AFL 2024: The Cats with reduced output in Geelong’s four-game losing streak

It has been a month to forget for Geelong. Who has had the biggest drop-off in their four-game losing streak? See the stats here.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA - MAY 25: Jeremy Cameron of the Cats runs with the ball during the 2024 round 11 AFL match between Geelong Cats and Greater Western Sydney Giants at GMHBA Stadium, on May 25, 2024, in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Martin Keep/AFL Photos/Getty Images)

Does Jeremy Cameron hold the key to Geelong’s fortunes in 2024?

During Geelong’s seven-game winning streak at the beginning of the season, Cameron kicking 19 goals and proving close to unstoppable as he roamed up and down the ground and did as he pleased.

Since then, the Cats have lost four in a row and he has just two goals in three games – missing one of the their losses with concussion.

Cameron, 31, has experienced the most significant drop-off of any Cat since round seven with a 51 per cent downturn in his AFL Player Ratings points compared to his season average.

AFL Player Ratings points take into account where a player wins the ball, how they win it and what impact they have with the footy.

The 10-time club leading goalkicker was held to one major by lockdown defender Connor Idun last weekend, hitting the target with just 58 per cent of his 17 disposals.

Fox Footy expert Nick Dal Santo said Cameron wasn’t helped by their entries, with 24 inside 50s in the final quarter contributing to just two goals for the Cats.

“If everything is hard work and you’re bombing it in constantly, you are asking a lot of your forwards and as good as Jeremy Cameron is, as good as Tom Hawkins is and these other guys, it just makes life really hard,” Dal Santo said.

“If your midfield’s not firing, your midfield’s not using the ball well, Tony Lockett and Jason Dunstall wouldn’t make a difference.”

Jeremy Cameron has been down on his output at the beginning of the season. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Hard edged midfielder Brandan Parfitt was a shining light after replacing Patrick Dangerfield early in the season, but he was dropped in round 11 after averaging 28 per cent less from rounds eight to 10 than his season average.

Mark O’Connor also found himself out of the team last week after an 11 per cent drop-off, while Mitch Duncan has been below his usual output (25 per cent).

Dal Santo is unsure if the Cats can be a premiership contender after their past month but said it was too early to judge.

He feels they have missed Dangerfield and will benefit from him being back in the side, with the ageing superstar in the mix to return for their important clash with Sydney next week.

Geelong had its colours lowered against Gold Coast. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“They need a lot of things to go right. Do they still have the calibre of players? I think they do and I look at their defensive seven, they are still really reliable and dependable, so I think they can still hold up,” Dal Santo said.

“But if they don’t get these other players back to play consistent footy in the back-half of the year, then I think it is a challenge from there.

“Go back to that Darwin game two weeks ago against the Gold Coast, I haven’t see the Cats play like that for a decade.”

But the St Kilda great believes Cats fans should trust the process given how consistent they have been in the past two decades.

“We are in an evidence and results based industry, the evidence before us is they have done it almost perfectly, so why wouldn’t you have trust in them?” Dal Santo said.

“Geelong have broken the rules of the cycle of football and what should really happen, haven’t they. Without knowing exactly how that all plays out, from my perspective whatever they do is probably going to be the right decision because they have got this formula that has just been exceptional for so long.”

Originally published as AFL 2024: The Cats with reduced output in Geelong’s four-game losing streak