How Geelong can turn the tables in Grand Final rematch against Richmond
Chris Scott knows how to break the Richmond machine, but does he have a team that can execute his plans? Here’s what the Cats need to do to win.
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In the bowels of the Gabba after a Grand Final loss that cut like few in his career, Chris Scott resembled James Bond fighting a Russian henchman.
Scott’s Geelong had just thrown haymaker after haymaker at its foe, and yet like those movie star villains Richmond had barely flinched, yet alone fallen to the canvas.
Unlike Bond, Scott had no secret gadget or deadly quip to save him.
There was only pain to come.
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Later a defeated and deflated Scott had to admit in his post-match press conference that Geelong’s best just wasn’t enough.
“We knew we had to play really well to get over them. For decent parts of the game we were able to but they were just too good,” he said.
Then he used a word he repeated on AFL 360 on Monday: that Richmond were able to “overwhelm” his side when the Cats had everything on their terms.
Midfield ascendancy that allowed loose man Tom Stewart to cut off attacking thrusts, a ground set up perfectly to defend Richmond’s lightning thrusts into attack, and even Dustin Martin in check.
From the 18-minute mark of the second quarter Geelong led Richmond by 22 points.
Barely 60 minutes later they had lost by 31 points, as Martin danced and darted his way to a third Norm Smith Medal.
“They were just too good for us,” he said not once but three times in an opening statement where he showed extraordinary grace to congratulate the Tigers on their achievement.
“We were able to put them under pressure for big parts of tonight but it’s a measure of the team and system they have got that they were able to overwhelm us in the end.
“It’s going to take a long time to get over, they always do.”
Seven months on, Scott’s new-look Cats will find out on Friday night if they have made any ground on the triple-premiership Tigers.
So what must the Cats do against their much-vaunted opponents to be a chance to turn the tables?
1. STOP DUSTIN MARTIN
Scott admitted post-Grand Final the Cats had done everything possible to reduce his influence, and he still totally dominated the Cats.
With 75 seconds left in the first half he was goalless. Then he roved a pack and with a hard fend on opponent Jake Kolodjashnij he snapped from 30m.
For his second goal, he bounded when surrounded by a pack of Cats to snap on the run, then eluded a well-positioned Mark O’Connor to dribble his third from 60m.
His sealing goal came with that famous shake of the hips to dispense of Patrick Dangerfield deep in the pocket.
“Competitors don’t like conceding the opposition is unstoppable. I think there is always a way, but in some situations he’s just peerless in the way he plays,” Scott said.
“I thought Jake was pretty solid today. Sometimes you cannot do a lot wrong and get beaten by class.”
Kolodjashnij (knee) might be ready for the rematch so what is Scott’s Plan B for Dusty?
2.TAKE YOUR CHANCES
Richmond’s 21 to 15 scoring shot advantage won the day but the Cats kicked three straight behinds in the second term with the ascendancy, then another trio in the third term (Rhys Stanley, then Cam Guthrie, then Tom Hawkins) as the Tigers stormed home.
“When you are playing the best team you have to take your chances,” rued Scott.
3. GET MORE OUT OF HAWKINS
The Hawk’s first Coleman Medal finished with a Grand Final where he kicked only a solitary goal.
The Cats had only 40 inside 50s to Richmond’s 47 but Noah Balta in the first half and David Astbury in the second thoroughly shut him out of the contest.
Hawkins has a respectable but wayward 14.17 this year.
No better time to kick into overdrive for a plyer 15th in the Coleman Medal standings.
4. DON’T SQUANDER WEAPONS
Patrick Dangerfield was battling a groin injury that he admitted robbed him of power and explosion.
But he spent the entire third term forward, Scott and his match committee believing if they could wrest back stoppage momentum he might still cash in.
In that time Richmond went from 15 points down to two up, but even in the last term with Dangerfield on the ball Richmond kicked five goals from 10 shots to Geelong’s solitary Sam Menegola major.
“They had ascendancy early in the third quarter. We had him ahead of the ball and he even came off at one stage and we spoke to him and decided to leave him forward and back that we could get contest work back. The last quarter we had him up there pretty quickly. It’s always a hard one. The results tend to skew your thinking more than it should,” Scott said.
Dangerfield will be absent this week but how does Scott orchestrate the kind of match-ups that saw the likes of Mitch Duncan to push forward for four goals against West Coast?
5. BACK YOUR BALL MOVEMENT
As Chris Scott has said repeatedly, if you try to clone Richmond without the personnel, you are a pale imitation.
Geelong don’t move the ball especially fast, and are actually 18th in the comp for scores from a chain starting in the defensive 50. But they are what they are.
Trying to blast away going for impossible kicks will only play into the hands of a Richmond side which recorded 76 points from turnovers in the Grand Final, the highest tall of any team in 2020.
6. HANDLE THE HEAT
In the Grand Final Richmond went at a season-high 210 pressure points.
Against Melbourne their pressure was off the charts and yet the Demons were so clean and composed in the white-hot heat the Tigers eventually wilted.
It’s coming again.
7. BACK YOUR STRENGTHS
For Geelong on Friday night, it’s their midfield star power against a Richmond team lacking Trent Cotchin, Dion Prestia and Kane Lambert.
Ideally, Richmond would break even in close so they don’t have to push a half forward up to the contest.
That means they can deny the Cats the loose player, or “nude” player in Tom Stewart that Damien Hardwick bemoaned early in the Grand Final.
8. WIN THE KEY MOMENTS
Dusty got it done last year. Patrick Dangerfield didn’t.
Jayden Short franked a best-and-fairest year. Tom Hawkins didn’t cash in on a Coleman Medal year.
As Lachie Henderson told the Herald Sun last month, the Cats’ loss wasn’t about slow ball movement or lack of mental strength. In that game, the Tigers’ stars lifted in the biggest moments late.
9. REV UP RHYS STANLEY
He was bushwhacked by Tom Hickey last week and finished the game on the bench.
Toby Nankervis has career highs in disposals, contested ball, intercept marks and has only had one other year with a better hit-out-to-advantage rate.
If Stanley can beat Nic Naitanui, as he did the previous week, he can beat Nankervis.
10. MAXIMISE YOUR STRENGTHS
Dylan Grimes is out with concussion, so Noah Balta or David Astbury will man the twin towers.
At some stage one of Hawkins or Jeremy Cameron will have a purple patch. Feed them. Isolate them. Try to make the returning Nick Vlastuin accountable so he’s not the drop-off defender Grimes would have been.
In the tail-end of that Grand Final press conference Scott was asked about Jeremy Cameron and he deflected given he knew the challenge in landing the GWS free agent.
But Cameron is finally in Geelong colours, fit and in form after successive three-goal hauls.
Richmond isn’t going anywhere, so it is up to Scott and the Cats to put their tactical and talent-based improvement on show since then or the same result will whack them in the face.
Originally published as How Geelong can turn the tables in Grand Final rematch against Richmond
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