Jon Ralph: Geelong can bounce back in semi final, but needs more players to stand up and be counted
With a qualifying final on the line Geelong used a surprise centre square set-up that did not include champion Patrick Dangerfield. Jon Ralph explains what happened next and seven other issues the Cats need to fix to stay alive in 2020.
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Now is not the time to panic, Geelong fans.
For all the worrying signs and sense of finals deja vu, Geelong was far from terrible against Port Adelaide in the losing qualifying final.
If the Cats had simply cashed in on their second-quarter dominance, or Tom Hawkins had kicked straight, or Joel Selwood’s finger hadn’t popped on him, they could be in a preliminary final this morning.
Last year they licked their wounds after a 10-point qualifying final loss, beat West Coast the next week and were three goals up at half-time against Richmond in a preliminary final.
We all know what happened from there.
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And the 4-12 finals record and 1-5 qualifying final record since 2012 have to be taken into account.
But instead of worrying about history, here are the eight issues Chris Scott will urgently be trying to address to ensure the Cats bounce back in seven days’ time, against either a West Coast or Collingwood side at the Gabba.
TOM HAWKINS
In the space of three finals, Hawkins has kicked 0.4 in the 2019 qualifying final, been reported and missed the 2019 prelim after four goals against West Coast, and now kicked 0.5 in the 2020 qualifying final.
In last year’s qualifying final he had a long shot touched on the line, missed an easy shot on a 45-degree angle and two left-foot snaps, one with 30 seconds left to get the Cats back within a goal.
But against the Power he didn’t hold his nerve and back in the set shot routine that won him the Coleman Medal.
The quick left-foot snap across his body that missed to the near side should have suited his left-to-right fade on a conventional set shot.
Last night three of those shots were on acute angles, but he also missed two sitters his superb accuracy rate this year would say he should have gobbled up.
THE OVERALL ACCURACY
This year Geelong has ranked No.1 in goals per inside 50 and No.2 in set-shot accuracy (50.7 per cent).
Against Port Adelaide the 12.2 per cent rate for goals per inside 50 was the second-worst of the season, with the 29.4 per cent shot at goal accuracy also the second-worst.
It wasn’t just Hawkins.
Rhys Stanley missed an early set shot from dead in front, Jake Kolodjashnij missed from 40m in front and Joel Selwood’s snap from 20m out as he roved off a stoppage faded right.
It added up to 5.12 for the night, a disastrous result.
PATRICK DANGERFIELD
Yet again, Patrick Dangerfield had a so-so night when the occasion demanded greatness.
He was in nine of the 18 centre bounces and won six clearances but mostly pushed forward given the Cats’ inability to find a second target behind Hawkins.
Gary Ablett, Gary Rohan and Gryan Miers were non-factors on the night.
Dangerfield still won 22 possessions at 50 per cent kicking accuracy but was the 15th ranked player on the ground.
The stunning goal as he bounced his way into goal ahead of Power defenders was his single moment of magic.
But he didn’t take a mark on the lead, didn’t take a mark inside 50 and didn’t win an inside50 ground-ball.
He might as well have played full-time midfield instead of a 67-33 per cent midfield-forward split.
GARY ABLETT
Ablett looked like a 36-year-old who had only played a single warm-up game in months and struggled with the pace of a final.
All of which is entirely true.
His 50-ranking-point game was ahead of only his 49-ranking-point game against Gold Coast as his quietest game of the season.
In his past four finals he has only the 21-possession, six score-involvement preliminary final against Richmond as a standout clash.
Ablett might have a single game left in one of footy’s greatest careers.
As recently as two weeks ago against Sydney he had bounce and sidestep and spark in his game.
All the great champions rebound from quiet games.
Ablett needs to do it or his career will finish in a straight-sets departure.
THE CENTRE SQUARE SET-UP
Twice in the last quarter Rhys Stanley rucked with Mitch Duncan, Tom Atkins and Luke Dahlhaus as a centre-square combination.
It was the first time this year that specific combination has been in the centre square together and first time since Dahlhaus arrived last year they have used that set-up.
They were up against Sam Powell-Pepper, Ollie Wines and Tom Rockliff, who have been in a centre bounce as a trio 74 times.
The Power won the centre clearance and it led to Zak Butters’ hard-won clearance bowling over two Cats to Peter Ladhams for the crucial goal.
Then the same trio of Cats were in the resultant centre bounce, where the Cats against lost the clearance.
Across the day Port Adelaide won the clearances by eight, but the teams both had periods of midfield ascendancy.
But that set-up was a result of Joel Selwood’s finger injury and the club’s determination to keep Dangerfield forward.
Had Dangerfield been in that stoppage he might have won the ball to a forward line that wasn’t getting it done, but in a losing contest it was a head-scratcher.
MATCH REPORT: PORT LAUNCHES INTO PRELIM FINAL
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JOEL SELWOOD
The skipper was herculean for the Cats in the first half with 11 typically bullocking possessions and his brilliant stoppage snap for a steadying goal.
But after badly dislocating his finger he won just five second-half possessions and faded in impact.
He left the ground with four minutes left in the contest looking at his badly bent finger but the Cats allayed fears over any tendon damage post-match.
He will get up for a semi-final because he is a champion but while Cam Guthrie, Mitch Duncan and Sam Menegola all won solid possession totals no one could emerge as the second-half match-winner.
GARY ROHAN
The former Sydney Swan just can’t find the room to move in a final after a series of high-profile flops on the big stage.
He wasn’t as bad as his five-possession tally will have you believe, with three direct score assists and four score involvements from his five possessions.
But on the other side of the field Steven Motlop was kicking three goals with his first three kicks.
Rohan now has only 11 goals in 17 finals and has only had more than seven possessions once in his past seven finals.
THE BACKLINE
Lachie Henderson did his claims for a 2021 contract no harm with a sparkling eight-mark, six-intercept 18 possession display.
And Harry Taylor kept Charlie Dixon to only one goal from a free kick and didn’t allow him a single mark.
But the flankers and mid-sizers need to tighten up.
Kolodjashnij was beaten by Motlop, who at one stage outbodied his bigger opponent and marked in a contest the Cat just had to win.
Tom Stewart and Jack Henry had some shaky moments which they will need to eliminate in a semi-final.
No one found the dash and line-breaking run and overlap to put speed on the ball and tear Port Adelaide apart.
ROBBO: CATS’ FINALS NIGHTMARE ALL TOO FAMILIAR
– Mark Robinson
Once again, Geelong was lost in the qualifying final abyss.
And they find themselves in that all-too familiar cutthroat semi-final and with it comes the constant query if they have the game to threaten the premiership.
Not Port Adelaide.
Ken Hinkley’s team is into the preliminary final after pulsating and ferocious performance and it removed any doubt about their premiership worth.
The preliminary final will be played at Adelaide Oval.
They play that ground with confidence and bravado and, after Thursday night’s trench football, they certainly play bona fide menacing football.
Save for the second quarter last night, Port were the commanding team.
They feasted on speed and commitment and as required, their pressure was immense
In the first quarter it was 208 to Geelong’s 173.
In the second quarter, it was 189 to Geelong’s 199.
In the second half, Port was 206 to Geelong 191.
They are hot numbers all round, save for Geelong’s first quarter, but that sort of pressure from Port is their barometer.
The Cats didn’t seize their moments.
They kicked 5.12, but even the most fervent Cats fans would concede the Cats played uphill football after halftime.
Is it an excuse?
Maybe, but finals football doesn’t accept excuses. You either win or you lose and the Cats lost.
It just happened their second-worst shot at goal accuracy this year.
That’s simply a finals failure.
They were the second-best side for accuracy this year, and they offered that.
The numbers were: Q1 — Rhys Stanley 1.1, Tom Hawkins 0.1, Joel Selwood 0.1 and Jake Kolodjashnij 0.1
In quarter two, it was Zach Tuohy 1.1, Selwood 1.0 and Hawkins 0.2.
What a contrast from their previous contest.
At the Gabba in Round 12, Port was smashed and Hawkins kicked six goals.
Hawkins kicked five behinds and one out of bounds on the full opposed to Trent McKenzie.
It was a surprise selection, and Hinkley and McKenzie would be delighted with the outcome, more because Hawkins’s early shots were from long-range and near the boundary line.
That’s overall team defence to send Hawkins so wide.
Hawkins seemingly lost confidence. His first shot in the second quarter was around the body on the left from 25m.
The pressure of the moment was too much.
Geelong’s lost the scoreboard in the first quarter and lost hand in that second quarter.
They wrestled the contest numbers from Port Adelaide, won territory, led inside 50s, but still trailed at halftime. And then Port motored in the third quarter.
Unquestionably, the defeat will command a high-level of conversation about their careful game style.
The lowbrow accusation is they remain finals chumps.
They are dogged by these qualifying finals defeats. Their record is a dismal 2-5 win loss since 2011 and are no 4-12 in all finals in the same period.
If they were Collingwood, the headline today would be Colliwobbles, the unflattering and infuriating slag off of their finals record over three decades.
Because they play so labour-intensive football, their moments must be taken.
Players will also be under the spotlight.
Gary Ablett was only fair, Gryan Miers had seven disposals, Gary Rohan five disposals — and none of them hit the scoreboard.
Defender Jack Henry also had bad moments. He’s had a few in recent weeks. He seems to lack awareness of the pressure coming.
So many Cats were down: Tom Stewart, Ablett, Mark Blicavs for three examples.
In recent weeks, too many holes have opened up.
Their last five matches before last night, they were ranked 15th for opposition scores per inside 50m.
Port had few players not contributing.
Steven Motlop kicked three goals. At one stage he had three kicks and kicked three goals. That’s not opportunistic, that’s winning footy lotto.
After halftime, Port had momentum overload and when the Cats challenged in the final quarter, they grabbed control of the game again.
They had answers
Hinkley would say they had resilience.
The rest of the footy world would certainly agree.
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Originally published as Jon Ralph: Geelong can bounce back in semi final, but needs more players to stand up and be counted