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After the Sydney Swans 110-point flogging of the Geelong Cats on Thursday night, a question has to be asked. Is this the beginning of the end for the mighty Cats?
It is a harsh question considering only just over a month ago they beat Hawthorn.
However, since then they have lost three games quite convincingly.
And while they have lost to three sides who are all genuine premiership contenders – Port Adelaide, Fremantle and Sydney – it is the manner in which they lost that questions whether they are no longer a genuine contender.
Port beat Geelong by 40 points way back in Round 6, and many people decided it was a one-off game for the Cats and it was more about the Power being really good.
But the warning bells for the Cats started sounding after their 32-point loss to Freo. The margin was quite flattering for Geelong because they were never in the game, and if it wasn’t for the Docker’s inaccuracy in front of the big sticks, they would have lost by at least 10 goals.
Geelong were monstered in the midfield by Freo and Stevie Johnson had no influence, they were dominated in the clearances and had 15 less inside 50s than the Purple Haze, and also 11 less scoring shots. They were destroyed in the ruck and the Dockers’ defence was easily able to shut down the Geelong forward line. Tom Hawkins got into the game later but had no support.
On Thursday night, the doubts I had over the Cats were confirmed as they were absolutely belted by the Swans. Sydney had a massive 75 inside 50s to Geelong’s 45, had 108 more disposals and 25 more scoring shots. While the Cats were missing Tom Lonergan and Corey Enright, they still wouldn’t have got anywhere near the Swans even if they had been playing.
Another worrying sign was that Geelong had no plan B. Even when they were well behind, Geelong still kept on trying to go through the centre corridor, where nine times out of 10, they would turn it over. The Swans would use the width and send it inside the 50, where Buddy Franklin and Kurt Tippet were waiting against an undermanned defence.
Geelong seem to struggle whenever they play a side who plays a high-pressure style of football, and their game plan of going through the middle seems to fail against these sides. It is no coincidence that the two sides who play pressure footy the best have smashed the Cats.
Geelong is a champion side and they will bounce back, but unfortunately I believe their best isn’t good enough to challenge the top sides in the finals. The Cats seem to be missing a second forward target to support Hawkins, and also are missing that X-factor that an in form Stevie Motlop provides.
They will make the eight, and are still better than most sides in the competition, but seem to be unable to compete with the best anymore.
It is a big call to make but I do believe Geelong’s reign at the top has come to an end. And even Hawthorn will probably beat Geelong later this season
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