Things amiss without Harry

Backline under siege

A GROWING list of players unavailable through the first month of the season has been seen by many as a valid reason for Geelong’s sluggish start.

But it may be one man who will set foot in the club for the first time this season on Sunday for a lap of honour who has been missed most.

Harry Taylor is the only member of Geelong’s core defensive group that made a stunning run to the grand final who has really been unavailable during a wobbly first four games as the Cats have gone 2-2.

According to Champion Data, the Cats have tumbled in a host of key defensive metrics in the first four rounds compared to the 2020 season.

No club let the opposition move the ball from its own defensive 50 and score less than the Cats in 2020; so far this year they rank 15th.

Geelong ranks 17th in the competition for points conceded from stoppages, 14th in both percentage of scores conceded when an opponent goes inside-50 and percentage of time an opponent goes from its own defensive 50 to the other end.

At times on Sunday, Melbourne was able to move the ball at will down the ground into plenty of space as Demon Bayley Fritsch caused headaches for the Cats’ defence.

Those numbers paint a painfully average — at best — defence so far this year. Unsurprisingly, the Cats are mid-table (ninth) for points against in 2021.

Chris Scott said the numbers didn’t paint a pretty picture but his defence didn’t need an overhaul.

“(It is a) small sample size, no doubt, but it is still four games and it is still a fact (that the defence is struggling),” he said. “(We didn’t need to) re-think our defensive system but certainly work on our execution.”

So what has happened?

Losing a veteran with as much guile and smarts as Taylor hurts, but he was hardly at his peak last year.

The new rules may have thrown out Geelong’s defensive set up, with teams clearly more able to move the ball from one end to the other so far this year.

The midfield itself may have to take some blame for both not stopping that ball movement before it got to the defenders and for allowing scores so freely from stoppages.

Geelong should find its feet on Sunday, with last-placed North Melbourne due at GMHBA Stadium for the first time since it kicked just one goal in four quarters in 2019.

The 80 points the Cats gave up to the Lions in Round 2 was the highest score any visiting side had registered at the ground in 15 matches and Sydney (in Round 20, 2017) is the only opposition side to kick 100 points at the ground in 40 tries.

The home venue will help and the Cats will have been working on their team-wide defence all season.

“We will be all right,” skipper Joel Selwood said after the Melbourne loss.