PAUSE ON CATS’ OBITS

Geelong’s loss to Port Adelaide last Thursday was as dispiriting as any by the club in recent years.

After a bright opening and establishing a 20-point lead, the Cats fell in a hole at Adelaide Oval, outscored 14.8 to 5.4 for the rest of the game.

The final margin was 38 points and it was difficult viewing for supporters as they watched their team thoroughly worked over by the Power.

There was the feel of the premiership torch being passed from one team to the next as Port flexed its considerable muscle towards the end of the second term and then blew the Cats away in the third with a burst of football as impressive as any played this season.

It didn’t help the Cats that skipper Patrick Dangerfield, in his first game back for a month, suffered a cracked rib and a partly collapsed lung after a crunching tackle in the second term that will keep him out for up to six weeks.

With ruckman Jonathon Ceglar a pre-game withdrawal, the Cats u It’s a big week for two teams coming to Melbourne this weekend with the calendar starting to flick over into late June and just a couple of months until finals.

While it’s not exactly a September dress rehearsal for the Brisbane Lions and the Adelaide Crows, their performances this week against St Kilda and lacked bite around the midfield and Port’s stirring second half, with the benefit of hindsight, was no major surprise.

Coach Chris Scott was concerned enough with what he saw to give his team a rare bake at the final change, but to no avail.

The loss keeps Geelong in 10th place with a 6-7 record, a game out of the eight.

But the obituary writers are nowhere to be found, and rightly so, because the Cats have one remaining ace up their sleeve – six more home games at GMHBA Stadium, starting with Thursday night’s blockbuster against Melbourne.

This was supposed to be the year the fully redeveloped stadium was open with its full 40,000-seat capacity and Thursday night’s game was set to feature it in all its glory.

But construction delays blew it out by 12 months, which means that all but a few hundred of the 21,000 or so at the game on Thursday will be Geelong supporters.

The Cats will need all the help they can get from here as their season continues to flag, but six games on their narrow home deck is a big help.

They’re 2-1 at home this year and 80-14 since Scott took over as coach in 2011.

Their home ground advantage is the most pronounced in the AFL, so if they can win at home from here – North Melbourne, Essendon, Fremantle, Port and the Western Bulldogs also still need to make the trip down the highway – they’ll remain in finals contention until round 24 is done and dusted.

Thursday night won’t come easily. The third-placed Demons won at

Collingwood respectively will be keenly watched and analysed.

The Lions will be thankful their Friday night date is at Marvel Stadium rather than the MCG, where they have won just once in their past 14 starts.

Since starting their finals run under Chris Fagan in 2019, the Lions are a creditable 7-2 at Marvel Stadium while they are 1-7 in the same timeframe at the MCG – and 45-8 at the Gabba since 2019. comeback coach Ross Lyon, so the form line suggests a win. If only it was that easy.

That overall scenario, while a mix of big ticks and some disturbing crosses (read their MCG record), paints a picture of a club that must put a decent stamp on its run home to the finals in 2023.

Geelong as recently as 2021 – albeit without a crowd due to COVID-19 restrictions – and their confidence is sky-high after their epic King’s Birthday win over Collingwood. Clayton Oliver and Harrison Petty should be back to further strengthen the team.

St Kilda enters Friday night’s home game against Brisbane Lions lamenting a similar fate last week to the Cats.

The Saints have gone L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W-L since starting with four wins to open their 2023 campaign under

Adelaide is putting together its best season since its Grand Final year of 2017 but has just one win on the road –a three-point escape against Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium in round six.

What better time to shine than on Sunday at the MCG against the Magpies?

The Saints started brightly against Richmond but were soon blown away by a Tiger team hellbent on celebrating Trent Cotchin’s 300th game in style.

The loss keeps them in fifth, a game behind the fourth-placed Lions, who overcame their own tardy start to down Sydney at home last week.

The Lions are unbeaten at the Gabba this year, but away from home is a different story.

As recently as a fortnight ago they lost to Hawthorn by 25 points at the MCG and they really need a decent scalp on the road.

That prompted the hard call by veteran pair Daniel Rich and Jack Gunston to drop themselves, but the inclusion of first-gamer Jaspa Fletcher and fellow youngster Kai Lohmann seemed to invigorate the Lions and that might translate to continued good form at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

Spud’s Game is always a big occasion for the Saints, but it is the footy itself that really matters for them this week.

Another loss and their hopes of a top-four finish will be severely dented.

The most disappointing team without question last week was Fremantle, which was comprehensively beaten in every aspect of the game by the GWS Giants in Sydney to slump to a second consecutive defeat.

According to Dockers coach Justin Longmuir it started with the preparation leading into the game and it went downhill from there.

The Dockers were smashed in the middle, but the likely return of