THE FALLOUT FROM FREO SHOCKER
FROM DRIVING FORCE TO HITTING THE SKIDS, CATS NEED TO TURN THEIR SEASON AROUND NOW BEFORE IT COMES TO A DEAD END
1. NOT ENOUGH FORWARD 50 ENTRIES
The ball is just not getting into Geelong’s attack. The Cats could only muster 43 inside-50s in the loss to Fremantle. They had 44 in the losses to Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs. In the win over Sydney, they had a much more respectable 51. Geelong is simply not getting the ball down to its forward line enough to consistently kick a winning score.
2. INEFFICIENCY IN ATTACK
While the ball has not been going in there enough, Geelong’s forwards are not as ruthless in front of goal as they have been earlier. By far the most efficient team to start the year, the Cats had 16 scores from their 43 entries on Saturday. It is a common theme in all of their losses. Gary Rohan is perhaps indicative of that. He had 20 goals to Round 9 but has kicked only four since, battling a combination of injury, concussion, form and a lack of quality supply.
3. SLOW BALL MOVEMENT
This is partially caused by the opposition, but Geelong is also to blame as well. We have seen the Cats revert to a safe, slow game plan this year and it just isn’t working at the moment. The Cats on Saturday played on from just 9 per cent of their marks, so they clearly went in with a plan to methodically pick their way through the Dockers. Their ball movement was labelled as boring in the loss to Hawthorn and it was only slightly better against Fremantle. Geelong looked dangerous in that first quarter against the Dockers when they got the ball into Tom Hawkins fast. As we saw against Sydney, Hawkins is at his best when he is able to create separation from his opponent and mark the ball in space. But even one-on-one there are not too many better equipped, so the Cats just need to play to his strengths more. After quarter-time against Fremantle, Hawkins had to deal with the ball being kicked on his head and the Dockers were awake to it. We have seen over the years how that isn’t the way to service Geelong’s power forward.
4. RUCK WOES
Geelong’s problems do not start and end with the ruck but they’re a major part. Here we are, three weeks before finals, and we have little idea what the best set-up is. That’s because Rhys Stanley failed to make the spot his own, but also because the Cats have a lot of solid ruck options but no standout. Stanley was in career-best form when Geelong was flying. Since the bye, his output has fallen and he has lost his spot to Zac Smith. Smith competed hard in what was always going to be a tough battle with Aaron Sandilands and Sean Darcy, but there are still questions over whether he is the man to lead Geelong’s ruck in finals.
5. PUNISHED IN TRANSITION
It could be that Geelong is trying hard to be more attacking, but the Cats are certainly getting hurt on the turnover. The Cats are pushing numbers forward, but those not involved in the attack do not look like they are working back hard enough to help their teammates. It begs the question, is Geelong getting outworked by its opponents?
6. KILLED IN THE CONTEST
This is certainly true against the Dockers, who were able to win the ball in close and then get the footy out to their fleet-footed stars who are lethal when spreading from the contest. Brad Hill and Michael Walters were immense in the second and third quarters when the game was on the line, and it was their spread from the contest that killed the Cats.
7. TOO MANY CHANGES?
Could the healthiness of Geelong’s list be a curse rather than a blessing right now? Geelong has a luxury that others don’t — strong depth and limited injuries. Coach Chris Scott said the club had a group of about 28 players he was confident could get the job done on any given day. It is clear the Cats are wanting to have a good look at all of them before finals. But is that coming at the cost of cohesion? It certainly looks like it. The Cats made two changes to a winning side on Thursday night and then swung another two late changes on Saturday, bringing in Sam Menegola and Lachie Henderson after games in the VFL. But with three matches left before finals, is it time Scott locks away his best 22? Continual tinkering certainly won’t help with a team that looks like it’s lacking cohesion.
8. LOW ON CONFIDENCE
Since the bye, the Cats have gone loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. No matter how strong the belief is that their best footy is good enough, surely a run like that has to make you question where you are at as a side. While they remain on top of the ladder — just — their form, as it stands, is not worthy of a finalist, that’s how far they have slipped in an even competition. Geelong will start favourites against North Melbourne this week, but only because of the home-ground factor — an advantage it appears the Cats will not have in the finals. Even the Round 23 Carlton match suddenly looks like a tricky prospect. Who would have thought that a month ago?