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Have we written off the Cats too early?

14th September, 2017
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Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats is congratulated by team mates after kicking a goal during the AFL Second Qualifying Final Match between the Geelong Cats and the Richmond Tigers at Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 8, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
14th September, 2017
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1318 Reads

Finishing equal first and with a 15-6-1 record things were looking good for Geelong. Behind the core midfield duo of Dangerfield and Selwood, Chris Scott’s men looked poised to give the 2017 premiership a real shake.

Fast forward just two weeks and this could not be further from the truth. After a dismal performance against third-placed Richmond in the second Qualifying final, the Cats now face a rampaging Sydney side.

A clash which sees them firm outsiders, with many already looking forward to an Adelaide versus Sydney preliminary final in seven days time. However despite this low patch of form and the overall dominance of the Swans, are people being too quick to judge this Geelong side as a guaranteed straight sets exit?

Undoubtedly one of the greatest teams of the modern era, Geelong have put together a truly remarkable ten-year stretch of football. Having only missed the finals once (coming ninth in 2015) and winning three premierships, it is amazing to think how this team has constantly found itself at the business end of the season.

However, since their last premiership in 2011 has not been a great a time for Chris Scott and his men, having only won two of their last nine appearances on the big stage. This has seen many question the core psyche of this club as it has become blatantly obvious this group cannot stand up in finals.

Last Friday night was an excellent example of this, as a much more determined and tougher Richmond side dismantled them in front of 95,000 people at the MCG.

Now coming up against perhaps the most finals hardened team in the competition, it seems as if this Cats side simply won’t be any much for the powerhouse that is the Sydney Swans. However, I am not so quick to judge as one thing Geelong have been able to do brilliantly over recent seasons is respond strongly when facing adversity.

Renowned for their excellent culture, the Cats have always been great at coming together and getting the job done when all else had doubted them. This has been evident on a number of occasions this season, as after a dismal performance against Essendon by which their endeavour and tackling pressure was questioned.

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Scott’s men came out inspired and reeled off three straight wins against the Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide and Adelaide, all games by which they bullied their opposition off the park with tackling pressure. This was particularly evident in the Western Bulldogs game, as the Cats made a startling jump from 40 tackles in Round 8 to 134 in Round 9.

After getting their season back on track in the middle section, the Cats again fell under intense scrutiny towards the latter end as injuries and suspensions to stars Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood saw them experience a dip in form. This was shown in their Round 20 clash against their Semi-Final opponents Sydney, as after a sloppy start they were simply outclassed by a much better side.

After suffering such a bruising defeat and losing their captain many saw them at great risk of losing to Richmond on their home turf the next week, as people questioned whether they would be able to even qualify for the top four.

Patrick Dangerfield Geelong Cats AFL 2017

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Under large amounts of adversity, Geelong again managed to prevail as star swingman Harry Taylor played a BOG role on Richmond general Alex Rance to set up a famous victory for the club.

Although all of these games were at Simonds Stadium and the stakes have risen much higher now we are in the finals, it would be foolish to simply write Geelong off after their history of overcoming harsh adversity.

It will still be very tough for Scott’s men to beat this rampaging Sydney side, they are almost a perfect football side. Barring their unfortunate 0-6 start to the season, only one team has managed to beat them in the past 17 weeks.

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Although they finished top of the ladder last season, the 2017 version of the Swans is arguably better than in 2016 as I feel they are much more rounded football team.

With Lance Franklin in near career-best form, one of the best midfields in the competition, a solid defence and a game style renowned for standing up in big finals it is clear that it will take something special from these Geelong players to extend their season to Adelaide next Friday night.

However, after everything this side has been through over the past decade expect a fired up Geelong side to take the field tonight as they look to remedy a poor patch of form, a bad record against the Swans and a horrific recent finals history. It will definitely a tough battle at the MCG tomorrow night, with the result likely to be a lot closer than what pundits are currently predicting.

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