Patrick Dangerfield left devastated; Cats vow to fight to keep Tim Kelly
The emotion of Friday night’s preliminary final thriller left one Geelong superstar devastated, but he says the team has what it takes.
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Gutted by a third preliminary final defeat in four years, Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield doesn’t feel like the Cats have stepped any closer to an elusive AFL premiership.
They led by 21 points at halftime at the MCG on Friday night, but kicked just two goals in the second half as the Tigers ran them down to score a 12.13 (85) to 9.12 (66) win in front of 94,423 fans.
Asked if his side had at least taken another step towards that premiership goal with their performance, Dangerfield didn’t sugar coat his reply.
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“Not particularly at the moment, to be honest,” the Brownlow Medal winner said. “A step is winning.
“We’re not here just to be a bit-part player and unless you’re there (in the Grand Final) that’s what you are.
” … It’s still bitter and raw at the moment, so it’s hard to take stock on the whole season.
“We set out with winning a premiership in mind and we weren’t able to do that.”
The loss made it four preliminary final appearances without a Grand Final berth to show for it since Geelong’s 2011 premiership.
Dangerfield has heard the criticism of the Cats’ finals performances but said his teammates will continue to stick together and hit next season confident they can challenge for a flag once again.
“We’ve got a really close group, which is a special thing, we enjoy each other’s successes,” he said.
“We share the losses too and we pick ourselves up and we’ll do that.
“It’s tough because there is no tomorrow, that’s the season finished, that’s the bitterly disappointing part, that’s the overriding emotion.
“But the (premiership) ingredients are there.
“It doesn’t just happen, we’ve got to make sure we look to improve and get better.”
CATS VOW TO FIGHT TO KEEP KELLY
If star midfielder Tim Kelly has played his last AFL game for Geelong, he certainly went out with a bang.
Kelly is widely expected to request a trade to West Coast following the Cats loss on Friday night.
The 25-year-old made it even harder for Geelong to let him go with a stellar 31-possession, three-goal performance.
Chris Scott knows he can’t keep the out-of-contract on-baller from departing, but vowed to do what he could to convince him to stay.
“I don’t even know if it’s possible but I’m not letting him go,” Scott said. “That’s my half-serious response but I’ve got absolutely no control of what’s going to go on.
“All I can say is that he’s been a credit to himself all the way through.
“He should be proud of himself and we’re really proud of him.
“If the question is ‘would you like to keep him?’ I’ll fight tooth and nail to do that.”
Tim Kelly fend off + goal 🔥🔥🔥
— 7AFL (@7AFL) September 20, 2019
(watch #AFLFinals on 7) pic.twitter.com/PQUy8pT1Nv
Kelly’s desire to move his young family back to Perth, with the support network of family and friends available there, was the driving force behind his ill-fated trade request last year and remains the case.
That won’t make it any easier for Scott to watch him walk out the door two years after the Cats plucked him out of the WAFL as a 23-year-old in the second round (No. 24) of the draft.
“It’s been two special seasons from him — he’s just an outstanding player,” the coach said.
“On the big stage against really good opposition he was fantastic tonight.
“I suspect if we had won the game we would be talking about him in even more glowing terms, but just because we couldn’t get the result I don’t think that should take the gloss off his performance and the year he’s had.
“It’s a credit to him and it’s a credit to our club that gave him that opportunity.”
Originally published as Patrick Dangerfield left devastated; Cats vow to fight to keep Tim Kelly