The build up was all about Bailey Smith going up against his former team, and I bought in. Many of us did, apparently. However, what we saw was a high-quality shoot-out between two pretty damn good teams in a contest deserving of a standalone fixture.
Defence went out the window at periods, as both teams attacked relentlessly through the guts. The Cats made the most of their chances, whilst the Dogs, due to those damn Kardinia Park goalposts, wasted chance after chance. They finished with five posters for the game.
The Dogs ended with six more shots, but just could not get their aim correct, whilst the Cats rode Jeremy Cameron and Shannon Neale to 11 goals-straight between them, and that proved to be the difference.
The game had a bit of everything – plenty of drama, brilliant running goals, and players standing up at different stages to make statements of their own.
A heap to get through in this one, so let’s jump straight into The Mongrel’s Big Questions.
Because I got a bit tired on Thursday (work, kids… life… I am leaving this open for all. Usually they go up the night of the game, but I was very sleepy.
IS JEREMY CAMERON STILL THE BEST FULL FORWARD IN THE CAPER?
Yeah, a bloke who eventually took his place in the GWS team is the reigning Coleman Medallist, and Ben King has two games in hand on him, but when you watch Jeremy Cameron in full flight, it is difficult to make an argument for anyone else.
No shade at James O’Donnell, but Jezza must have been licking his lips when the young fella went to him at the first bounce, instead of Rory Lobb.
Cameron preys on those who make mistakes, and as much as JOD has good upside, he does make his share of errors. Get yourself in a bad spot, Jezza will overpower you and mark. Give him a metre or two break, and he’ll make it five metres with a burst of pace and mark on the lead. Let the ball get out the back… say goodnight.
Jezza had four of his six goals in the first half, which prompted Luke Beveridge to make a change after halftime, and Rory Lobb started to give his team a chop out by moving over onto Cameron more often. The matchups chopped and changed from there, as they always do, but Cameron simply switched gears, and became as much a distributor as a scorer.
It was his pinpoint pass to Mark Blicavs that set up a scoring chance for him (which Blicavs completely cocked up), and he did it again later on, putting the ball out in front of Shannon Neale, to enable him to run into an open goal in the last.
Without Patrick Dangerfield stationed inside 50, Cameron has been forced to elevate his output, and he has responded in the manner expected of a champion. With 13 goals across the last two weeks, Jezza has put the Geelong forward line on his back, and in doing so, has created space and opportunities for others. With his own gravitational pull, having a player like Cameron drawing the footy, and a host of defenders looking to help out his direct opponent, he makes this Geelong forward line tick.
WHY DIDN’T THE DOGS GO AFTER BAILEY SMITH?
Yeah, I would have liked to see some of the experienced Dogs throw some weight around and make Smith start looking over his shoulder, but we have to be realistic. Players are friendly, these days. There may be a bit of banter, and maybe a push and shove, but really, they don’t hate each other. There is no inherent disdain of one player over another. When they weigh up what it’ll cost them to fly the flag, it is probably a wiser choice not to get stuck into a former teammate. Gone are the days when a former club will deliberately go out and attempt to rough up, or upset a former player. They just don’t… they’re all mates, at some level.
Look, personally, I like a bit of argy-bargy. I don’t love that players now channel Jackie Moon and have an “everybody love everybody” attitude, but I also understand the reality of it.
The angst between the Dogs and Smith could probably be better termed as the angst between Dogs supporters and Bailey Smith. They’re more invested in that aspect of the game than the players are, seemingly. And that’s fine. It is what it is, but as Smith started to get off the chain, there was part of me that still wondered whether there was one Bulldogs prepared to dip a shoulder into his chest and put him on his backside. If anything, I thought Smith was more aggressive toward the Dogs players than they were toward him.
It turns out there wasn’t anyone, and whilst that makes me a little sad that this gladiatorial aspect of the game is a thing of the past, it did allow us the opportunity to see Smith strut his stuff against the Dogs, and he was excellent.
Do you think it would have been a good bet to throw some money on Smith for the Brownlow about two months ago? He is averaging over 30 disposals per game, takes a heap of ground, and is a tireless worker. He finished with 33 touches, six clearances, seven inside 50s, six rebound 50s, and seven tackles. That is a complete midfielder’s game.
Maybe someone should have crashed into him. Or maybe it would have fired him up more?
WAS IT A MISTAKE?
Well, it’s easy to say in hindsight. I wonder, if you’d gone to Bevo before the game and convinced him you’d just arrived in your DeLorean, showed him the stats sheet from this game, whether he would have seen enough to be convinced that Smith may have afforded a little more attention?
Then again, you look at the game of Max Holmes, and maybe he thinks similarly about him.
The Cats saw a chance to put the brakes on Ed Richards, and took it in the first half, with Oisin Mullin able to keep him under wraps, but do the Dogs have someone that could have ran with Holmes or Smith, stayed goal side of him, and made life difficult?
The only one I can think of in this game is James Harmes, who played the role for the Dees a few years ago, but the Dogs don’t really go with run-with players. And it may end up being to their detriment.
Was it a mistake?
Hmmm, I don’t think so. The game was there for the taking, and whilst the angry little man inside me would have liked to see a few scuffles, not going after Smith was not what cost the Dogs. It was poor kicking at goal, the Geelong pressure, and bad turnovers.
WHAT ABOUT SHANNON NEALE?
Is it fair?
During this game, I was blessed to converse with my fellow Mongrel, The Slugger. We spoke about Neale and the conversation drifted to what he was capable of, and where his ceiling is.
Slugger believes that he just needs to start clunking his marks a little better, and he will one day take ten contested grabs in a game. I’m a little more reserved in my judgement, basically because I am not a Geelong supporter – haha. What I see in Neale is a raw, big bodied specimen, that is a little too mechanical to be a permanent number one forward.
Watch that statement come back to bite me, right?
I liken him to Jake Riccardi at GWS with a bit of a higher ceiling, and Cats fans will have recent memories of Riccardi having a big say in the game against the Giants a few weeks back.
Blokes like those two, and Tom McCartin, are technically sound, but they also seem like everything is a process for them. The instinct isn’t at the same level as others playing the role, and whilst that is a detriment, it is not a death knell for a career. No, far from it.
Neale will always make an excellent third, or a very good second option, but I am always reluctant to have one of these blokes as THE focal point in a forward line, because they seem to need control, and too often, are forced to operate in chaos.
Still, pretty hardc to argue against five snags in a tight game, so maybe I should just shut up and wait til he has a wider body of work before pigeon-holing him.
DO WE HAVE TO GIVE RHYS STANLEY A BIT OF CREDIT IN THIS ONE?
Hell yes, we do.
And what I’d like to do is fast forward all the way to the final minutes to emphasise why. In a contest in the middle, Stanley threw himself at the footy in the air. He had his legs taken out from underneath him, and crashed to the turf, landing flat on his back, winded.
He put it on the line for the team, and he wore the big crash to the ground.
And in stark contrast, the footy was kicked to half-forward for the Cats where Tim English was hovering. He was matched up against Brad Close, who was able to out-body him.
Record scratch – Brad Close was able to out-body Tim English.
Now, continue.
When English went for the footy, it was not a whole-body attack on the contest.
Far from it.
It threw one hand at the ball, and the contest was over. He was out of it. It was a poor effort.
Rhys Stanley cops a lot of flak in AFL circles for being this fill-in ruck who has somehow managed to continue on as a permanent ruck with the Cats. He is no Max Gawn or Tristan Xerri; few are, but he has never claimed to be, either. What he does do is bring a varied approach to his ruck work, and gets around the ground as well as any big man in the league.
Coming into this game, English was in great form, with averages of 22.25 disposals and 28.25 hit outs over the last four games. Plenty expected him to dominate proceedings, and whilst he got his hands on plenty of ruck taps (48), his output around the ground was kept to a minimum. English managed just 11 disposals and took two marks, as Stanley nullified his impact.
Stanley was also no slouch opposite him, either, picking up 13 touches and 43 hit outs. When you factor in that Stanley had six clearances of his own, and English managed just two, and given expectations on both blokes, you would have to classify that as a win for the Geelong ruck.
WHERE DID THE CATS WIN THIS GAME?
In a tight game, it is damn tough to isolate one or two facets of the game, but there was one area that stuck out like dogs balls, or even cats balls… if they stick out.
Do they stick out? I haven’t really looked.
It was forcing turnovers.
I take notes as we go through the game so I know what the hell I am writing about (and sometimes I can still come off as not knowing what I’m writing about), but the way the Cats were able to get into the Dogs’ passing lanes, and force them into ill-advised handballs, basically won them the game, because once they did that, it resulted in scoring opportunities going the other way.
They feasted on the Dogs’ errors in the first half, tempting them to make that forward andball, only to close in on them from all angles.
It really is a ripple effect for the Cats. Apply pressure, force turnovers, go forward, don’t miss set shots. That’s the way they played, and if you don’t start that process with the pressure to create turnovers, it all falls apart.
The Dogs were trying to implement their run and carry game, and in doing so, were probably a little eager to get the footy in motion. Geelong were right onto it, and as the Dogs attempted to force the issue, the Geelong mids, wings, and half-forwards were right there to make them pay.
In the second quarter, alone, turnovers to Aaron Naughton, as his handball missed a running Bailey Dale, Taylor Duryea, who missed Bailey Williams by hand, and Rory Lobb, who is usually a high-quality ball user for a big man, all resulted in the Cats heading forward and hitting the scoreboard. It was as though they were laying in wait for the Dogs, and as soon as they attempted to get speed on the ball, they leapt into action.
When I look at this game in its entirety, they are the moments that standout most. As good as Max Holmes’ running goal was, and as excellent as the Dogs’ surge to end the third quarter was, it was the way Geelong used the Dogs’ strengths and turned them into weaknesses that I was most impressed with. Bevo and his crew were able to rectify it after the main break, but the damage was already done and the Cats were able to effectively counter the Dogs’ running game. In a contest decided by three kicks (and really, Stengle’s late goal was a nothing goal), the Cats shopped early to avoid the rush.
WHAT IS AARON NAUGHTON NOW?
This question is not intended to be disrespectful to the player, at all. It is more a way for me to look at his strengths and weaknesses now, because they are vastly different to a few years ago, when he was one of the rising key forwards in the game.
He finished this game with three goals, but the way he collected them was not in a manner commensurate with the way a key forward goes about it.
Naughton has become a scrapper – a blue collar worker, toiling away to get a touch of the footy, and doing so via second efforts and desperation. There was a time when he was viewed as the next big thing as a forward. Can you remember when he clunked nine contested grabs in a game? I sure as hell can – it actually made me go back and look at those marks individually, and with the benefit of replay, I reckon it was more like seven, but the fact remained – he was attacking the contest and he was holding marks.
He is nowhere near doing that, now. His current form is poles apart from what he was back then.
He is still getting his mitts to the footy. I don’t know whether it is a confidence thing, or it’s psychological, but he seems unable to complete the deal in the air, and is instead reliant on second efforts to provide options to score.
And that’s how he kicked his goals in this one. He made contests, followed up, and recovered quicker than his opponents. Hell, he was even able to force Tom Stewart into an error, and capitalise on it by being quicker to the fall of the footy than Sam Se Koning. It is no small feat to beat those two blokes in one contest.
But is an opportunistic tall forward what the Dogs need right now? Hell, Buku Khamis is attacking the contest with more intent than Naughton, at the moment. As I sat and watched him, I thought is Naughton going to watch this footage of Khamis and think ‘that used to be me’?
At 25, I feel like Naughton is at, or at least coming to, the crossroads of his AFL career. He has not developed into a powerhouse, and as a result, is not able to prevent being muscled under the footy, but he has retained his ability to cover the ground, and the way he recovers to stay involved in the play is now his biggest asset.
Until they get troops back and he can revert to being a secondary target, Naughton is going to have to stand up, but given how he is moved out of the drop zone so easily, it is going to have to be his second efforts that continue to make him a weapon to contend with in 2025.
The good news is that Sam Darcy is recovering faster than expected from his knee injury, and will be back a couple of weeks after the Dogs’ bye. Maybe he and Naughton can settle into the one-two punch the Dogs need?
IS THIS THE LAST TIME MITCH DUNCAN PLAYS THE WHOLE GAME?
Congrats to Mitch on reaching his 300th game, and to do it in a win against quality opposition… it’s a great way to celebrate.
That said, watching him in this game, it made me wonder how much he is factored into the plans for the remainder of the season for the Cats. From where I sit, and this was agreed with by at least one Cats supporter I know, he is not a best 23 player, and is more injury insurance at this stage of his career. I would not be surprised to see him play a few more games in 2025, but they will likely be as the sub, as his time as a dominant ball-winner are gone.
He finished his milestone game with 11 touches, to top an excellent career.
QUICKIES
Lots of drama before the bounce, with Luke Beveridge and Kane Cornes exchanging words in the middle of the ground. Go read the new idea if that is the story you’re most interested in.
Interesting to hear the Fox Footy crew repeatedly stating that Ed Richards is the best player in the competition during the broadcast. It reminded me of the (incorrectly quoted) John Lennon line when they asked what it was like to play with the best drummer in the world, Ringo Starr, and Lennon responded with “he’s not even the best drummer in The Beatles”.
When you play on a team with Marcus Bontempelli, you’re Ringo, Ed.
You’ve gotta love what Matt Kennedy is doing at The Kennel this season. With injuries early to Bont and Treloar, and of course, the exits of Smith and Jack Macrae, you could be forgiven for thinking the Dogs’ midfield was going to struggle a bit. However, with another three-goals to go with 25 touches, Kennedy is proving to be a very sound investment.
Really enjoying Gryan Miers playing further up the field. Two direct goal assists in this one highlighted his output, but he would have to be in the top handful of players in the league in terms of his field kicking. It’s a weird style, but I expect plenty of kids around the Bellarine Peninsula to start emulating it… because it works! He is an assassin with the ball in hand.
12 tackles for Tom Atkins, as he continues to steam toward the all-time record for tackles in a single season. The record is held by Scott Selwood, who notched 202 in 20111, at an average of 8.08 per game.
Right now, Atkins has 109 to his name at an average of 9.9 per game. The Cats will play finals – this record is going to fall, and I am rapt to be taking notice of it nice and early in the piece. Keep an eye on him as the weeks go by. To steal a line from the Port Adelaide theme song, it’s history in the making.
And that might just about do me.
Next week, the Cats head to the west to take on the Eagles, whilst the Dogs have a week off as the bye rounds commence.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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