Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield says his teammates were “as flat as I can remember” only a month ago before coach Chris Scott intervened to turn their fortunes around. Dangerfield said the Cats’ round 23 loss to St Kilda after a dramatic second-half fade out had been the lowest ebb in the side’s season before they surged into a home preliminary final. He pinned Geelong’s success on “calmness and clarity of thought” driven by its leaders as he said the Cats had significantly evolved from the 2022 flag-winning side.
The Saints defeat had sapped morale after effectively costing the Cats a top-two spot, but Dangerfield said they were quickly able to rebound. Watch the best coverage of the 2024 AFL finals, with expert analysis and every game until the Grand Final LIVE with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today > “The St Kilda game, the guys were as flat as I can remember them being post-game because of what was on the line,” Dangerfield said on Tuesday.
“Then Chris (Scott) came into the change rooms, and he really drove that clarity of thinking, and the calmness, that ‘it’s OK’. “We’re in the same position we were before the game, it’s just a disappointing loss, but we’ve got to get on with the opportunity that’s ahead of us.” The explosive midfielder said the Cats were a “vastly different side” to 2022 even if the team that faced Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday contained as many as 16 players from.