Geelong can’t blame injuries for sitting ninth with two rounds to play

ONE remarkable fact blows out of the water any suggestion injuries have derailed Geelong’s season. And a bunch of other stats aren’t too flattering either, writes JON RALPH.

Geelong’s Jordan Cunico kicks at goal. Picture: Michael Klein

GEELONG could easily fall into the eight through a combination of its brilliant home ground advantage and a teetering Port Adelaide’s inability to close out the season.

No one is prepared to write Geelong’s obituary yet when they can leapfrog the Power if Ken Hinkley’s mob fails to salute against either Collingwood (MCG) or Essendon (Adelaide Oval).

But two things have become apparent as a season on Sunday labelled “indifferent” by Patrick Dangerfield stumbles towards a conclusion.

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The Cats surely can’t win the premiership based on an MCG record this year which has seen them drop five of their past six games at the home of football.

And it is increasingly tenuous for the Cats to blame injuries for their below-par season.

Geelong might have been the victim of a tough draw but after a 20-game sample the Cats simply aren’t good enough to win four finals in a row.

All year we have talked about the injury curse that has afflicted Lachie Henderson, Nakia Cockatoo and Harry Taylor at various stages.

Yet consider Geelong’s fab five midfield combination and their durability. Patrick Dangerfield, Gary Ablett, Mitch Duncan, Tim Kelly and Joel Selwood have played 93 of a possible 100 matches, with Ablett (four games) accounting for most of those absences.

Tom Hawkins has missed only a pair of games and full-back Mark Blicavs, back pocket Zach Tuohy and half-forward Sam Menegola have played all 20.

Joel Selwood has played every game this year.

What would Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley give to have had that level of durability?

Lynden Dunn and Matt Scharenberg are done for the year, Darcy Moore, Alex Fasolo and Jamie Elliott have barely played and premier midfielder Adam Treloar has played just 13 games.

The Pies’ best 22 has missed 170 games this year yet they sit fifth, with Geelong ranked only eighth for the amount of games missed.

At Hawthorn Luke Hodge retired, Cyril Rioli played four games, James Sicily has missed six, Ben McEvoy five, Grant Birchall is unsighted and yet they keep rolling on.

Collingwood has a readily identifiable game plan with a strong focus on mobile small forwards, while Hawthorn has a defensive system that is the envy of the competition.

Geelong’s game plan seems to change from month to month.

Their defensive ball speed goes from quicksilver to slow, they are 12th for time in forward half, 11th for inside-50s, seventh for pressure applied, 14th from forward-half turnover scores.

In other words, apart from ranking fifth in points against through cautious ball movement, there isn’t one feature of the game where they have a clear gap on the competition.

This is despite Dangerfield being back to his best, Blicavs and Stewart presenting as All-Australian contenders, Kelly right up there as recruit of the year and Ablett’s best still being sublime.

Will the Cats get the balance right? Picture: Alex Coppel

Chris Scott will likely get a two-year contract extension in the off-season, taking him to 2021, and so he should given he boasts a win-loss record better than all active coaches.

But if the Cats do miss the eight, what course do they set for the future?

Top up with more established talent by trading their first pick to go all-out while they have the holy trinity of Ablett, Dangerfield and Selwood, with Harry Taylor also contracted until 2019?

Or if Kelly leaves for West Coast do they go back to the draft and keep stockpiling kids after giving 15 a start since Round 1 last year, second only to Brad Scott’s North Melbourne.

Geelong returns to GMHBA Stadium, where it has won six of seven games this year, to likely take care of Fremantle and the Suns, then wait on results to fall its way.

We expected Geelong to be many things this year, but no one believed they would be distinctly mediocre.

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