Are you ready?
That was the question asked of the Cats in the first quarter against Fremantle at the Pattersons Stadium coliseum.
On the evidence, the answer was no.
And that’s despite having a week off, coach Chris Scott promising a fresh and fit group ready for the challenge.
Some atypical Geelong errors – three from from Jimmy Bartel no less – married to Freo’s hectic start got the crowd offering standing ovations to almost any Docker play.
Pavlich’s 300th created the stage for his 600th goal and Fremantle were away, with Geelong contributing a goalless first term.
Fremantle embarked on a high speed run and play on at all costs approach that left Geelong short when it got the pointy end of the ground, both attack and defence.
It seems almost as if Geelong’s emphasis on structure is taking away from its ability to cope with a manic approach at the contest.
Scott admitted his side needed to redress the contested possession count in games.
Geelong suffered the same fate at the hands of Port Adelaide three weeks ago and followed that with a scraping win against Richmond, seeing a handy lead reeled back in with speed and quickness.
And that was by a team that can’t even beat Melbourne.
Now there’s North Melbourne and Sydney to come. We’ll know a lot more about Geelong’s season prospects in the next two weeks.
