Geelong v Fremantle – The Four Points
At three-quarter time in today’s round one match-up between Geelong and Fremantle, the result was genuinely in the balance. The Cats, having dominated the first half with a level of tackling and on-ball pressure more akin to a wet weather game at the SCG, had seen their nine-goal half time lead be whittled away to just 21 points, courtesy of a ten-minute patch of stupefying brilliance from Fremantle debutant, Murphy Reid, whose four goals seemed to have inspired his teammates to believe the impossible was suddenly very possible.
The Cats had ground to a halt, the Dockers were firing on all cylinders, and we all needed to take a deep breath before what would surely be a thrilling final 30 minutes.
Sometimes, an eight-minute break is as good as a holiday.
The Cats returned from the rooms (they were allowed into the rooms at three-quarter time pursuant to the league’s heat policy) resembling much closer the side that had built up the first-half lead than the side which had ended the third term all but on the canvas. After playing some tempo footy and keeping the ball away from their opposition for the first eight minutes of the last term, the Cats went into destroy mode, kicking ten of the final 11 goals of the match, running out 78-point victors and sending a message to the competition that this Cats team is not to be toyed with.
Aside from that 10-minute patch in the third quarter – a period of time that would leave both sides with more questions than answers – the Cats were utterly dominant, belting Fremantle in every sector of the ground. Sam De Koning was super impressive in his first game as a ruckman, Bailey Smith reminded us all of what he can do on the field in his first game in the hoops, and Max Holmes continued to justify all the hype as the Cats increasingly did as they pleased. Coming into the match with a clear emphasis on applying as much physical pressure on the Dockers ball-carriers as they could, the Cats racked up 58 tackles in the first half alone, displaying a level of defensive dedication that could see them battling out for silverware come September.
For the Dockers, outside of the debutant Reid and his ten minutes of madness (and don’t worry, I’ll have more to say on him later), there wasn’t much to like. Their defence looked overawed and prone to making simple errors by hand and foot, their midfield without Hayden Young looked thin on genuine talent, and their twin towers up forward failed to gain any real ascendancy, though admittedly that was due more to the general ineptitude of the midfield than their own performances. In short, the Dockers effort was one more akin to a side hoping for an early draft pick, not a side that has spent the offseason letting all and sundry know that the time for excuses is over.
Anyways, enough of the preamble, let’s get stuck into the four points from today’s game.
Sam De Koning – A better ruckman than his brother?
I’ll admit, there was a time last season where I wondered if Sam De Koning’s best football had either already happened or would be played elsewhere. He wasn’t getting a game in the Cat’s best team and despite playing a meaningful role as a 21-year-old full-back in their 2022 premiership, seemed out of form and out of favour at Geelong. As the trade period swung into action, I fully expected his name to get mentioned as both one that multiple clubs were targeting and one that Geelong were willing to listen to deal for the right price. While opposition clubs were interested, the Cats quickly shut down any talks, insisting that De Koning was a required player and would be remaining at Geelong for the foreseeable future.
A positional switch into the ruck looks like it’s more than rejuvenated a career I feared had stagnated, and if today’s effort is any indication of what is to come, he may soon answer the question asked above in the affirmative. Opposed to Fremantle pair Luke Jackson and Liam Reidy, De Koning was far and away the best ruckman on the ground, having 25 touches, 18 hit outs, six marks and six inside-50s, displaying a level of athleticism and agility superior to either of the Dockers big men.
In preparation for today’s game, I noted that the ruck match-up would be one to watch and could go a fair way to deciding the victor. With Jackson the most experienced ruck on the field, I fully expected him to be licking his lips coming up against De Koning. Here was his chance to send a message to the rest of the competition that, in Sean Darcy’s absence, he was more than ready to step up and grab the number one mantle that so many believe he is capable of. However, it wasn’t to be as De Koning started the match on top and rarely let up.
De Koning moved with ease around the ground, displaying a level of footy IQ I wasn’t aware he possessed. The added benefit of having him – a former tall defender – as a ruckman is that he is more than capable of playing a kick behind the ball and is able to read the play upfield and shift himself into dangerous positions, forcing the offensive ball-carrier to change their mind. Several times in the opening half both he and the ever-reliable Tom Stewart were able to do this, forcing advancing Fremantle defenders and midfielders into handballs and sideways footpasses, stymieing any quick offensive movement and allowing the Cats to send more and more numbers into defence.
While his hit-out work was and will continue to be subpar, it’s an area that De Koning will only get better at as the year goes on. If he can continue to outwork his opponent around the ground, I’m sure the Cats will take it as a win.
A little less vanilla, a little more direction, please
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir (not Longmire, as commentators continue to say) made headlines about a month ago as he commented that his team intentionally played a ‘vanilla’ brand of football against the Indigenous All Stars so as to not ‘show their hand’ to the rest of the competition. While the idea has some merit, I wonder if – based on what we saw today – Fremantle would have benefited from the extra hit-out trialling a more attacking game style.
Admittedly today, they were hit early, hard and often by a level of pressure that few would have expected from the Cats, but as the game wore on it became more and more frustrating to see Fremantle defenders exit their defensive zone and immediately look for a handball option. They possess two of the best tall forwards in the comp – Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss – so their desire to move the ball through the middle by hand is confounding.
The end result was just eight marks inside 50, and a mere five tackles in forward 50, suggesting that not only was their ball movement slow but their willingness to defend once the ball was in their attacking zone was anaemic. It was no coincidence that Fremantle’s best ten minutes of the match came when they indeed moved the ball quickly, were able to find the out-number on the nearest wing and delivered penetrating passes inside 50.
One can only hope that, with Shai Bolton’s return scheduled for next week and Hayden Young’s within the next month, Fremantle will play with the courage and vigour they displayed in the ten minute frenzy in the third term more often. If they do, they’ll make more errors, yes, but they’ll also be more dangerous and create more chances to win.
Bailey Smith – Cottoning on to the Geelong way of life
After a more than 12-month lay-off, and a change of teams, expectations were subdued for Bailey Smith’s first game in the hoops. They needn’t have been. Getting better as the game went on, and finishing as the best player on the ground, Smith reminded us of what we may have forgotten – that when he is fit and firing, he’s amongst the best in the game. Adding a white headband to his customary flowing blonde hair, Smith couldn’t have looked more at home amongst his new Geelong teammates.
His efforts today harkened back to the 2021 finals series that truly announced him as a burgeoning super-star of the competition. He gathered 32 disposals, had seven clearances and a game high 12 score involvements, and led me to wonder whether the year away from the game has inspired him to find that extra level that sets apart the ‘greats’ from the ‘very goods’. Time will tell, of course, and the second and third games back are always harder than the first, but as a neutral observer who remembers Smith at his best, I saw everything that I could have wanted to see today – the aggression at the ball, driving his legs away from the contest, the ability to hold the ball a split second longer so he can find the correct option.
Adding Smith to a midfield group already containing Max Holmes, Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Stewart, Jack Bowes, Ollie Dempsey and Tom Atkins seems unfair, but the Cats just always seem to find a way to get better. And with Smith, they may have just found the ingredient that was missing against Brisbane at the MCG last September.
Murphy Reid – A diamond in the rough
If you’re a Freo fan and you’ve made it this far, I guess you deserve a little treat, so here it is. At 20 minutes into the third quarter, it would be fair to say that Murphy Reid was having an underwhelming if not slightly disappointing debut. A kid who hadn’t put a foot wrong since joining the Dockers at the draft last November, his first shot at goal would go down as amongst the worst five kicks of the day, and with his team getting pulverized all over the ground, he had every right to drop his head and begin planning for next week. But that’s not what Reid is made of.
Presented with a second opportunity to kick his first goal, he made sure not to let this chance slip, selling some candy to Gryan Miers along the way. Before he could even finish soaking up the congratulations from his first goal, a second opportunity fell in his lap and he proved good enough to take this too. Before he could blink, he added a third and a fourth and suddenly, not only were the Dockers back in the game, but they were being led there by a kid on his debut.
Athletes often talk being ‘in the zone’ or in a ‘flow state’ and what they mean by this is being so closely connected with the task at hand that completing it becomes almost automatic. Some athletes will compete for years, decades even, and only achieve this state of being a handful of times or less. Reid achieved it today, and for ten minutes glowed white hot and touched greatness. Time will prove whether he can achieve this again, but if today proved anything for the Dockers, it’s that they may have unearthed a star.
Stray Shots
- I often think of Geelong as the final boss of the AFL – across five of the last six seasons they have either won the flag (2022) or been beaten in September by the eventual premiers (2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024). As such, playing and beating them is the best way to prove your finals credentials. Unfortunately for the Dockers, they failed the challenge badly today.
- I liked Jonathon Brown on the coverage describing Jack Bowes as a ‘developing midfielder’. We’re all aware that he’s 27 years old, right?
- Concerning scenes in the first quarter as Tom Stewart was taken off with a neck injury, following a collision with Luke Jackson. Fortunately, he was ok and returned to the field, playing an important role in the last quarter as Geelong initially wrestled back the momentum and then ran away with the win.
- As I mentioned above, with no Hayden Young and a poor showing from Caleb Serong, the Dockers midfield looked thin on talent. This wasn’t helped by both Nathan O’Driscoll and Matthew Johnson struggling to have any major impact on the game. Both O’Driscoll and Johnson have talent and should be persevered with but would want to perform better than they did today.
- Brandon Walker looked like he really struggled today, consistently missing teammates by hand and by foot.
- Danger played an interesting role – almost a small centre half-forward, allowing Shannon Neale to play deeper and Jeremy Cameron to roam around. Cameron looked like he struggled a bit and got better once Danger was moved back to the midfield. One to keep an eye on as the season builds.
- I really liked the game of Mitch Knevitt today but couldn’t find room for him in my review. He’s got a bit of a look of a Bond villain but has a man’s body and while not silky skilled, won’t shirk a contest.
- The Cats wingmen – Jack Bowes and Ollie Dempsey – really dominated early on, finding a fair amount of room behind the Dockers defence. In general, I thought they convincingly won their battles (over Jaegar O’Meara and Jeremy Sharp, respectively).
- I found myself writing a few times that Freo were really missing Shai Bolton in that mid-forward role, but can you really miss someone who hasn’t played a game for you yet?
- A really concerning final 20 minutes or so from the Dockers as it looked like they just rolled over and, dare I say it, gave up?
- Shannon Neale’s attack on the ball was really impressive, but if I was a fellow tall forward I might take him aside and ask him to please be aware who he’s jumping into. I wouldn’t want to see the Cats miss Jeremy Cameron for a stretch of games because Neale broke his ribs trying to take mark of the year.
- Sam Switkowski finishes the game with a groin injury – hopefully the Dockers can replace him with Bolton and Michael Walters next week?
Next week
The Cats will travel back up the highway to Melbourne to Marvel Stadium to face the Saints next Saturday night, while Fremantle host Sydney next Sunday afternoon.
