Dawn to Dark: All the likes and dislikes from the Cattery after Round 13

A Swan dominated in Geelong’s loss, and he did most of his damage while opposed to a Cats veteran. Plus, the numbers behind Tom Stewart’s drop-off and all the likes and dislikes.

See the likes and dislikes from the Cats in round 13. Picture: Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Geelong started like a house on fire, but Sydney turned the tables to inflict the Cats’ fifth loss in their last six games.

The Cats should be better for their first bye of the season coming up, but tough clashes against Carlton and Essendon and await them afterwards.

See all the likes and dislikes from the Cattery after round 13.

LIKES

1. HOT START

After some first half catnaps in the past month, Geelong burst out of the blocks against the clear best team in the competition. Geelong coach Chris Scott says talks regularly about getting the game on their terms, and that’s exactly what the Cats did as they piled on six goals to nil. To the 12th minute mark of the second quarter, 27 of their 40 points came from turnovers and their pressure rating was an elite 193, scoring a goal from 32 per cent of their inside 50 entries. Geelong is at its best when its pressure is up and it can hurt sides going back the other way. And this comprehensive start against the Swans on their home deck showed once again that their best can overcome any side.

Tyson Stengle is mobbed by teammates after a goal. Picture: Brendon Thorne/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

2. STENGLE ALL-AUS

Is Tyson Stengle taking one of the All-Australian small forward spots at this point? If not, he is pretty darn close. Stengle was pivotal to Geelong’s start, with his pick-up and goal from right on the boundary in the first quarter underlining his freakish ability around goal. He currently leads all general forwards for goals with 27 for the season and ranks second for ground ball gets and sixth for score involvements. Stengle is 23rd for disposals but he has proved this year – as he did in 2022 – that he doesn’t need a lot of the ball to have a serious impact. He had 12 on the weekend for three majors and a goal assist.

3. MULLIN MATCH-UP

The end result will say that Tom Papley kicked four goals to win Sydney the match late in the piece. But Oisin Mullin can hold his head high for the job he did on the dangerous Papley for most of the match. Scott gave the Irish speedster the ominous task in just his 13th AFL game and he started in fine fashion, winning nine first-quarter possessions and five intercepts to Papley’s five touches and four turnovers. To the 25 minute mark of the third term, Papley had just nine disposals and three score involvements. After that the livewire came to life, kicking four goals from six touches, beating Mullin on the lead and on the deck. There is no shame in that, and Mullin will only get better for the experience.

DISLIKES

1. STEWART TAG

Geelong vice-captain Tom Stewart has been well below his best this year – and it is a high bar that he has set. But opposition sides have stymied his intercept game, which we saw again through stopper James Jordon. Stewart was able to get his hands on the ball, collecting 20 touches, but not from opposition kicks, taking just one intercept mark in the 100 minutes Jordon was his direct match-up, while Jordon was able to have an influence forward with 15 disposals, two goal assists and a major. It is a tactic both Port Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney employed in the previous month, with Power small forward Jed McEntee getting under Stewart’s skin in particular. Stewart plucked two marks from opposition kicks in 85 minutes on McEntee and took two in 75 minutes with Xavier O’Halloran following him around against the Giants.

2. ERROL EVERYWHERE

As Stewart was tagged Gulden was allowed to do as he pleased on Sunday. And one opponent in particular didn’t do enough to stop him. Running machine Mark Blicavs, who has performed shutdown jobs before with great effect, was matched up on Gulden for 33 minutes. In that time Gulden racked up a disposal every two minutes, tallying 16 compared to Blicavs’ three. It is rare to see Blicavs underperform, but he managed just nine touches and five clangers in his return from suspension in a day to forget for the consistent utility. He moved into the ruck late when Shannon Neale was subbed out and they might need him to return to that post to support Stanley or Toby Conway after the bye.

Errol Gulden dominated for the Swans. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

3. GRUNDY DENIAL

Chris Scott was asked about Rhys Stanley struggling up against the formidable Brodie Grundy. He didn’t seem to think Grundy had much of a say in their turnaround. “I thought “Stanley was dominant early when we were on top,” Scott said.

“I thought it was their ground level players who had the influence and we didn’t think it was ruck issue the midfield stuff.”

Stanley did start strongly with some marks around the ground and Sydney’s midfield had a big say from the second quarter onwards, but Grundy’s influence was undeniable. In 51 direct ruck contests between Grundy and Stanley, the Swans won 27 clearances to 15 and registered 5.4 to 2.2 on the scoreboard. He finished with 21 contested possessions – almost double the next best Swan in Isaac Heeney, while Stanley had eight touches for the match. Scott may well have been trying to deflect, but the numbers don’t lie.

Originally published as Dawn to Dark: All the likes and dislikes from the Cattery after Round 13