BATTERED SAV’S SEASON OVER?
SO, here we are again.
Less than halfway into the season and a team that had been spoken about in glowing terms before the year, and with a list chock full of talent, finds itself in a slump.
Chris Scott detests looking back at recent history or making comparisons between seasons, but it is simply too hard to ignore the similarities between Geelong’s form in the past two weeks and against similarly ranked opponents in the early stages of 2017.
Last year the mini rut came in Rounds 6, 7 and 8 against Collingwood (13th at the time), Gold Coast (13th) and Essendon (12th).
This year it has put in two incredibly disappointing showings against the Bombers (who were 15th) and Carlton (18th) in consecutive rounds, and with the Suns (15th) next to come, you would hope and expect that Scott and his players are attuned to the threat they pose.
The Cats were fortunate to get away with the four points on Saturday because their performance was equal to, if not worse than, the one they put in against Essendon last week.
For a side that should be pushing to finish in the top four it looked a long way from that. Scott conceded as much after the game, although he is confident his side can turn it around.
“We were poor tonight, we were poor last week, but that doesn’t mean we will be poor next week,” Scott said.
“Based on the last two weeks, if you just isolated it to that, you couldn’t say that we’re anywhere near in contention with the best teams in the comp.
“But I’m not prepared to concede that that means we won’t be in the next couple of weeks.”
So, what is up with the Cats when they play teams they should realistically be beating?
Is it poor preparation, poor execution, over confidence or a combination of all three?
Geelong prepares as well as any other team in the competition and you only had to listen to Gary Ablett speak after the game to appreciate his impeccable knowledge of how Carlton plays and what the Blues do at clearance situations. But knowing what the opposition is going to do and coming up with a plan to counter it is just part of the process — executing those plans is what matters.
The same old issues appear to be plaguing the Cats and finding a solution for the second half of the season will determine how far they go in their pursuit of premiership glory.
Zac Smith went out of the side this week for Rhys Stanley, who was mostly ineffectual against Matthew Kreuzer.
Stanley had been on the ground for 42 minutes before he had registered a possession and, while Kreuzer hardly set the game alight, the Cats need to find someone who can give them more than just a nil-all draw.
Geelong managed to have five hitouts to advantage on Saturday night, with the Blues notching 14.
So is Ryan Abbott ready to come into the team and be the fourth player to have a crack at the No.1 ruck position in 11 games?
Time will tell, but with Esava Ratugolea out indefinitely, Stanley may be required to go forward and help out in attack, which could be the best thing for him.
The Cats’ inability to win the football first continues to be a concern and it is evident a new approach is needed to help turn around the clearance differential.
There are problems inside 50, as well, and plenty of hours will be put into ensuring Ratugolea’s prolonged absence does not exacerbate those issues.
Despite finishing the game with three goals, Tom Hawkins looked frustrated and he had good reason to be — the quality of delivery was often not where it should have been and while their inside50s per goal numbers are extraordinary, with Dan Menzel on the sidelines the Cats look one-dimensional in attack.
Certainly the lack of discipline from some players against the Blues infuriated Scott — the 31 free kicks Geelong gave away was its highest tally since 2012 and contributed to several opposition goals — but there were more reasons behind the narrow victory than that.
The Cats now find themselves 6-4 with a difficult stretch — Gold Coast (away), North Melbourne at home and Richmond at the MCG — to navigate before the bye.
Their recent record after a week off is not pretty but getting to the break with a positive ledger will be their primary focus.
It can happen, but it will take a transformation from being ill-disciplined, unaccountable and inefficient with the ball.
To turn things around, the Cats need to go back to playing the Geelong way.