BACKS FEEL HEAT OF MID WOES

GEELONG defender Jake Kolodjashnij concedes his side must address its inability to get its hands on the football first after giving up a 22-point three-quarter time lead to Sydney on Saturday.

The Cats have now failed to win a clearance count in six games this season and were smashed in that department in the 16-point loss to the Swans.

Sydney captain Josh Kennedy had more centre clearances (seven) for the match than the entire Geelong side (five), and in a last quarter onslaught that saw Sydney kick seven goals, John Longmire’s men won the ball out of the middle seven times to none.

It put the Cats’ defenders under enormous pressure and Kolodjashnij said it would be an area that would be discussed throughout the week.

“You could definitely feel they had the momentum swinging and we had to try to stop them and slow the game down but they were winning the fight in the middle and we were under the pump,” Kolodjashnij said.

“It is tough at times (in defence) and in that last quarter when your legs are heavy and they are having multiple inside-50 entries. The boys (in the midfield) were really good through the middle part of the game but obviously in the last quarter they let their guard down a bit.

“We’ve still got to try to make sure we stand up and we’re not making any excuses. We back ourselves to win or halve those contests as defenders so we’ll learn from it as well.

“We just want to be really organised behind the footy and if we do generate a plus one just make sure he’s in the right spot, and as defenders we’ve just got to try to win our oneon-one battles and compete hard.

“We lost the battle in the clearances and that was obviously highlighted after the game, but I guess we were sloppy behind the footy and they made the most of their opportunities.”

The Cats will need to sort out their issues quickly as they take on GWS on Friday night, a side that has won four of its last five clearance counts and sits comfortably inside the top four.

Kolodjashnij says the short turnaround will do wonders for his team as it looks to address the growing concern in the centre of the ground.

“Win, lose or draw we like to get on with the game and look to move on to next week, so we’ll do that starting with our review and have a good week on the track hopefully and take that form into next week,” he said.

“It’s another opportunity for us (defenders) back there and we’ve got a different look, but I thought we stood up really well against Port a couple of weeks ago and we’ve had some good battles down there.

“I feel like the comp is really even and you hear that heaps these days but to lose games at home the way we did, it does hurt.

“But we’ve got to get back on the horse and make the most of our opportunities.

“We’ve got another game here so we’ll do the best we can to prepare for that and hopefully get a win.”