Cam Mooney: The gap in Geelong’s game will be tested over the next month

Geelong’s biggest issue right now is the gap between their best and their “in-between”, and until they close it, they’re not a genuine top four side.

You only had to watch Saturday night to see it. The Cats kicked the first four goals and looked in control, then drifted. North Melbourne got on top around the contest, their ruck dominated, and Geelong started to lose territory and composure. By half time, they were a point down and there was genuine uncertainty around the ground about what this team actually is.

That’s the bit that matters. Not the final margin.

Because we know what Geelong’s best looks like. We saw it late in the third quarter and into the last. Once they got a few things in order structurally and cleaned up their work around the contest, the game flipped quickly. A couple of goals became three, then five, and before you knew it, it was over. That’s what good sides do at GMHBA Stadium.

But you don’t get to just point to that and say everything’s fine.

The reality is, for a half, they looked like a side that could get picked apart by better teams. Their stoppage setup wasn’t right, they weren’t getting enough support around the ball, and when it went forward, it wasn’t sticking. That puts pressure on every line behind the ball.

And that’s where the inconsistency shows up.

Inside a club, you’re not judging yourself on your best 30 minutes. You’re judging your system on how it holds up when things aren’t going your way. North Melbourne, to their credit, challenged them in exactly the areas better sides will. They were strong at stoppage, they competed in the contest and they forced Geelong to defend.

For a while, Geelong didn’t have the answers.

Chris Scott spoke post-game about needing to adjust structurally and give more support around the ruck battle. That’s a good coaching move, but the fact it was needed mid-game is the bigger talking point. Against North, you can absorb that and recover. Against Collingwood, Brisbane or Sydney, that gap can cost you the game before you get a chance to fix it.

That’s where this team sits right now.

Are they a top four side? Or are they a team that will hover around fifth to eighth and rely on home ground advantage?

Because the next month will tell us everything. Collingwood at the MCG, then Brisbane, Sydney, Carlton, Adelaide. There’s nowhere to hide in that stretch. If that same drop-off shows up for a half against those sides, you’re not coming back from it.

What they can take confidence from is that their best still stacks up. When they get the game on their terms, their ball movement, their ability to score quickly and their understanding of how to put sides away is as good as anyone.

But the gap is too big.

You can’t be a side that looks uncertain for a half and then elite for a half and expect to contend. The best teams minimise that drop. They might not dominate for four quarters, but they never let the game drift the way Geelong did on Saturday night.

If I’m inside the four walls this week, that’s the focus. Not the 49-point win, not the last quarter. It’s the 30 to 40 minutes where the system broke down and why it happened.

Fix that, and they’re right in the mix.

Leave it as is, and they’re exactly where they look right now, somewhere between dangerous and not quite good enough.

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