for the Crows that day, but his inclusion in the Cats side at the end of that season has not been the only major change Chris Scott’s team has seen.

Geelong’s ability to transition older stars out while blooding new talent has been a feature of Scott’s tenure and this year has been no different.

The best illustration of this is the fact that heading into last night’s match against Sydney, Brandan Parfitt, Wylie Buzza, James Parsons, Sam Simpson, Zach Guthrie and Tom Stewart had played a combined 46 games.

The average age of the team was 25 years and six months, as opposed to the preliminary final side of last year when it was 26 years and 11 months.

So credit should be given to the Cats for their ability to look to the future while remaining relevant and a premiership threat in the present.

But despite all of that good work, Geelong showed yet again that it can be vulnerable against teams that start well and test its resolve.

The Swans were missing Josh Kennedy but admittedly still boasted a team that consisted of premiership stars such as Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker, Jarrad McVeigh, Kieran Jack, Heath Grundy, Sam Reid and superstar forward Buddy Franklin.

So without Dangerfield it was always going to be difficult, and the visitors had every right to think their depth and experience would pose a level of intimidation to the likes of Simpson and Guthrie.

The 7.5 (47) scoreline Sydney posted in the first quarter was the highest from an opposition team at Simonds Stadium since 1986, and the similarities between the early stages of this game and the teams’ last meeting were clear.

Missing three of their top four goalkickers, the Cats routinely struggled to move the ball and found themselves passing backwards.

This was in large part due to Sydney’s structures and its coach John Longmire must be given praise for the way his team has outplayed Geelong in each of its past three contests.

Giving up a 32-point lead meant the rest of the night was going to require a substantial lift in effort and intensity from Geelong to overcome the Swans, and for a brief period things changed after quarter time. In the first term Sydney’s ability to hurt its opponents from clearances came as a result of having its players get forward of the ball, and subsequently they became extremely damaging on the scoreboard.

But with the Cats beginning to get on top in that area, as well as racking up contested possessions around the ground, the momentum of the match appeared to be turning.

Geelong started to send the ball long, with Tom Hawkins taking advantage of his mismatch on Dane Rampe with Heath Grundy off the ground.

But goals to Gary Rohan and then Franklin, who was well beaten again by old foe Tom Lonergan, undid the home side’s hard work.

Neither side was able to exert any real authority on the contest in the third term, although Geelong blew several opportunities in front of goal.

The 25-point margin at the final break did not appear insurmountable but the Cats were never going to chase it down after Hannebery goaled inside the first minute and Mitch Duncan gave away a free-kick after the goal that saw Tom Papley kick his third for the night.

In the first match Joel Selwood has played without Dangerfield since his partner in crime joined Geelong, there were questions about how the Cats’ midfield would function.

The likes of Mitch Duncan (32 disposals, three clearances and six tackles) and Scott Selwood (26 disposals, eight clearances and 13 tackles) stood up and answered those, and that pair had reasonable support from Sam Menegola.

But without their main playmaker, several others were unable to make an impact.

If the Cats play Sydney in September they must figure out how to overcome their poor starts.