Post Match. Cats pip Pies All comments.

[Magpietothemax]

We still have Finn McCrae, Caleb Poulter, Trey Ruscoe who displayed plenty of talent and potential last year, yet to play a game in 2022. We will be able to rotate our youngsters throughout the year. I am thrilled that our new game style is allowing this talent to express itself. I love what our team is producing right now.

[Lazza]

(2) Umpires should be on a demerit system with points lost for every bad decision in the games' reviews. This should result in suspensions or demotion to the VFL. There has to be a consequence for bad decisions.

Totally agree but the VFL/AFL have always been reluctant to act on umpires in case they have problems attracting people to do this. Years ago, a radio station was warned that they will lose their license to broadcast footy unless Sam Newman refrained from criticising umpires, so they ended up sacking Newman. So proper public accountability of umpires will never happen And you have to wonder how well their current system is working when the one constant in every season is the inconsistency of the umpiring. It will be a problem forever because the problem is not admitted so logically it cannot be resolved. Go figure………….

[Jezza]

Chin up guys.

I was a little deflated immediately after the game. Upon reflection, I feel upbeat about the direction we're heading in. There's a lot to be excited about despite the manner of the defeat which stings because we relinquished a 37 point lead.

Geelong are a battle hardened and experienced team. They're not the sort of team to panic even if the game is going against them at various stages. Everyone did note pre-match that their talls and bigger bodied players would be our biggest challenge which proved to be the case in the final quarter.

The first half was good in a lot of areas except in front of goal. Missed too many shots early, which haunted us later on.

The third quarter was outstanding. Won the clearances, moved the ball quickly and started getting rewarded on the scoreboard. That part of the game is what will keep supporters optimistic going forward. It was great to watch.

The last quarter collapse occurred because we lost the centre clearances badly and we tired ourselves out after exerting ourselves hard for the first three quarters. We simply need to get fitter, but that takes a few pre-seasons for it to show tangible results especially among younger players.

Tonight is a good lesson for the young players and our coaching staff and will hopefully serve us well going forward in addressing our weaknesses. It's going to be a season of ups and downs, but everyone was prepared for that.

The long term aim for the recruiters is to find a proper key forward which we've been lacking for years. We have a lot of good mid-sized forwards but that reliable tall marking forward is essential in winning premierships.

If someone said we'd be 2-1 and nearly 3-0 before the season started, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.

Play with the same intensity as we did tonight against West Coast next week, I'm confident we'll rebound with a strong victory.

[Magpietothemax]

Fly's presser was fantastic. While disappointed with not getting the 4 points, the main emphasis of his comments was on the positive aspects of our performance tonight. He confirmed that our chaotic, high energy game style was taxing, and we are finding out about ourselves. We have found out that we need to get better at sustaining it. He did not think it was a physical issue, but more one of a mental challenge. A mature, experienced opposition won t allow you to keep playing the way you want, so we have work to do in building up the necessary levels of focus and cohesion. He also mentioned that our defensive system collapsed in the last quarter, and we need to draw the lessons. He loves Ginnivan, and doesn't care if he dyes his hair pink while he brings to the table what he is currently doing. He also mentioned that there are several players in the VFL currently waiting in the wings, pressing their case for selection. The warmth and optimism in his comments and manner were so refreshing, and reassuring. I think we are heading in a very positive direction.

[Cam]

Rather have our team than Geelongs. They are getting wins today and sacrificing the chance at higher things later on in the season. Their old guys haven't got enough in them to face a fresh faced unit and survive deep into the finals. We are coming, like a tidal wave.

[#26]

Young players getting tired doesn't explain why we got slaughtered for clearances out of the middle in the last quarter. Plenty of senior players went missing too.

[Lazza]

Rather have our team than Geelongs. They are getting wins today and sacrificing the chance at higher things later on in the season. Their old guys haven't got enough in them to face a fresh faced unit and survive deep into the finals. We are coming, like a tidal wave.

Not too sure about Geelong not going deep into the finals. A lesser team would have lost today but I was impressed with their polish, composure, confidence and experience to blow Collingwood away in the last quarter. I can see them giving the flag a real shake this year. I was impressed with them.
On the other hand I stand convinced that Collingwood is well behind quite a few teams and will require a bit more recruiting of talent before they come. They may well come like a tidal wave but not for a while yet.

[Quincy]

Fly's presser was fantastic. While disappointed with not getting the 4 points, the main emphasis of his comments was on the positive aspects of our performance tonight. He confirmed that our chaotic, high energy game style was taxing, and we are finding out about ourselves. We have found out that we need to get better at sustaining it. He did not think it was a physical issue, but more one of a mental challenge. A mature, experienced opposition won t allow you to keep playing the way you want, so we have work to do in building up the necessary levels of focus and cohesion. He also mentioned that our defensive system collapsed in the last quarter, and we need to draw the lessons. He loves Ginnivan, and doesn't care if he dyes his hair pink while he brings to the table what he is currently doing. He also mentioned that there are several players in the VFL currently waiting in the wings, pressing their case for selection. The warmth and optimism in his comments and manner were so refreshing, and reassuring. I think we are heading in a very positive direction.

Our defence was a rabble tonight. What are the coaches doing with it? I swear half the time the blokes did not know where they should be, who they were meant to be on. We have improved as a team but they have stuffed up the defence.

[swoop42]

When you're up against a side with 2 AA quality key forwards you need your best key defender to sacrifice their attacking inclinations and be given a more old fashioned lock down role on one of them for the night. Without Roughead in support this was even more critical.

Moore for all of his ability has a habit of giving his opponent to much freedom and puts to much faith in his own ability to read the play or make up the ground required because of his athleticism.

Moore should have been given the task on Hawkins, Maynard on Cameron when he pushes up the field with Howe roaming the D50 in support when he plays deep.

[think positive]

Rather have our team than Geelongs. They are getting wins today and sacrificing the chance at higher things later on in the season. Their old guys haven't got enough in them to face a fresh faced unit and survive deep into the finals. We are coming, like a tidal wave.

I AGREE! those ol dinosaurs have to die off sooner rather than later surely!

ive just been through all my shots, ill upload tomorrow

i read back through most of the game day thread to find out what happened with Jack, gees they really did a number on him, twice! you should see the look on selwoods face, hes such a damn dirty ducking piece of shit turd. he coulda been an all ot legend, but he will always be remembered as a dirty ducker.

we lost by 13 points. Degoey kicked how many points? your not earning back my respect with that crap!

what was the free and 50 for? theres one goal. Howes non paid mark resulted in another i think. how many frees did they get in front of goal? honestly, how is it possible the umpiring is this shit! i thought argueing with the ump was an automatic 50? yet we got none!

i said before the first game, win lose or draw, ill be happy if we show some fight. as much as i truly detest the scumbags, im not shattered, i half expected a 10 goal loss. we lost, they didnt win. we ran out of legs. Ginny will learn a lot from the bullshit he took. and how good is Lipinski! love the kid!what a game! i thoroughly enjoyed most of it! proud as hell, yeah there were blips, for me DeGoey needs to step up, Adams is a major dissappointment right now, i really wish Krueger could have played! I really wish we had won, but hey, it will come, of that im sure! cheers

[Jezza]

Fly's post match presser:

What did you say to the players after the game?

"It's hard not to be disappointed when you get to the stage of the game where you're up by 5 goals at 3QT and not get a result. I just think with where we're at, at the moment that we're still finding out a little bit about ourselves; at what level we can compete at against mature opposition and quality team, so we're still finding out a little bit about ourselves. I thought there was a lot of positives to take out of it. I think one of the good things that we reflected on was the fight, particularly when the Cats got a couple of goals up in the third quarter and our ability to fight back and then end up kicking 9 goals in the quarter. I think that's something we will definitely take out of it".

What do you think shifted for Geelong to get momentum in the last quarter?

"We knew what was coming. We knew that they would get more aggressive, go through the corridor and play a really attacking mark and play on type style so we knew it was coming. It's one thing to know it's coming but another thing in trying to stop it. I think with our group we're playing a really high energy, ferocious attack of the game and the ball. We're just finding out whether we can do that for four quarters at the moment or try to do it for four quarters. That's two weeks in a row where we haven't really scored much in the last quarter so they're little things we're finding out about ourselves".

Did you anticipate the struggle to play four quarters of football or is it surprising?

"Nah, we've had an enormous pre-season. Jarrod Wade [has] come down from the Rabbitohs and has got them [players] really fit. The players have had a huge body of work. It's not a fitness thing. It's about being able to do our style for long enough and clearly when you're playing a team like the Cats, they're not going to allow you to do your style for four quarters so we're just finding out about ourselves a little bit".

What was it like in the coaches box in the second half with the extremes of the third and final quarter?

"There's moments of that. I think the momentum shifts is about making the most of them. I even thought about the second quarter where I think we only kicked 4.11 up until half time, but we just didn't capitalise on the chances that we had. The game felt like it was how we wanted it to look. The inside 50 battle we won, we won the contested possession and pressure at times was really high. It looked like how we want the game to be played, but funny sometimes you don't always get the result. We got shown tonight that you've got to be able to do it for longer".

You used Nick Daicos as a mid-forward tonight. Is that a preference going forward or is it a side balance type thing?

"We are conscious of Nick's workload. Funnily enough, that player that's played through the midfield, Tyler Brown has been doing it for the last couple of games and [N Daicos] has not been getting much mid time so we thought we would just play a guy like Nick who can play everywhere and make the most of those minutes he's got. He's capable of playing multiple roles. I think futuristically he'll probably play more mid-forward. We're trying to look after him and play him a bit up half back as well".

What did you make of Nick Daicos' goal?

"Yeah, it's a nice first goal of his career. He's going to be an outstanding player for our footy club. We've got to make sure we look after him and get him through and make sure he can show everyone what he's capable of for the whole year".

The current game style is radically different to last year. Do you feel like from a teaching perspective it's still developing each week and that there's still growth?

"I've been really pleased to be honest. I wasn't sure if we would pick up the game style this quick. We've been really competitive and again tonight you saw our style. You come and watch us play and you think 'wow this is an exciting brand, our pressure is really high' and you know how we're trying to play. We've got to try and do it for longer. I think ultimately the players after tonight felt like they can trust the system and it works. I think these games even though you don't get the result, there's a level of belief in what we're doing is right and now we've just got to be able to do it for longer".

Is the style you brought because you think it's going to be more successful or is it due to the personnel and what would suit them specifically.

"It's all stemmed from trying to get the ball inside 50 more. 18th last year and trying to get the ball with some more territory and that was always the plan at the start. We trained it really hard. Taking more contest and being a little bit more chaotic, but it's a high taxing game plan. We've got a young group that we might just have to evolve a little bit and see if we can manage that energy to get us through the four quarters".

Cameron and Hawkins kicked 9 between them. Did you feel you were missing a big bodied defender?

"We're getting Roughy back in a couple of weeks and Charlie Dean is out. I think our system sort of failed us a little bit at times. Those sort of key defenders that were all on the end of those key forwards kicking those goals, I think our system failed us at times particularly late in the game when we just sort of got a little bit out of whack and we've got some work to do on that".

Chris Scott referenced that a lot of Geelong's senior players got around each other in a huddle to do it for Joel Selwood in his record breaking game as captain. Did you feel that in the last quarter?

"I can't say that specifically. I'm sure if I was wearing a Cats jumper, I would want to make sure to do everything I can to support Joel. I said this during the week, I think Joel has been an outstanding role model for our game. I've had a little bit to do with the family with Joel's brother way back when I played and I have the utmost respect for him and congratulations to him on breaking the record".

Jack Ginnivan had a bit of attention tonight, what do you think of the cheeky digs?

"To be honest I don't really care if he has pink hair as long as he keeps playing his role, putting pressure on and getting under the opposition's skin. I think there's a role for that, and we're within the rules. He's only a young player who's played 6 or 7 games now so he's finding out what best suits him to play at this level. I like what he's bringing to the table right now".

You must have been happy with Reef McInnes. What did you think of his debut?

"Yeah, if you watch the VFL today they had a great victory against a really experienced Cats team, full strength. We had a lot of kids playing VFL and playing good footy. Reef was one this week and there's a couple of more just waiting in the wings for their opportunity".

What was the issue with Steele Sidebottom during the week?

"Steele had some gastro early in the week and didn't train on Thursday. He's got some cramps late in the game, but he'll be fine".

Do you know where you're at in the competition? You were 17th last year and now you were close to 3-0?

"Nah, we got no idea [laughs*]. We're just working it out. It's round 3. We've shown in three rounds that our best looks really competitive. We've shown that we've been matched by St Kilda and Geelong tonight and we've been able to respond. We don't know where we're at yet".

https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/video/ ... 8908273001

[RudeBoy]

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.....but didn't. A very disappointing way to lose a game we had all but won at 3/4 time.

Obviously our errant kicking in the first half probably cost us the game, but nevertheless, we should have been able to hang on from 5 goals up at 3/4 time.

We all wish we had a top key power forward, but we don't. We will have to make do with a combination of Mihocek, Cameron, Krueger and occasionally Cox this year.

We probably still need another strong bodied in and under midfielder to relieve some pressure on our current midfield group. By the last quarter, they had run out of legs.

Our defence is still missing one good tall, so Madgen will make way as soon as Roughead is available.

On the bright side, we showed in the 1st and especially the 3rd quarter, that we are capable of playing exciting match winning football against top opponents. We just need the fitness to be able to sustain that ferocious pressure for longer. It will come.

We are getting good experience into the likes of Henry and Ginnivan, and they will only get better. I think we've found a player in McInnis.

On this form, at 2 wins from 3 games, we are still tracking to make the final 8.

[Jezza]

Young players getting tired doesn't explain why we got slaughtered for clearances out of the middle in the last quarter. Plenty of senior players went missing too.

Centre clearances had been a big weakness of ours leading into this season.

While this has been an area of improvement, we've been noticeably exposed in this department on two occasions (the 3rd quarter against St Kilda and 4th quarter against Geelong).

It's something we need to work on because it can change the tide of a game rapidly.

[Jezza]

Sidebottom was on the bench in the last quarter did he get injured?

According to the coach he suffered cramping, but he'll be fine.

[think positive]

thanks for the presser Jezza, much appreciated,