You’re likely going to read a lot of articles about the footy over the next few days – it’s finals time, after all. However, in regard to this game, you’re going to read one of two types of columns.
The first is the article that absolutely pastes the Port Adelaide Power for one of the most insipid performances in a home final in recent memory.
And you know what?
Port deserve every whack they get; they were horrendous in this game, beaten all over the park and made to look inept.
And the other type will focus on how good the Cats were. Hitting the road against a team that upset them earlier in the year – a team coming off six-straight wins leading into finals – Geelong pantsed Port Adelaide. Seriously, this was the footy version of pulling their pants down and spanking them in public until they cried.
What I am going to attempt to do is combine both and give you the reasons why the Cats were so good, which in turn, should reveal why the Power was so horrid.
I’m not sure how you recover from a beating like this for Port. I am not sure the Cats could have been any more convincing – maybe they could have kicked straighter? I swear, if one more of my fellow, Geelong-supporting Mongrel writers complain about inaccuracy while you’re smashing a team by 80 points, I will kill you!
This was a lesson.
It was a well-drilled team against deers in the headlights.
It was seasoned professionals against those for whom the lights were too bright.
It was the Cats giving the Power a hiding, and perhaps sending both teams in complete opposite directions in terms of the flag. Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Review.
I’m leaving this one open, as a) it was a smashing, and b) I hope you guys like it enough to jump on to ensure you get the rest of our finals game reviews, plus extra members-only columns, all finals long, and plenty through trade/free/agency/draft/preseason. I never, ever stop.
SMALL FORWARDS OUT THE BACK
So, if someone can explain to me why Port Adelaide, given what they were up against, and what they knew Geelong were capable of with their smalls, did not have a player dropping off and remaining a loose player out the back in the first half, I’d really appreciate it. It boggled the mind that the Cats were able to get goal side of their opponents so often, and how the Power defence was caught unaware on so many occasions.
And from there, the Cats would just amble on into an open goal mouth.
Geelong had a ball, with Tyson Stengle doing what he does best, hitting the packs and running to the back of contests to finish with four goals. He kicked two to open the second quarter which set the tone for the remainder of the game, after Port fought back at the end of the first. He gave the Cats the breathing space they needed to build their lead.
In my book, however, he wasn’t even the best small forward on the park. That mantle belonged to Shaun Mannagh.
Mannagh is a story and a half – six goals in a losing VFL Grand Final last season opened a lot of eyes, but this could be the game he is remembered for…
… unless he plays a few better ones, I suppose. Then he’ll be remembered for them.
His pressure around the footy, his quick, clean hands, and his goal sense saw him collect 22 touches, slot three goals of his own, and pick up a game-high 13 score involvements, which included three direct goal assists. People, these are numbers that small forwards dream about! This is Robbie Gray/Cyril Rioli/Toby Greene types of numbers, as Mannagh looked every bit the AFL star, and nothing like a bloke who took longer to get into the league than most.
When you add in 21 touches and three goals to Gryan Miers, who was subbed out halfway through the last quarter, and Brad Close, who was the only one of the Geelong mosquito fleet not to punish the Power (he finished with 0.3 for the night), you have a quartet that just made the Power defence seem flat-footed, reactive, and largely in disarray.
Can we count how many of the Geelong goals dribbled through, or went through below shoulder height? How many could have been touched, or rushed through by a player in the goalkeeper role? It astounds me that this is not adopted more often, particularly when you can plainly see the team structure failing to prevent the opponent from getting goal side.
TIME TO LOOK AT THE LEADERS
Patrick Dangerfield played like a leader in this game.
Connor Rozee did not.
It’s probably unfair to directly compare the two, given relative age and experience, but these are the chosen captains of the two sides, and these are the men that set the tone for their clubs.
In many aspects, the club captains reflected their team’s performance and attitude. Danger was his usual hard-at-it self. He ran hard, contested hard, threw his body into harm’s way, and his second efforts were excellent.
Meanwhile, Rozee looked reactive, and his energy levels seemed to be low. When he did find the footy, it was usually followed by a directionless kick inside 50 to a contest, and there was no enthusiasm about him, at all. In fairness, I suppose it is difficult to be enthusiastic when your team is getting pumped the way his was, but at quarter time, this was game-on, and Port even hit the front early in the second. Still… at that stage, Port got bugger all from him in any way that impacted the contest until he managed a goal in red time of the second quarter.
Sadly, that was about it – 16 touches from a player of his calibre just do not cut it. He basically disappeared in the second half, collecting just six touches, whilst Dangerfield managed 24 for the game even though he spent an extra half an hour on the bench.
I have to admit, when Danger stepped into the role of captain at Geelong, I was sceptical. I saw him as more of a star player than a leader, but he has proven me wrong.
My jury is still out as to whether Rozee is a leader, or not. He is not a “come with me” type of leader, whose actions compel you to follow him – Joel Selwood was one of those, as could be Jason Horne-Francis in time. But Rozee… he strikes me more as the cherry on top of a team, as opposed to the pound cake you need underneath to keep it all together.
That said, it is critically important that any response from Port starts with Rozee from next week. His last two finals have been poor. He needs to step up and prove he is the right man to lead this team.
Is he the best option as the leader of Port Adelaide?
Show me, Connor. Show me steak and leave the sizzle to others.
THE INSIDE FIFTY DELIVERY
If you have a rewatch of this game, view it as though it is an instructional video.
For the Cats, it will be like a lesson on how to kick the ball inside 50 to the advantage of your own players.
As for the Power, it is the exact opposite. And it would be very unpeasant viewing, just as it was the first time.
Geelong mids and half-backs continually lowered their eyes as they streamed forward in this game. With the Cats forwards working in concert, they were consistently able to open up leading lanes by drawing their direct opponent away from teammates. They played team footy and refused to move into their teammates’ way – it was quite amazing to watch how coordinated the front half of the ground was for Geelong. This was particularly the case when you had the exact opposite occurring at the other end. The Geelong cohesion gave the smaller forwards and half-forwards a heap of room to move in and resulted in a sense of chaos for Port defenders. Really, they had no chance to defend them.
So, why couldn’t Port do this, as well?
Ah, good question, and whilst I am sure many will point the finger at Charlie Dixon and Esava Ratugolea for their combined output of nine disposals and two marks (and ZERO goals), there are other reasons they were unable to impact the contest. Let’s explore.
Midfield pressure
Geelong gave the Port ball-users no chance to settle. When Jason Horne-Francis would grab the footy and look forward, he was immediately set upon by a Cats midfielder. It didn’t matter who it was, as long as someone was there to harass him. It meant that the normally potent JHF, after zigging and zagging to buy time, either had to dish off to someone backwards, or his kicking was reduced to a long bomb inside 50 – a kick in hope.
And it wasn’t just Horne-Francis.
Connor Rozee could not get off the chain, Ollie Wines struggled to impact with his touches, Trav Boak was in a similar situation, and Jase Burgoyne barely ventured past the centre line as he folded back to help out in defence.
I really felt for Ratugolea, in particular, as he continuously had the footy kicked to the wrong side for him, and he was forced to fight and claw just to make a contest. That led to free kicks against him and you could sense his frustration. I am normally not a great Sav fan, but he was dealt a poor hand in this game by his mids. They did not look after him, at all.
Defensive structure
The loss of Tom Stewart was supposed to impact the Cats, but given the way the team compensated, it barely registered on the radar.
That, my friends, is a sign of a well-drilled team.
Instead of Stewart racking up intercepts, it was Jack Henry and Jake Kolodjashnij lifting their games to support Zac Guthrie (who actually overtook Stewart for the most intercepts at the Cats in 2024 in this game).
The Geelong positioning and defensive structure is second to none. All know their roles and play them beautifully, from Mark Blicavs dropping back to cover Charlie Dixon, to Lawson Humphries working into space on the turnover to provide an option. They know when to go, how hard to go, and seem to understand when the right time to slow things down is.
They’d be a good side in bed, huh?
Geelong is a well-oiled machine, and when it came time to switch out one part for another, they did so with a minimum of fuss. I am not sure many other teams could have done that so well.
So, what about the Port smalls, then?
Well, this is a fair question, as if the talls are not winning the contests, it should be up to the small blokes to have an impact.
Only… they didn’t.
The Port small brigade of Francis Evans (Maybe a covert Geelong operative given his performance), Willie Rioli, and Jed McEntee provided bugger all in this one. Just two collective goals from this cohort was all they could manage, as Jed Bews, Lawson Humphries, Zac Guthrie, and even Jake Kolodjashnij applied the clamps at ground level and took them out of the game.
Hell, at one point, you had Ratugolea roving packs whilst other Port players flew for marks – the entire forward line was out of whack, out of sync, and out of ideas by the time the second half got underway. Combine that with also being out of anything even remotely resembling good delivery, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Two goals from the Port smalls versus ten from the little fellas in the hoops. Ouch.
DID PORT HAVE ANY WINNERS?
Not really. None that were so clear cut that you’d put them up on a pedestal and say “there… that’s the bloke I want you to play like next week!”
That said, Miles Bergman was probably their best, as he provided a few really solid contests in defensive fifty, and kept Ollie Henry to a modest total of 1.2 from 12 touches. There was a point where Bergman looked as though he was going to keep Port in this game, but stopping the rampant Cats was like trying to plug a hole in the ocean.
Outside of him, both Willem Drew and Trav Boak started well before fading. I am not sure you want those two blokes as your two best midfielders, but that’s where the Power were at in this game – the big names were playing like the lights were a little too bright for them.
And what of Jason Horne-Francis?
You won’t find me whacking him in this column – not a chance. He puts his body on the line, and at one stage, it felt like he was the only midfielder that could generate… anything, for Port.
Still, if I were naming the top ten players in this game, I reckon I’d have ten Cats down on the paper before I’d have one Port player. That’s how bad, collectively, this was for them.
DO THE CATS HAVE TO MAKE SOME ROOM?
This is going to be a conundrum.
Waiting on the sidelines, they have Sam De Koning, who is a brilliant player, either as a defender or a mobile ruckman. You have Tom Stewart, who just saunters back into this team like he owns it, and you have Cam Guthrie, who has hardly played all year, but is pushing for selection.
Do you upset the apple cart to bring all three back, and if you do, at whose expense?
Oisin Mullin looks like one that could make way, whilst Zach Tuohy would be feeling a little vulnerable with Stewart set to be back.
The big question is around Guthrie, and whether you take the risk on a body that has not held up for a couple of years over someone like Tanner Bruhn, Shaun Mannagh, or Jack Bowes.
And then, there is the heart/head decision, and it involves Tom Hawkins.
The big fella is going to make a run at getting back, but if he does, he is going to have to displace Shannon Neale.
“What about me?” says Shannon. Or maybe he sings it!
Neale was excellent in this game, particularly early when he provided a strong marking target for the Cats. He finished with 2.2 for the night, but he dragged in nine marks, including three contested grabs, and four marks inside 50. I look at him and see a young player starting to find his feet in this team, and in this game, we got a glimpse of what could be.
Neale is just 22 years old, and whilst he is raw, he is finding his place in this Geelong side right now. He hardly put a step wrong in this game, and to be dropped would be incredibly unfair.
The onus is on Hawkins getting himself right, and if he does, Chris Scott and his team will have a tough decision to make. I seem to remember a young bloke taking over a Grand Final back in the day. Imagine another one doing it in 2024?
You’d hate to see that chance removed before he can make good on it.
He’s had enough, and now he wants his share!
TAG, OR NOT TO TAG?
If you’re going to tag someone at Geelong now, who do you throw your stopper on to?
Tom Stewart has been the player most likely to cop the attention, and Port did have success with that move in Round Nine, but they went one better in this game and kept him to no touches and no influence, as he was a late withdrawal (perhaps upsetting the Jed McEntee matchup?) and it didn’t matter.
Do you attempt to throw someone onto Max Holmes?
Some of his line breaking in this one was electrifying. I continue to be surprised by how quick he is. Zak Butters is quick, but he couldn’t make up the ground on Holmes – he knew it, too, bouncing away as he ran forward. He took on another opponent later in the game, as well.
Whether Holmes is playing in the guts or off half-back, his run and carry genuinely hurt. You cannot just allow him the time and space to run with the footy, so even though Stewart will come back in and assume the position of half-back interceptor, I would be looking at Holmes as my primary target to pump the brakes on.
Who elevates their game if you do that?
I spoke about Zach Guthrie – he’s been excellent in 2024, but he lacks the legspeed to do what Holmes does. Lawson Humphries was impressive again in this one – he might be able to step it up a notch. And you could also lean a little more on Ollie Dempsey by having him push back into defence more often (he loves the forward run as a wingman).
There are always ways around a tagging role, but the way the Cats are playing their footy, it seems that they just have to make sure they’re well set up in defence, and they can combat things pretty damn well.
And as covered, above, their back six is now working like clockwork. Maybe the time for tagging anyone on this team is done?
CATS – FLAG FAVOURITES?
Things change quickly in September. We’ve seen finals series where one team strikes gold with their form and runs roughshod over the competition. Being the best team through the home and away season is one thing, but being cherry ripe at the pointy end of the season… the Cats know how to play this game.
You would have heard all the numbers – 16 of the past 18 finals series have featured Geelong, with 14 of those having the Cats move into a Prelim Final. This simply should not be happening – equalisation was supposed to prevent this.
I guess nobody bothered to pass the news on at Sleep Hollow?
Geelong get an MCG Prelim, with Carlton the only possible scenario where they won’t have a distinct home-state advantage. I know this may not sit well with many. I know that some who want new blood in the mix might shudder at the thought, but Geelong are now in the box seat.
Two more wins, and it is glory once more.
PORT – COOKED?
I’m a bit torn. This was the game they were supposed to make a statement. Unfortunately, that statement was “we’re shit!”
If they can take any solace from things, I suppose they can look at the way they whacked the Sydney Swans a while back. Sydney were able to rally and find their game again – it can happen. Port’s confidence will be shaken, but every team has poor days – the Power just happened to have their first bad one in seven games in the first final.
But yes… I’m torn, because watching Port in this game gave me no belief that they can now push through, win two more games and then take home the flag. If they go out in straight sets, what does that mean for this club and their coach?
Next week it is either the Hawks or the Dogs. The heat is on at Alberton.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
Joel Selwood is one of my all-time favourite players, and with his “quick” wit, he is fast becoming my favourite special comments man.
And now for good reasons.
Anyway, as Ollie Wines and Patrick Dangerfield tangled on the ground, I thought I must have accidentally clicked onto a strange website seven or eight times to find a link that matched Joel’s comments.
“Look at that, two 100 kilo men just going at it…”
Yes Joel… keep your pants on, mate.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. It is a labour of love for me, and having you guys as members of the site basically keeps me going. So sincerely… thank you – HB
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