GEELONG coach Shane O’Bree conceded his side was its own worst enemy in Saturday’s 23-point defeat to ladder leader Richmond at the Swinburne Centre.
A string of sloppy turnovers and a slow start to the final term ultimately proved costly for the Cats in a hard-fought contest.
The 13.8 (86) to 9.9 (63) defeat brought an end to Geelong’s three-match winning streak ahead of the mid-season bye.
“We were our own worst enemy there at times,” O’Bree said.
“A few costly turnovers resulted in goals against, and there were a few times where we had easy handballs close to goal and missed the target.
“We didn’t get goals or results from those, and they’re the confidence and momentum swingers that we need to take.”
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Richmond dominated the centre square and contested ball in an eight-minute burst at the start of the final term, which produced four quick goals and drove a 29-point wedge between the sides.
Geelong refused to lie down and kicked four of the next five goals to give themselves a chance.
But they were outclassed in time-on as Tigers goal sneak Luke Nelson kicked his fifth major to kill off the contest.
“I thought we fumbled a little bit and their pressure was pretty good,” O’Bree said.
“There were a few undisciplined acts, too. That’s on us, and we’ll learn from that.
“Richmond is a good team, and we were only six points down at three-quarter time.
“The game opened up in the last quarter and we still kept trying things, and we were still a sniff there at the end.
“We were still chipping away, and there were some really good learnings for our group.
“Richmond is top of the ladder for a reason.”
Nathan Kreuger impressed at both ends of the ground, claiming a string of intercept marks in the first half before being moved forward.
The 19-year-old finished with three goals.
“I thought he was really good,” O’Bree said.
“Down back, he was really solid, took some intercept marks and was strong one-on-one.
“We needed a bit more speed and pressure in our forward line and I thought he did that and kicked goals in the end as well.
“He’s developing nicely.”
Geelong ruckman Zac Smith split his duel with Mabir Chol in attack after being omitted from the senior side, and Wylie Buzza finished with two goals from 15 disposals in attack.
James Parsons was sent back to the VFL to make way for Gary Ablett in the senior side and kicked two goals from 18 disposals.
Irish recruit Stefan Okunbor showed glimpses of potential in his first VFL game with eight disposals and a handful of ferocious tackling attempts.
He also gave away a 50m penalty and almost took the mark of the year with a huge leap on the outer wing.
Charlie Constable (26 disposals), Lachie Fogarty (21), Sam Simpson (20) and Scott Selwood (17) found plenty of the ball but were part of a midfield unit that was outclassed by the Tigers.
“Our mids were a bit off today,” O’Bree said.
“They were a bit sloppy around the contest with their cleanliness and a bit of their pressure as well.
“All our mids were OK but not as good as what they have been (in recent weeks).
“It was a high-pressure game, and I thought we didn’t adapt at times.
“Our pressure was pretty good, but ball in hand, I thought we may have overused it with our handball-to-kick ratio.
“As much as they’re still having a go and still trying to play the right way, we’ve just got to become elite at that so we can go to the next level.”
Geelong has a bye in round 11 before hosting Frankston at GMHBA Stadium on June 22.
Twitter: @shayne_hope
RICHMOND 2.2, 3.7, 6.7, 13.8 (86)
GEELONG 1.4, 2.6, 5.8, 9.9 (63)
Goals: Richmond: L. Nelson 5, B. Grewar 2, M. Chol 2, S. Mannagh, S. Bolton, F. Turner, J. Aarts
Geelong: N. Kreuger 3, W. Buzza 2, J. Parsons 2, D. Fort, C. Constable
Best: Richmond: M. Chol, N. Broad, D. Coffield, M. Weller, L. Nelson, S. Bolton
Geelong: N. Kreuger, J. McLachlan, W. Buzza, J. Bews, J. Parsons, S. Selwood
