Geelong on the ropes after poor showing against Gold Coast

The claws have been sharpened as Geelong was firmly in the sights of some of footy’s greats in the hours after a horror loss on the Gold Coast.

A shocked Tyson Stengle leaves the field on the Gold Coast. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The knives have come out for Geelong in the hours after a horror defeat on the Gold Coast.

Immediately after the Cats slumped to a disastrous loss to the Suns, the media’s hot take merchants sharpened their claws, after Chris Scott’s team became the first reigning premier ever to be winless and on the bottom of the ladder after the first three rounds of the year.

A dejected Cam Guthrie. Picture: Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/Getty Images

As he has done before, Fox Footy expert David King led the charge on First Crack, declaring he had seen “the end of an era”.

“I think the Cats are cooked, I really do,” King said.

“I don’t say that lightly because I’ve been one that has jumped the gun on this a few years ago … when I look at it now, the air has come out of the tyres for the Cats.

“A lot has gone wrong at the start of the year. They’re chasing the game in terms of fitness, they’re chasing the game in terms of health and at 0-3 and just the look of their team now, I’ve never seen their midfield look so slow.”

Even if the Cats do bounce back in very winnable games against Hawthorn and West Coast in the next fortnight, King was adamant it is over for the reigning premier.

“I think regardless of whether they have a spike in the next 2-3 weeks, it will be a dead cat bounce,” he said.

“It will be a false economy.

“They were the oldest team of the round this week, 10 players north of 30 years of age and only four players under 24. So now there is some juggling that needs to be done to get into that phase of life after the absolute powerhouse.”

Also on First Crack, St Kilda great Leigh Montagna questioned whether the Cats had lost their hunger.

“They now have their premiership medallion, so you just wonder even it it’s just one per cent, they’ve just lost that slight edge,” he said.

Over on SEN, Port Adelaide 300-gamer Kane Cornes declared Geelong “is a group that is satisfied”.

Former Collingwood champion player and coach Nathan Buckley responded by questioning Geelong’s midfield output and said the next week would be a chance to reset.

“It is a come to Jesus moment for them, they have to work out where they go from here,” he said.

“They have a long break going into East Monday and they have a chance to draw the line and start again.”

With the last-placed Cats set for more heat this week, expect the takes to keep getting hotter.

Putrid Cats sink on the Gold Coast

This could have been the day Geelong proved it was still a force.

But on the final siren, the Cats showed they are a long, long way from that.

The team that played near-perfect football in the final two months of 2022 to cruise to a dominant premiership has disappeared in smoke.

Speculation will rightly come all of this week – whether you call it a premiership hangover, a loss of hunger or something more clinical, Geelong is a mile off the pace.

Jeremy Cameron is congratulated by teammates. Picture: Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/Getty Images

After a bright start against Gold Coast on Sunday, Geelong was simply putrid for the remaining three quarters in a 19-point loss.

Throughout the early weeks the Cats have been clear they will not panic if they don’t get rolling early in the season but time is rapidly running out and the clock will only tick quicker from here.

So many of Geelong’s front-liners haven’t showed up to start the year.

Tom Hawkins – never the most nimble – appeared to be running through mud, Tyson Stengle hasn’t impacted the game in the last two weeks and Patrick Dangerfield was nowhere to be seen on Sunday with the game on the line.

Reliable players have also slumped.

Charlie Ballard celebrates a goal. Picture: Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/Getty Images

Zach Tuohy was uncompetitive in multiple marking contests, Brad Close’s speed has slowed to a jog and Max Holmes coughed the ball up on Sunday

At some point, the hole Geelong is digging will become too much to get out of.

Well beaten in the opening two rounds by Collingwood and Carlton’s slick ball movement, early on Sunday the Suns cut Geelong up running through the middle of the ground.

But then even as Gold Coast became sloppy and missed some easy chances in front of goal, the home side just ramped up its heat around the ball.

The Cats were thumped around the footy as Matt Rowell hunted the ball and found his opponents wanting.

Max Holmes and the Cats slumped against the Suns. Picture: Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/Getty Images

After winning the contested ball count by six in the opening term, the Suns then had 29 more contested wins in the remaining three quarters.

The Cats were almost doubled around the clearances, losing that count 40-23.

Geelong managed to score one solitary point from stoppages, its lowest ever tally since those numbers have been taken.

And it was a performance even uglier than what the statsheet said.

No reigning premier has fallen to 0-3 since 1976.

The Cats have the power to come back from here but right now, contending for a premiership appears a long way out of reach.

If Geelong doesn’t lift its game it could have trouble against arch rival Hawthorn on Easter Monday - even the Hawks have some winning form.

If Cats fans weren’t alarmed already, they certainly should be now.

Originally published as Geelong on the ropes after poor showing against Gold Coast