With a hungry young core, plus a key offseason recruit in Steven May, the Dees looked set to finally enjoy a period of sustained success, and even possibly break the game's longest premiership drought. The tagger is averaging just 11 disposals and three tackles per game, well down on his 17 disposals and nearly four tackles per game last season.
Close. Niall is an award-winning journalist who discovered from an early age he had more to offer watching and writing about sport than playing it.
The seven-footer eyeing a place in the AFL, Tiger trouble? AFL semifinals: Teams, tips, odds and more, Heroes & Villains: Pies forwards stand tall; Tomahawk's Cat-astrophe, Magpies stun Eagles by a point in thrilling elimination final, Saints dust Dogs in thriller to set up semi with Tigers, Saints hang onto thrilling AFL finals win, Lions roar past Tigers for first preliminary final in 16 years, Cats misfire as Power secure preliminary finals spot, Motlop magic fires Port into prelim finals, 'A deal with the devil': An oral history of Essendon's 2000 season.
[54] Despite this inconsistent form, the Cats's still finished the regular season with a 16–6 win–loss record and placed first on the league's ladder, qualifying for the 2019 finals series and earning Geelong their first minor premiership since the 2008 season. Patrick Dangerfield was named Geelong's best and fairest player, polling 268 votes for the Carji Greeves Medal ahead of second-placed Tim Kelly on 259.5 votes. [28] Tom Hawkins was the club's leading goalkicker for the eighth successive season, scoring 56 goals. • Get AFL news and more in your inbox It looked like a training run. [14][15] Conversely, rookies Jack Henry and Mark O'Connor were both upgraded to the Cats' senior list for 2019. And instead of backing the style that had helped propel the team up the ladder in previous seasons, Goodwin and his coaching unit suddenly focused on controlling the ball by taking more marks and kicking shorter. [49] Travelling to the MCG again in round 12, the Cats defeated Richmond by 67 points; the Tigers had won 26 of their 28 previous games at the venue. "They've had three defeats this year that have all been smashings," St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt said on his Melbourne SEN breakfast radio program after the weekend's shellacking.
West Coast plays Gold Coast on Saturday, and though the Suns are by no means the measuring stick of the AFL, the Eagles will desperately want to put in a strong showing to restore some faith both inside and outside the club. Champion Data statistics show how much things changed from rounds 1-3 in 2019, to rounds 4-23 that year. With two games to go in the home-and-away season, it's highly unlikely Melbourne play finals, which would be a huge blow to a club that earmarked a return to the finals as a pass mark for 2020. So what has changed at the Eagles from last year's flag-winning side? [26][27], Geelong utilised 34 players from their playing list this season;[28] of these players, five played in their first AFL game: Tom Atkins, Jordan Clark, Charlie Constable, Darcy Fort and Gryan Miers. If there's a Brisbane storm on Saturday night, will the AFL grand final be delayed? It was the three AFL games that made Simon Goodwin blink and set Melbourne on a downward spiral. At that stage, much like in 2018, the Dees were still dominating contested footy, clearances, time in forward half and inside 50s, and playing on quickly after marks. Kelly also received the AFL Coaches Association's Best Young Player award. Round Table: Was Chris Scott right to label Geelong's critics 'lazy'? Since their breakthrough preliminary final appearance in 2018, the Demons have won just 12 of 37 games. [1] The Cats had four assistant coaches this season, each responsible for specific positions within games: James Rahilly (forward line), Matthew Knights and Nigel Lappin (midfield), Matthew Scarlett (back line). [64], Geelong held their player awards night at Crown Palladium on 3 October, with former player Doug Wade presenting the club's best and fairest award, the Carji Greeves Medal. [29] Additionally, Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan played their first games for the Cats, having previously played for Western Bulldogs and Sydney respectively.
I don't blame the players, I think this is a strategy consideration.". [42], Geelong began the regular season on 22 March against Collingwood at the MCG; despite featuring six new players in their team lineup, the Cats narrowly won the game by seven points. ... who lamented the Eagles' inability to wrestle control back from Geelong… Why the Blues must go all-in on blue-chip stocks. [16], Geelong were involved in six trades during the annual trade period, the first of which involved the Cats exchanging Lincoln McCarthy (along with picks 55 and 59 in the upcoming national draft) to Brisbane for picks 43 and 62. [56] Geelong defeated West Coast by 20 points in the following week's semi-final, progressing to the third week of the finals series as a result. After steady steps forward, firstly under Paul Roos and then Goodwin -- built on a ferocious contested ball brigade feeding off Max Gawn's sublime tap work -- the Demons took a giant leap in 2018, winning two drought-breaking finals. "There wasn't a definite change of approach," he said on ABC Grandstand after the match. How traditional AFL clubs can learn from the 'cocky kids'. [23][24] Geelong also selected Tom Atkins (pick 11) in the rookie draft; Atkins had been playing with the club's Victorian Football League (VFL) team since 2014. [46][50], Geelong were defeated by Port Adelaide in their first match following their week off; it was the eighth consecutive year the Cats had lost after a mid-season bye. AFL Draft Power Rankings: Key forwards jostling for No. The Eagles have never been a knee-jerk reaction club and are unlikely to drop players just for the sake of it. The Cats also fielded a reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL), where they were defeated in an elimination final by Port Melbourne. It was Dangerfield's third Carji Greeves Medal, having previously won the award the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In the first three games, the Dees were the No. [45][46] Playing against arch-rival Hawthorn on Easter Monday, Geelong overcame match-day injuries to midfielder Brandan Parfitt and ruckman Esava Ratugolea to post a 23-point win. [68] Teammates Gary Ablett and Mark Blicavs were initially shortlisted but ultimately not selected in the final team. Is finishing in the top four now actually a disadvantage? Five barriers Geelong must overcome to win the flag", "Cats' Hawkins kicks five in 250th AFL game", "Collingwood prove too strong for Geelong, leaving minor premiers at risk of a 'straight sets' exit", "Geelong makes AFL preliminary final after beating West Coast Eagles by 20 points at MCG", "Richmond Tigers into AFL grand final after beating Geelong Cats by 19 points at MCG", "Finals flops: The red-hot teams who crashed out of September", "Great escape: Epic finish puts Giants into prelim against Pies", "Superstar Cat storms home to win third B&F ahead of wantaway teammate", "Patrick Dangerfield wins Geelong best and fairest for a second straight season", "2019 All Australian team: New skipper, nine debutants revealed", "Brutal pre-season helps 'Chook' nab Rising Star nomination", "Life of Gryan: Dreadlocked Cat the latest Rising Star", "Heir Jordan: No pre-season, no worries for Rising Cat", "Danger snubbed again for MVP nomination, five AAs miss out", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2019_Geelong_Football_Club_season&oldid=963648243, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Denotes player who was on the club's standard, This page was last edited on 21 June 2020, at 00:15. Dropping him may send a message to the rest of the squad that no player is guaranteed a spot in the side. Jennings, who was let go by Melbourne at the end of 2019 despite being described by Nathan Jones as "one of the best minds in footy I've seen," went on to say Goodwin's intensified defensive focus in 2019 was impacting the team's development and confidence. Possession gains in the forward half went from second to 10th. "But the challenge when it's all about defence is, it takes a lot of mental maturity to implement and then players can overthink the game and forget to play on instinct, and it becomes too complicated. Unsurprisingly, making such dramatic changes so quickly didn't work as the Demons tumbled to 17th. The next week, the Demons travelled to Geelong and were annihilated by 80 points despite dominating a host of stats, most notably 73 inside-50s for a paltry six goals, compared to Geelong's 20 majors from 48 inside-50s. [22] Additionally, Luke Dahlhaus joined the club as an unrestricted free agent. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. 1 play-on team in the league and third-ranked in kicking forward percentage. [48] Geelong's score of 21.7 (133) against Western Bulldogs in round 9 was their highest of the season, with the Cats recording eleven individual goalkickers in their win. I've seen more of that this year.". "I think there are some legitimate concerns.".
With a hungry young core, plus a key offseason recruit in Steven May, the Dees looked set to finally enjoy a period of sustained success, and even possibly break the game's longest premiership drought. The tagger is averaging just 11 disposals and three tackles per game, well down on his 17 disposals and nearly four tackles per game last season.
Close. Niall is an award-winning journalist who discovered from an early age he had more to offer watching and writing about sport than playing it.
The seven-footer eyeing a place in the AFL, Tiger trouble? AFL semifinals: Teams, tips, odds and more, Heroes & Villains: Pies forwards stand tall; Tomahawk's Cat-astrophe, Magpies stun Eagles by a point in thrilling elimination final, Saints dust Dogs in thriller to set up semi with Tigers, Saints hang onto thrilling AFL finals win, Lions roar past Tigers for first preliminary final in 16 years, Cats misfire as Power secure preliminary finals spot, Motlop magic fires Port into prelim finals, 'A deal with the devil': An oral history of Essendon's 2000 season.
[54] Despite this inconsistent form, the Cats's still finished the regular season with a 16–6 win–loss record and placed first on the league's ladder, qualifying for the 2019 finals series and earning Geelong their first minor premiership since the 2008 season. Patrick Dangerfield was named Geelong's best and fairest player, polling 268 votes for the Carji Greeves Medal ahead of second-placed Tim Kelly on 259.5 votes. [28] Tom Hawkins was the club's leading goalkicker for the eighth successive season, scoring 56 goals. • Get AFL news and more in your inbox It looked like a training run. [14][15] Conversely, rookies Jack Henry and Mark O'Connor were both upgraded to the Cats' senior list for 2019. And instead of backing the style that had helped propel the team up the ladder in previous seasons, Goodwin and his coaching unit suddenly focused on controlling the ball by taking more marks and kicking shorter. [49] Travelling to the MCG again in round 12, the Cats defeated Richmond by 67 points; the Tigers had won 26 of their 28 previous games at the venue. "They've had three defeats this year that have all been smashings," St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt said on his Melbourne SEN breakfast radio program after the weekend's shellacking.
West Coast plays Gold Coast on Saturday, and though the Suns are by no means the measuring stick of the AFL, the Eagles will desperately want to put in a strong showing to restore some faith both inside and outside the club. Champion Data statistics show how much things changed from rounds 1-3 in 2019, to rounds 4-23 that year. With two games to go in the home-and-away season, it's highly unlikely Melbourne play finals, which would be a huge blow to a club that earmarked a return to the finals as a pass mark for 2020. So what has changed at the Eagles from last year's flag-winning side? [26][27], Geelong utilised 34 players from their playing list this season;[28] of these players, five played in their first AFL game: Tom Atkins, Jordan Clark, Charlie Constable, Darcy Fort and Gryan Miers. If there's a Brisbane storm on Saturday night, will the AFL grand final be delayed? It was the three AFL games that made Simon Goodwin blink and set Melbourne on a downward spiral. At that stage, much like in 2018, the Dees were still dominating contested footy, clearances, time in forward half and inside 50s, and playing on quickly after marks. Kelly also received the AFL Coaches Association's Best Young Player award. Round Table: Was Chris Scott right to label Geelong's critics 'lazy'? Since their breakthrough preliminary final appearance in 2018, the Demons have won just 12 of 37 games. [1] The Cats had four assistant coaches this season, each responsible for specific positions within games: James Rahilly (forward line), Matthew Knights and Nigel Lappin (midfield), Matthew Scarlett (back line). [64], Geelong held their player awards night at Crown Palladium on 3 October, with former player Doug Wade presenting the club's best and fairest award, the Carji Greeves Medal. [29] Additionally, Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan played their first games for the Cats, having previously played for Western Bulldogs and Sydney respectively.
I don't blame the players, I think this is a strategy consideration.". [42], Geelong began the regular season on 22 March against Collingwood at the MCG; despite featuring six new players in their team lineup, the Cats narrowly won the game by seven points. ... who lamented the Eagles' inability to wrestle control back from Geelong… Why the Blues must go all-in on blue-chip stocks. [16], Geelong were involved in six trades during the annual trade period, the first of which involved the Cats exchanging Lincoln McCarthy (along with picks 55 and 59 in the upcoming national draft) to Brisbane for picks 43 and 62. [56] Geelong defeated West Coast by 20 points in the following week's semi-final, progressing to the third week of the finals series as a result. After steady steps forward, firstly under Paul Roos and then Goodwin -- built on a ferocious contested ball brigade feeding off Max Gawn's sublime tap work -- the Demons took a giant leap in 2018, winning two drought-breaking finals. "There wasn't a definite change of approach," he said on ABC Grandstand after the match. How traditional AFL clubs can learn from the 'cocky kids'. [23][24] Geelong also selected Tom Atkins (pick 11) in the rookie draft; Atkins had been playing with the club's Victorian Football League (VFL) team since 2014. [46][50], Geelong were defeated by Port Adelaide in their first match following their week off; it was the eighth consecutive year the Cats had lost after a mid-season bye. AFL Draft Power Rankings: Key forwards jostling for No. The Eagles have never been a knee-jerk reaction club and are unlikely to drop players just for the sake of it. The Cats also fielded a reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL), where they were defeated in an elimination final by Port Melbourne. It was Dangerfield's third Carji Greeves Medal, having previously won the award the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In the first three games, the Dees were the No. [45][46] Playing against arch-rival Hawthorn on Easter Monday, Geelong overcame match-day injuries to midfielder Brandan Parfitt and ruckman Esava Ratugolea to post a 23-point win. [68] Teammates Gary Ablett and Mark Blicavs were initially shortlisted but ultimately not selected in the final team. Is finishing in the top four now actually a disadvantage? Five barriers Geelong must overcome to win the flag", "Cats' Hawkins kicks five in 250th AFL game", "Collingwood prove too strong for Geelong, leaving minor premiers at risk of a 'straight sets' exit", "Geelong makes AFL preliminary final after beating West Coast Eagles by 20 points at MCG", "Richmond Tigers into AFL grand final after beating Geelong Cats by 19 points at MCG", "Finals flops: The red-hot teams who crashed out of September", "Great escape: Epic finish puts Giants into prelim against Pies", "Superstar Cat storms home to win third B&F ahead of wantaway teammate", "Patrick Dangerfield wins Geelong best and fairest for a second straight season", "2019 All Australian team: New skipper, nine debutants revealed", "Brutal pre-season helps 'Chook' nab Rising Star nomination", "Life of Gryan: Dreadlocked Cat the latest Rising Star", "Heir Jordan: No pre-season, no worries for Rising Cat", "Danger snubbed again for MVP nomination, five AAs miss out", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2019_Geelong_Football_Club_season&oldid=963648243, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Denotes player who was on the club's standard, This page was last edited on 21 June 2020, at 00:15. Dropping him may send a message to the rest of the squad that no player is guaranteed a spot in the side. Jennings, who was let go by Melbourne at the end of 2019 despite being described by Nathan Jones as "one of the best minds in footy I've seen," went on to say Goodwin's intensified defensive focus in 2019 was impacting the team's development and confidence. Possession gains in the forward half went from second to 10th. "But the challenge when it's all about defence is, it takes a lot of mental maturity to implement and then players can overthink the game and forget to play on instinct, and it becomes too complicated. Unsurprisingly, making such dramatic changes so quickly didn't work as the Demons tumbled to 17th. The next week, the Demons travelled to Geelong and were annihilated by 80 points despite dominating a host of stats, most notably 73 inside-50s for a paltry six goals, compared to Geelong's 20 majors from 48 inside-50s. [22] Additionally, Luke Dahlhaus joined the club as an unrestricted free agent. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. 1 play-on team in the league and third-ranked in kicking forward percentage. [48] Geelong's score of 21.7 (133) against Western Bulldogs in round 9 was their highest of the season, with the Cats recording eleven individual goalkickers in their win. I've seen more of that this year.". "I think there are some legitimate concerns.".
Their time in forward half slipped from second to sixth. In footy culture, 2 plus 2 rarely equals 4. The City of Greater Geelong continues to see growing pokies losses, recording a record-¬breaking total expenditure of $120.4 million last financial … It was a helter-skelter approach that suited a squad heavy on brute force but light on kicking skill. As he ponders another offseason full of difficult decisions, perhaps the biggest question he must answer is whether he continues to finetune this safety-first approach, or if it's better to revert back to the cornerstones of his successful 2018 campaign. Progressing to the third week of the 2019 finals series, Geelong was subsequently defeated in a preliminary final against Richmond by 19 points, eliminating them before the 2019 AFL Grand Final. "They don't have the kicking skills to execute this game-style ... they allowed Fremantle to set up defensively and dictate the game," he said on SEN. "Fremantle had a balanced game-style and Melbourne was misaligned - Melbourne should have adjusted their numbers about five minutes into the first quarter when the rain came down and turned it into a real one-on-one territory game - that would have suited them [because] they rarely win games through skill but they are a strong chance to win a pure contest game. Chris Scott continued as the club's senior coach for a ninth season, after signing a contract in August 2018 extending his tenure until the end of the 2022 season. Round Table: Which player is under the most pressure this finals series? Eagles coach Adam Simpson summed it up in his post-match press conference on Sunday.
With a hungry young core, plus a key offseason recruit in Steven May, the Dees looked set to finally enjoy a period of sustained success, and even possibly break the game's longest premiership drought. The tagger is averaging just 11 disposals and three tackles per game, well down on his 17 disposals and nearly four tackles per game last season.
Close. Niall is an award-winning journalist who discovered from an early age he had more to offer watching and writing about sport than playing it.
The seven-footer eyeing a place in the AFL, Tiger trouble? AFL semifinals: Teams, tips, odds and more, Heroes & Villains: Pies forwards stand tall; Tomahawk's Cat-astrophe, Magpies stun Eagles by a point in thrilling elimination final, Saints dust Dogs in thriller to set up semi with Tigers, Saints hang onto thrilling AFL finals win, Lions roar past Tigers for first preliminary final in 16 years, Cats misfire as Power secure preliminary finals spot, Motlop magic fires Port into prelim finals, 'A deal with the devil': An oral history of Essendon's 2000 season.
[54] Despite this inconsistent form, the Cats's still finished the regular season with a 16–6 win–loss record and placed first on the league's ladder, qualifying for the 2019 finals series and earning Geelong their first minor premiership since the 2008 season. Patrick Dangerfield was named Geelong's best and fairest player, polling 268 votes for the Carji Greeves Medal ahead of second-placed Tim Kelly on 259.5 votes. [28] Tom Hawkins was the club's leading goalkicker for the eighth successive season, scoring 56 goals. • Get AFL news and more in your inbox It looked like a training run. [14][15] Conversely, rookies Jack Henry and Mark O'Connor were both upgraded to the Cats' senior list for 2019. And instead of backing the style that had helped propel the team up the ladder in previous seasons, Goodwin and his coaching unit suddenly focused on controlling the ball by taking more marks and kicking shorter. [49] Travelling to the MCG again in round 12, the Cats defeated Richmond by 67 points; the Tigers had won 26 of their 28 previous games at the venue. "They've had three defeats this year that have all been smashings," St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt said on his Melbourne SEN breakfast radio program after the weekend's shellacking.
West Coast plays Gold Coast on Saturday, and though the Suns are by no means the measuring stick of the AFL, the Eagles will desperately want to put in a strong showing to restore some faith both inside and outside the club. Champion Data statistics show how much things changed from rounds 1-3 in 2019, to rounds 4-23 that year. With two games to go in the home-and-away season, it's highly unlikely Melbourne play finals, which would be a huge blow to a club that earmarked a return to the finals as a pass mark for 2020. So what has changed at the Eagles from last year's flag-winning side? [26][27], Geelong utilised 34 players from their playing list this season;[28] of these players, five played in their first AFL game: Tom Atkins, Jordan Clark, Charlie Constable, Darcy Fort and Gryan Miers. If there's a Brisbane storm on Saturday night, will the AFL grand final be delayed? It was the three AFL games that made Simon Goodwin blink and set Melbourne on a downward spiral. At that stage, much like in 2018, the Dees were still dominating contested footy, clearances, time in forward half and inside 50s, and playing on quickly after marks. Kelly also received the AFL Coaches Association's Best Young Player award. Round Table: Was Chris Scott right to label Geelong's critics 'lazy'? Since their breakthrough preliminary final appearance in 2018, the Demons have won just 12 of 37 games. [1] The Cats had four assistant coaches this season, each responsible for specific positions within games: James Rahilly (forward line), Matthew Knights and Nigel Lappin (midfield), Matthew Scarlett (back line). [64], Geelong held their player awards night at Crown Palladium on 3 October, with former player Doug Wade presenting the club's best and fairest award, the Carji Greeves Medal. [29] Additionally, Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan played their first games for the Cats, having previously played for Western Bulldogs and Sydney respectively.
I don't blame the players, I think this is a strategy consideration.". [42], Geelong began the regular season on 22 March against Collingwood at the MCG; despite featuring six new players in their team lineup, the Cats narrowly won the game by seven points. ... who lamented the Eagles' inability to wrestle control back from Geelong… Why the Blues must go all-in on blue-chip stocks. [16], Geelong were involved in six trades during the annual trade period, the first of which involved the Cats exchanging Lincoln McCarthy (along with picks 55 and 59 in the upcoming national draft) to Brisbane for picks 43 and 62. [56] Geelong defeated West Coast by 20 points in the following week's semi-final, progressing to the third week of the finals series as a result. After steady steps forward, firstly under Paul Roos and then Goodwin -- built on a ferocious contested ball brigade feeding off Max Gawn's sublime tap work -- the Demons took a giant leap in 2018, winning two drought-breaking finals. "There wasn't a definite change of approach," he said on ABC Grandstand after the match. How traditional AFL clubs can learn from the 'cocky kids'. [23][24] Geelong also selected Tom Atkins (pick 11) in the rookie draft; Atkins had been playing with the club's Victorian Football League (VFL) team since 2014. [46][50], Geelong were defeated by Port Adelaide in their first match following their week off; it was the eighth consecutive year the Cats had lost after a mid-season bye. AFL Draft Power Rankings: Key forwards jostling for No. The Eagles have never been a knee-jerk reaction club and are unlikely to drop players just for the sake of it. The Cats also fielded a reserves team in the Victorian Football League (VFL), where they were defeated in an elimination final by Port Melbourne. It was Dangerfield's third Carji Greeves Medal, having previously won the award the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In the first three games, the Dees were the No. [45][46] Playing against arch-rival Hawthorn on Easter Monday, Geelong overcame match-day injuries to midfielder Brandan Parfitt and ruckman Esava Ratugolea to post a 23-point win. [68] Teammates Gary Ablett and Mark Blicavs were initially shortlisted but ultimately not selected in the final team. Is finishing in the top four now actually a disadvantage? Five barriers Geelong must overcome to win the flag", "Cats' Hawkins kicks five in 250th AFL game", "Collingwood prove too strong for Geelong, leaving minor premiers at risk of a 'straight sets' exit", "Geelong makes AFL preliminary final after beating West Coast Eagles by 20 points at MCG", "Richmond Tigers into AFL grand final after beating Geelong Cats by 19 points at MCG", "Finals flops: The red-hot teams who crashed out of September", "Great escape: Epic finish puts Giants into prelim against Pies", "Superstar Cat storms home to win third B&F ahead of wantaway teammate", "Patrick Dangerfield wins Geelong best and fairest for a second straight season", "2019 All Australian team: New skipper, nine debutants revealed", "Brutal pre-season helps 'Chook' nab Rising Star nomination", "Life of Gryan: Dreadlocked Cat the latest Rising Star", "Heir Jordan: No pre-season, no worries for Rising Cat", "Danger snubbed again for MVP nomination, five AAs miss out", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2019_Geelong_Football_Club_season&oldid=963648243, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Denotes player who was on the club's standard, This page was last edited on 21 June 2020, at 00:15. Dropping him may send a message to the rest of the squad that no player is guaranteed a spot in the side. Jennings, who was let go by Melbourne at the end of 2019 despite being described by Nathan Jones as "one of the best minds in footy I've seen," went on to say Goodwin's intensified defensive focus in 2019 was impacting the team's development and confidence. Possession gains in the forward half went from second to 10th. "But the challenge when it's all about defence is, it takes a lot of mental maturity to implement and then players can overthink the game and forget to play on instinct, and it becomes too complicated. Unsurprisingly, making such dramatic changes so quickly didn't work as the Demons tumbled to 17th. The next week, the Demons travelled to Geelong and were annihilated by 80 points despite dominating a host of stats, most notably 73 inside-50s for a paltry six goals, compared to Geelong's 20 majors from 48 inside-50s. [22] Additionally, Luke Dahlhaus joined the club as an unrestricted free agent. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. 1 play-on team in the league and third-ranked in kicking forward percentage. [48] Geelong's score of 21.7 (133) against Western Bulldogs in round 9 was their highest of the season, with the Cats recording eleven individual goalkickers in their win. I've seen more of that this year.". "I think there are some legitimate concerns.".
