Geelong Cats: James Kelly details changes in second half after damning start

Geelong assistant coach James Kelly has detailed the changes swung at half time that brought the Cats back into the match against Sydney.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 30: Cats players huddle during the round 16 AFL match between Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats at Sydney Cricket Ground on June 30, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Geelong assistant coach James Kelly has detailed the changes swung at half time that brought the Cats back into the match against Sydney.

The Cats ultimately walked away with two premiership points in a thrilling draw, but the game was marred by skill errors and goal kicking inefficiency.

Kelly said the coaching group asked the defenders to be more accountable in the second half after conceding 16 marks inside Sydney’s forward 50 in the first two quarters.

“Moving into the second half we didn’t want to just defend in a way that gave them easy outs in the contest or coming through the midfield,” he said.

“We thought Sydney was going to do that, we were a bit off in a few areas, our pressure in the midfield wasn’t what we wanted it to be so they were able to get through and put our defenders under pressure.

Jack Henry. Picture: Mark Metcalfe

“We needed to win the contest a little bit more and defend a little bit tighter, when things go wrong all around the ground everyone can have different ideas of what’s going on, so it was nice to have the break at half time to talk about what we could fix.

“It was more not peeling off too early and thinking they’re going to intercept the ball and instead being more accountable on the lead and in the contest.”

The draw has boosted Geelong to 30 points after 15 games, and is now just two points out of the top eight, with Adelaide, St Kilda and Essendon all on 32 points and occupying spots inside the finals.

Kelly said it was disappointing to only get a draw instead of four points, but he did not think the Cats deserved the win.

Zach Tuohy was one of Geelong’s best. Picture: Jason McCawley

“It sort of looked a bit off at the start, there were a few disconnects that we meant that our defensive pressure we had last week wasn’t there, for various reasons,” he said.

“It just felt like it didn’t really look like a Geelong game, that is probably the disappointing thing about a draw is that we weren’t playing the way we wanted to play, and it didn’t look how we wanted it to look.

“At the end of the day two points is better than none but we certainly take away the attitude that we want the game to look more like how we want to play footy.”

Originally published as Geelong Cats: James Kelly details changes in second half after damning start