Hard work pays off
Cats take Scarlett’s advice about how to win at ‘G
CHAMPION Geelong defender Matthew Scarlett said last week the way to win at the MCG was pretty simple: “you just have to work harder”.
Yesterday the Cats did just that.
The result came down to work rate and a willingness from some of Geelong’s so-called depth players that were prepared to put in the hard yards to apply pressure on Collingwood when it tried to transition the ball through the middle of the ground.
The first half in particular saw the likes of James Parsons, Jordan Murdoch, Zac Smith, Stewart Crameri and George Horlin-Smith all playing their part, and it made the jobs of Tom Stewart, Jake Koldojashnij, Mark Blicavs, Harry Taylor, Jed Bews and Zach Tuohy so much easier.
Since the start of last season Geelong has played 10 games at both the MCG and Kardinia Park.
Its record at the home of football in that time after yesterday’s result is now 6-4.
At home it is 8-2, with both losses coming against Sydney.
In isolation those numbers don’t tell us much, other than the obvious, which is the Cats, like most teams, enjoy playing in familiar surrounds.
But Geelong’s record stems from a greater issue that has the potential to railroad its premiership tilt if it does not routinely display an intensified appetite to work hard at the MCG.
Winning the territory battle has been at the heart of Geelong’s problems there and its inability to defend the wide expanses of the ‘G has been a major impediment.
At home this has not been a concern — Geelong has conceded an average of 43.2 inside-50s per game since the start of 2017.
At the MCG that number going into yesterday’s contest was 52.1.
Contrastingly, Geelong has managed roughly the same numbers at both grounds — 49.8 at the ‘G and 50.3 at Kardinia Park — when going into attack itself.
So giving themselves a chance at hitting the scoreboard has not been the worry for the Cats; disallowing their opponents the same chances is where they have fallen down.
Against Collingwood though Geelong stifled Nathan Buckley’s men at every opportunity, and the numbers reflected the change in defensive output.
Geelong conceded only 16 inside-50s in the first half and could have put the game away if it had kicked accurately.
While Collingwood pegged it back and made it 46 inside 50s apiece by the end of the match, the signs were there for most of the day that Chris Scott and his team seem to have acknowledged the situation needed mending and applied themselves accordingly.
Geelong still has to play four more games at the MCG — including two matches against Richmond and one against Hawthorn, so it will be intriguing to see how it implements its plan in those matches.
Its six remaining games at home include clashes with Carlton, North Melbourne, Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle and Gold Coast, and after posting a 5-3 win-loss ratio from eight rounds, the Cats are on track for another top four berth this year.
But the strong likelihood is, unless they are forced to travel interstate, they will have to play finals at the ‘G.
Geelong has a training facility at Deakin University with an oval featuring the exact dimensions of the MCG and uses it to train during pre-season when its home ground is being used by other codes or for major events.
While it ventures out there on occasions once the season starts, it mostly uses Kardinia Park in winter.
It is understood Geelong has discussed the merits of using the ‘G to train in the lead up to games, in a similar fashion to interstate sides that travel down to play there.
It is a solid idea, and if it is good enough for non-Victorian sides then the Cats should consider it.
But irrespective of where they train, or where they play, Scarlett’s words are well worth remembering when it comes time to figure out the best way to win: ‘you just have to work harder’. IT was a close call between Ben Ronke and the Showdown, but it is hard to go past a thirdgame player who kicks seven goals in his first match at the MCG. I’m reliably told Steve Johnson loves this kid and is it any wonder? There was a bit of Stevie J in his attitude on Friday night against the Hawks and he backed up his flair and charisma with results. He was brought into the team for his tackling — he laid 10 of them, by the way — and his pressure, but when you are doing it as well as Ronke does, and consistently doing it close to goal, you will get your opportunities to score, and he took his every time. CALLS for Luke Parker to be rubbed out. Just read the statement from the AFL on what match review officer Michael Christian reported from the incident: “It was the view of the MRO that Parker was contesting the ball and had no realistic alternative way to contest the ball.” That really should not be too hard to understand. Yes, there is confusion when Nic Naitanui is suspended for the size of his body rather than any particular wrongdoing on the field, but this was a simple case of two players contesting the ball and only one player using the correct technique. Much like the Jordan Murdoch incident with Isaac Heeney in Round 6, the league cannot penalise players just because their opponents do not protect themselves in a contest.