Geelong Cats: Depleted ruck stocks cost Geelong victory in must-win clash against St Kilda

Geelong entered its must-win clash against St Kilda with the least-convincing ruck unit of the season, and with a clash against Rowan Marshall all eyes were going to be on the centre square.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - August 19, 2023. AFL . Rowan Marshall of the Saints and Shannon Neale of the Cats during the round 23 match between St Kilda and Geelong at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Michael Klein.

Geelong entered its must-win clash against St Kilda with the least-convincing ruck unit of the season, and with a clash against Rowan Marshall all eyes were going to be on the centre square.

Marshall has arguably been in All-Australian form, while the Cats fielded a combination of young defender Sam De Koning and young forward Shannon Neale.

Things became complicated early in the first quarter when key defender Esava Ratugolea was subbed out with a hamstring injury.

Ratugolea had been manning Saints forward Max King, who booted two goals in the opening term, but Geelong’s coaching staff were forced to move De Koning predominantly back to match up with the star tall.

King finished the game with three goals and was one of St Kilda’s match winners, feasting on the Saints’ slick ball movement through the middle of Marvel Stadium.

While Geelong scrambled to find a solution down back, Marshall began to dominate in the contest, winning the clearance 33-21, and the hit outs 31-14.

Jeremy Cameron had little impact in the loss to St Kilda. Picture: Michael Klein.

Neale had minimal impact on the contest, recording just three disposals and six hit outs, while De Koning’s best football came behind the ball, while Marshall collected 24 disposals, 26 hit outs, kicked a goal and had the most ranking points on the ground.

Marshall’s offering of first-use football gave St Kilda plenty of opportunity to move the ball quickly, propelling attacking thrusts deep inside its forward 50.

Meanwhile, Geelong struggled to repel attacks, and while Tom Stewart and Mitch Duncan collected 30 and 27 disposals respectively, the pair were mainly forced to look for short lateral movements or dumping the ball down the line.

The lack of attacking prowess of the back flank meant the Cats rarely moved the ball quickly and offered a counter attack that put St Kilda’s defenders under pressure, with Zaine Cordy, Josh Battle and Callum Wilkie dominating against Tom Hawkins, Jeremy Cameron and Ollie Henry.

Cameron, off the back of an seven-goal haul against Collingwood, was kept goalless and while he had 23 disposals, the vast majority were up the ground and away from goals.

Originally published as Geelong Cats: Depleted ruck stocks cost Geelong victory in must-win clash against St Kilda