Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes has put Geelong on notice, suggesting the reigning premiers’ “complacent” attitude led to its 22-point loss to Collingwood
Speaking on Nine’s AFL Sunday Footy Show, Cornes highlighted several instances which he claimed demonstrated a lack of defensive pressure amongst the Cats group.
“I’m not worried about Geelong but some interesting things that I saw as they ran out on Friday night,” he said as footage of the players smiling as they ran under the banner played.
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“They’re really happy with themselves here.
“You’re about to play a game of footy.
“Now, in isolation, I wouldn’t be worried about that, but when I look at the vision and what I saw, I go, ‘Hang on, maybe they are just a little bit complacent’.
Cornes then drew attention to a moment in the fourth quarter when new Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield lined up on Collingwood recruit Tom Mitchell at a stoppage.
With the Cats trailing by a goal early in the the fourth quarter, Cornes described the juncture as “critical” as Dangerfield gave his opponent distance to score.
“Dangerfield – ball watching,” he said.
“Are you really defending? Would you have done that in the grand final, Patrick Dangerfield? Have you become just a little bit complacent?
“That was poor defending. There’s one instance.”
Tensions flare a quarter time siren
Cornes then addressed another example of substandard defending by midfielder Max Holmes in the third term.
“In the space of five seconds, Homes’ given the most dangerous player on the ground 20m [to mark inside 50m and score].
“Did he really want to defend or was he more worried about getting a kick himself?”
The two-time All-Australian also called out Mark O’Connor’s attempt to deny Beau McCreery with the game on the line.
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“Are you really defending like your life depends on it? Are you really running to the fall of the ball?
Geelong laid just 44 tackles in its opening encounter compared to its average of 58 per game in 2022.
“Just a few signs that they were pretty happy with themselves, the Cats,” Cornes said.
“It says, ‘OK, if you’re not fully on, you’re going to get found out in this game.”
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