FINALS OR BUST
I reckon if you asked Danger and Chris Scott and Joel Selwood if they missed the finals, would it be a failure? It would be’ — JIMMY BARTEL
TWO of Geelong’s all-time greats have slammed the Cats following successive failures against premiership contenders that have left their finals hopes up in the air.
A day after labelling Geelong’s midfield “lazy”, Billy Brownless doubled down on The Sunday Footy Show, saying the Cats were frustrating to watch.
Recently retired Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel also yesterday reiterated his view that it was unthinkable for a team with so much talent to find itself outside of the eight.
The Cats are still in the mix to make finals, but a string of close losses has left them exposed, relying on results from other matches to determine their fate.
Bartel said it would be a clear failure if Geelong missed the top eight at the end of the season.
“All sides have a bottom six but it is how they contribute,” Bartel said on 3AW yesterday.
“From the 22 that ran out, (Patrick) Dangerfield is a superstar, (Gary) Ablett starred, (Sam) Menegola was elite, Joel Selwood is a star, (Tom) Hawkins has been fantastic, (Mitch) Duncan, (Lachie) Henderson has been around for a long time, Tim Kelly has been super for his first year and Mark Blicavs is a best-andfairest winner.
“We’re talking about Tom Stewart being a potential AllAustralian, Scott Selwood is a best-and-fairest winner, Dan Menzel is more than a handy player, Cam Guthrie has played more than 130 games so he is experienced and Rhys Stanley has been around for probably six or seven years and has been in great form.
“So if you run out each week with that much talent, you shouldn’t miss the eight … and I reckon if you asked ‘Danger’ and Chris Scott and Joel Selwood if they missed the finals, would it be a failure? It would be.”
Brownless was scathing of Geelong’s onball brigade — barring Dangerfield — in the second quarter of Saturday’s loss to Hawthorn, during which Alastair Clarkson’s men piled on five unanswered goals and denied their opponents space and time when they had the ball.
Cats coach Chris Scott chose not to entertain the claims his midfield was lazy, but Brownless did not back away from his comments yesterday.
“They were lazy. They were disappointing in that second quarter,” Brownless said.
“In that second quarter Hawthorn kicked five goals four and Geelong kicked two behinds, Joel Selwood had four (disposals), Duncan four, Kelly two, inside-50s were 18 to six, and clearances were six nil.
“They were lazy, they didn’t push back, they didn’t help out their backline and they were very, very poor in that second quarter.
“You just get disappointed when you see them so good and then after halftime they were fantastic and they really had a crack and came home and could have won, but why wouldn’t they do it in the first and second quarters? It just gets a bit frustrating, that’s all.”
Scott conceded he had assessed the scenarios required to help his side qualify for September but said Geelong’s focus was purely about improving its performance in the next fortnight.
“This one makes it harder for us … I would imagine there is a mathematical equation that might make it difficult for us (to make the finals) and I can talk to you about it for ages because I have probably done the ladder predictor 500 times but, you know what, it doesn’t matter,” Scott said.
“Our responsibility internally is to make sure we play as well as we possibly can this week and next week, and that’s what I would have been saying if we had have won as well.”