Cornes and King’s Cats criticism after “panic crept in”

There were some moments to forget in Geelong’s Semi Final performance loss to Fremantle.

While the Cats gave a pretty good account of themselves overall, they were ultimately beaten by a better team on the night.

The end result was 14 points which could have been a different story if not for some questionable individual efforts which were pointed out by David King.

“I think Geelong had a few guys that took a few short steps,” King said on SEN’s Fireball.

“Brad Close had two horrific moments when they were making a real game of it in the third quarter. He had a big fumble on the wing, then he dropped his head and dropped the mark - it went down for a goal.

“You’re just not going to win games like this with those sorts of efforts. And there were a few others.

“Connor O’Sullivan a couple of times, Lawson Humphries looked really jittery and fumbly, Tanner Bruhn didn’t go back with the flight and ducked his head.

“Some panic crept in. Bailey Smith just surge-handballed forward. That’s not them.”

Co-host Kane Cornes also pointed out the lack of impact by star Cats defender Tom Stewart who had just 14 disposals (equal season low) and just one intercept mark.

He had his usual output curtailed by Patrick Voss who produced a disciplined forward role and kicked four goals.

“Tom Stewart when he’s tagged is a different discussion as well,” Cornes added.

“Has he ever beaten a tag? As good as he is and as much as we love him, and he’s going to be a Hall of Famer, but I’m not sure he’s ever beaten a tag.

“He might be the most vulnerable player, when it comes to being tagged, in the league.”

The conversation then drifted to Cats coach Chris Scott who some felt had a few tricks up his sleeve after his side’s nine-point loss to Freo in Perth back in Round 15.

But Cornes wasn’t buying that notion.

“Can we just never say ever again that Chris Scott keeps his powder dry,” Cornes said further.

“All the talk after Round 15 that he kept his powder dry. I didn’t see any powder that was wet on the weekend that we didn’t see the first time they played against each other.

“What did he keep dry? Anything? What secrets did he keep back in Round 15? Everyone was saying, ‘Oh, he’s going to spring some surprises come finals time’.

“What surprises did he give? So never ever again listen to anyone that says Chris Scott has just kept some things back.

“Ridiculous.”

So what’s ahead for the Cats following their finals defeat?

They’re so often contenders due to a mix of sublime coaching, established stars, great recruiting and brilliant development.

It left Cornes wondering where the list is heading with age again, a query.

“The long-term discussion for Geelong now that they’ve missed out on Zak Butters is Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Stewart, Mark Blicavs, Jeremy Cameron - what does life look life after them?

“Because they’re still so reliant on Dangerfield, so reliant on Stewart, so reliant on Cameron and Blicavs just sort of plugs holes. I’m not sure how reliant you can be on those four.

“And Toby Greene comes in at age 32. (He’ll be handy) for a year or two.”

Listen to the Cats chat below: