Outclassed .... but we never put our heads down

[Newman]

Geelong far too good. But I reckon the boys never stopped trying.

[bethb7]

They all tried really hard you could tell, Geelong just far far too good.

[BigMart]

We made too many errors.....under pressure and otherwise...

[Hughjarce]

Delusional comments, I just got home from the G and I am embarrassed. The Saints never tried they were disgraceful a team full of passengers, with horrific disposal.

But it was good to make the Top 4

[Splayd]

We got done by 58 points today. The cats average winning margin this year has been about 54 points so it's on par with how dominant the cats have been.

This is without a doubt the best time to play Geelong with a 'free shot' as it were and make no mistake we came up well short even though we had the final 8 scoring shots of the match when the game was over.

Regroup against the Pies and hopefully get Ball back and go around for Harvs again. Maybe IF - IF - IF we get lucky enough to meet them again we should be wiser for this game.

For next week and following weeks if we can get over the pies.

DON'T give Gram a tagging role.
DON'T play players that haven't played in 15 weeks.
DON'T let so many tackles slip.
DON'T let so many opportunities to score go to waste, esp from our mids.

Geelong had 75 possesions more than the Saints. Not good enough.

[bethb7]

Delusional comments, I just got home from the G and I am embarrassed. The Saints never tried they were disgraceful a team full of passengers, with horrific disposal.

But it was good to make the Top 4

I find that seriously harsh I reakon they all had a good go alot of our players didn't have good games but they had a go. Geelong are just head and shoulders above us and the rest of the comp.

[Goody]

I agree with Splayed.
X need s another run before being considered, Hayes is out of sorts, Dal was tagged to death and must get better when tagged.
All up we got beat by the best team at the moment, 2 weeks to go!!

[Schillaci]

Simply outclassed.
We tried but lacked the know how and skill.
Geelong always had options by running in numbers. Some of our tackles didn't stick and away they went.
We had little run from defence. No one was prepared to carry the ball and burst the lines all day. We regularly went wide and Geelong's mid field pressure made it easy for the Geelong backs to defend. On the rebound we were simply chasing Cat tail.

Positives...we know where we stand, we're still in the finals, Bally might be back next week and we may not play the Cats again this year.

[WayneJudson42]

Delusional comments, I just got home from the G and I am embarrassed. The Saints never tried they were disgraceful a team full of passengers, with horrific disposal.

But it was good to make the Top 4

You are a disgrace. They were outplayed and out pressured.

[km_92_harves]

Was depressed watching it on TV at home. Thought the only real competitive, class stuff that stunned the Cats truly was the first five minutes and then Harvey intercepting at the end, setting up a goal.

Riewoldt screwed up too many opportunities a class forward should have taken advantage of and everyone fell on their knees under the pressure. Not good enough.

Now I'm worried.

[nicko016]

We were simply outplayed and outclassed by a far superior team. Our commitment was strong and while there wasn't the total 150% beyond call commitment that we needed to overcome Geelong, the commitment was there and strong nonetheless. Our structures broke down and too many of our players didn't play well, but it wasn't a matter of lack of commitment, moreso that Geelong just broke down our structures and didn't allow our good players the chance to play well.

[terry smith rules]

Delusional comments, I just got home from the G and I am embarrassed. The Saints never tried they were disgraceful a team full of passengers, with horrific disposal.

But it was good to make the Top 4

You are a disgrace. They were outplayed and out pressured.

agreed, players never stopped, we could have been beaten by 130

[SaintWal]

, Hayes is out of sorts,

What game were you at?

[spyglass]

We were killed out of the middle. We really miss Luke Ball. I would not play NDS in the centre square whenever Ling is on him. Play him forward of the ball more as he can't break a tag (especially an illegal one). Dal seems more interested in letting his opponent get to the ball and then trying to tackle rather than getting it first himself. We need more players with aggression in the centre square e.g. BJ, Jones, Hayes...god, we really miss Ball.

[ozrulestrace]

They did drop their heads and just gave up-mind you it's hard to lift after some of those umpiring decisions in the third quarter.
Come on Rooey, lift your head, take the hands off the hips, and make sur the team runs into the rooms at half time. It was clear they felt they could win.
Maybe next time stand closer to them during the National Anthem, stare them straight in the eye and make it clear we're up to beating them.
If that fails, perform the Haka

[Ghost Like]

We were simply outplayed and outclassed by a far superior team. Our commitment was strong and while there wasn't the total 150% beyond call commitment that we needed to overcome Geelong, the commitment was there and strong nonetheless. Our structures broke down and too many of our players didn't play well, but it wasn't a matter of lack of commitment, moreso that Geelong just broke down our structures and didn't allow our good players the chance to play well.

Well said Nicko, spot on.

[SainterX]

We were killed out of the middle. We really miss Luke Ball. I would not play NDS in the centre square whenever Ling is on him.

Where is Stephen Powell when we need him

Up until the middle of the 3rd quarter when the umps rolled over on us I dont think we were that bad at all.

If that is the best Geelong has then they are just a bunch of pussies.

[plugger66]

We were killed out of the middle. We really miss Luke Ball. I would not play NDS in the centre square whenever Ling is on him.

Where is Stephen Powell when we need him

Up until the middle of the 3rd quarter when the umps rolled over on us I dont think we were that bad at all.

If that is the best Geelong has then they are just a bunch of pussies.

I agree after that second goal that put them 6 goals and 12 points in front we were doing well. Those umpires have a lot to answer for.

[Sainternist]

We got done by 58 points today. The cats average winning margin this year has been about 54 points so it's on par with how dominant the cats have been.

This is without a doubt the best time to play Geelong with a 'free shot' as it were and make no mistake we came up well short even though we had the final 8 scoring shots of the match when the game was over.

Regroup against the Pies and hopefully get Ball back and go around for Harvs again. Maybe IF - IF - IF we get lucky enough to meet them again we should be wiser for this game.

For next week and following weeks if we can get over the pies.

DON'T give Gram a tagging role.
DON'T play players that haven't played in 15 weeks.
DON'T let so many tackles slip.
DON'T let so many opportunities to score go to waste, esp from our mids.

Geelong had 75 possesions more than the Saints. Not good enough.

I like the tone of this post. Critical, yet hopeful of a revival

[JeffDunne]

I'm going to copy a post I just made on BF because I can't be stuffed typing my feelings again;


I really can't believe anyone would try and defend our performance today.

No doubt the Cats are a great football team but we didn't even force them out of second gear.

Our performance was lamentable. Embarrassing.

We had nothing to lose today and should have been prepared to throw everything at them. The only chance we had of beating the Cats was to put them under some real pressure and test them for any seeds of doubt in their minds. When Prismall went down it would have been the perfect time to start hitting bodies in the contest hard. (Rotten luck for the kid too, I really felt for him).

Full credit to the Cats though and they certainly deserve all the credit going their way. They play arrogant football and they beat teams mentally as well as physically.

They embarrassed us as a club today.

I’m incredibly disappointed in our performance but that’s not to detract from Geelong’s performance. We didn’t deserve to be on the same field as them today.

[BigMart]

Accepting a 58 point loss......

[evertonfc]

Unsatisfied with the players' efforts today.

[doristhesaint]

Ball would be a great inclusion but dont think he will be back this week.
Our ball use when under pressure and not under pressure was terrible.
The fact they broke tackles so easy was very dissapointing.
J.Bartel is awesome.
But we have got another chance.

[Winmar]

Unfortunately Geelong are clearly a miles better side than us these days. We struggled to get the ball over half way at times. I thought we played ok in the first quarter, but obviously we didn't manage to make any impact on the scoreboard.

What was with the umpiring in the third quarter though? Two goals gifted from ridiculous free kicks, and was there not a throw in the lead up to one of their running goals (kicked by Travis Varcoe, whoever he is)? Take three goals out of that and we have a 40 point loss. Still bad, but not as bad.

[SainterX]

Its so easy to be the big men when teams like West Coast, Port Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane were banging around in our heyday a little while back but are now mere shadows of their once great selves.

There are no real challengers now, Hawthorn don't have the experience of those other teams yet, so nobody should be surprised.

They are nothing but a bunch of pussies, Collingwood sure proved that and they are trash.

When push comes to shove and a real challenger emerges I would not be surprised to see Geelong melt.