Cats finals hopes dashed

Sam Simpson battled hard in Geelong’s VFL loss to Coburg in Ballarat. (Geelong Cats Image/Arj Giese)

GEELONG will be watching on come the VFL finals series after suffering a shock 44-point loss to Coburg at Mars Stadium.

The 12.11 (83) to 5.9 (39) loss leaves the Cats 12 points and more than 30 per cent behind eight-placed Box Hill with three rounds to play.

In a game shifted from GMHBA Stadium to the Ballarat venue, the Cats, who had 14 AFL-listed players in their lineup, were on the back foot from the start against the 18th-placed Lions.

With the aid of the breeze, Coburg kicked the first four goals of the contest to lead by 29 points at quarter time, leaving Geelong to play catchup.

“We didn’t adapt to the conditions,” coach Shane O’Bree said of the Cats’ seventh consecutive loss.

“We probably didn’t hold up strong enough and gave them a fair few easy goals in the first quarter, which deflated us.

“We were reasonably confident after quarter time we knew how to play the conditions.

“We had 23 entries in the second quarter inside forward 50, but we just blazed away versus trying to kick to advantage or hit up a short.

“We scored one goal with the wind whereas they scored four, which was probably the difference in the end.”

In his second game back from a long-term concussion, Sam Simpson won plenty of the ball and showed he could play a role in the backend of Geelong’s AFL season.

He finished with 25 disposals and eight clearances.

“Sammy Simpson tried hard all day,” O’Bree said. “He played half-back and as an inside midfielder.

“He’s the one that’s got the senior experience, and we’re trying to get as many games into him leading into finals.

Nick Stevens (27 disposals, three marks), and Francis Evans (19 disposals, six marks, 1.2), on his return from a minor knee issue, also caught O’Bree’s eye.

“Frank just put himself in the game continuously, and he had an impact on the game,” O’Bree said.

In a blow for young forward/ruck Shannon Neale, he suffered a concussion during the third quarter and will be sidelined next week under the AFL’s concussion protocol.

Brandan Parfitt, who was the medi-sub in Geelong’s AFL win over the Western Bulldogs, where he played the final quarter, didn’t play in the VFL.

The Cats are scheduled to face Sandringham as a curtain-raiser to the Geelong-St Kilda AFL clash on Saturday.

However, O’Bree expects that match to be moved to Sunday at GMHBA Stadium.

Twitter: @krockfootball