Sluggish start big cause for concern
IF Geelong didn’t get the warning against Sydney or Richmond, then it certainly was loud and clear against Collingwood on Saturday.
The Cats simply cannot afford to be sluggish out of the blocks, especially with finals just around the corner.
Collingwood caught Geelong on the hop early in the Cats’ 11point win at the MCG, surging out to a 28-point lead during the first quarter.
And of concern for Cats coach Chris Scott, it was something Sydney was able to do when it rolled the Cats at Simonds Stadium in Round 20.
Richmond was also able to do the same very early in last week’s clash, but Geelong was able to stop the Tigers’ momentum quickly before powering away to a good win.
If you want to go back even further, Adelaide also caught Geelong on the hop in Round 18.
It wasn’t lost on Scott in the immediate aftermath of Saturday afternoon’s crucial win.
“We were disappointing early and right at the moment we don’t appear to be a very good starting team. That might be an understatement,” Scott said.
“We need to put some thought into that and make some adjustments to make sure we are not making up so much ground.
“Had they had a bit more class in their team with some of their better players (including Brodie Grundy, Scott Pendlebury, Daniel Wells and Travis Varcoe playing), they might have been a lot more difficult to catch.
“If you ask what we made of the game, I think in summary we didn’t play that well but we found a way to win and it was really important we did.
“It’s given us a chance to attack the last month or so of the year with a bit of gusto.”
Once that spell of dominance was weathered, Geelong was able to work its way back into the game.
Scoring was slow, but it was able to eat away at Collingwood’s healthy 23-point quarter-time lead.
But for large chunks of the game the Cats looked to lack potency in attack, weighed down by just how dour the contest was.
A key name was missing off the team sheet — Tom Hawkins.
The Cats didn’t seem to miss him in last week’s win over Richmond, but in scrappy conditions a big marking target down the line is crucial.
This was the type of game where Hawkins could have a significant influence in attack.
The Cats had 20 more inside50s than Collingwood over the course of the game.
They went to the inside-50 17 times alone in the third quarter and could manage just 2.1.
Wylie Buzza and Harry Taylor did their best to influence the contest in attack, but neither could do it with the consistency that Hawkins does.
“Even someone that straightens you up where under pressure you can kick it long to your big power forward,” Scott said of missing Hawkins.
“It clearly wasn’t a day where really efficient, slick ball movement was the go.”
The Cats decided not to roll the dice and challenge the suspensions handed down to Hawkins (two weeks, striking) and Mitch Duncan (one match, striking).
With eight points out of a possible eight in the bank without two genuine stars, Scott can reflect on those two big calls and say the club made the right decision.
Duncan said pre-game that he wanted to repay his teammates for letting them down for his minor hit on Tom Papley.
He finished with an equal game-high 32 touches, five tackles and five clearances.
Patrick Dangerfield also had 32 and bagged two goals, while Sam Menegola continued his great form with 28 touches and two majors.
After being cut up early on the turnover, Geelong was able to slow Collingwood right down after quarter-time, forcing the Pies to kick out to the wings.
It allowed Geelong’s defence to assert its influence on the contest, restricting Collingwood to just another three goals for the game.
Tom Lonergan and Lachie Henderson were both dominant on the likes of Darcy Moore and Ben Reid, while Zach Tuohy provided rebound.
Tom Stewart, who was running around in the VFL this time last year, put in one of his most accomplished performances.
He was barely beaten in the contest, used the ball exceptionally well and finished with 21 touches.