Cats look to claw back after two losses

Geelong captain Tom Harley admits the Cats' injuries raise concerns about player
management, but won't let the absence of stars mask the AFL powerhouse's sudden
slide.
Geelong's 43-point defeat to the Brisbane Lions last Saturday night left the Cats
nursing back-to-back losses for the first time since rounds 4-5 of 2007, sitting two
games behind ladder leaders St Kilda with seven rounds remaining.
St Kilda's victory over Geelong in round 14 broke the deadlock between the sides
and, although the Saints emerged unscathed from that encounter, the Cats suffered a
raft of injuries to the point where seven first-choice players were too sore to meet
the Lions.
Gary Ablett (calf), Matthew Scarlett (back), Darren Milburn (ankle), Andrew Mackie
(thigh), Cameron Ling (knee tendonitis), James Kelly (hamstring) and Travis Varcoe
(shoulder) were all forced out after the six-point loss to the Saints, while forward
Steve Johnson (hip) has missed the past two games.
Although five of those are rated a good chance to play Melbourne on Saturday, Harley
said the sudden rush in minor injuries raised questions about player workloads.
"You've got to look at it," he said on Monday.
"I'm not sure it was so much bad luck on the day (against St Kilda), Dasher's
(Milburn) was probably bad luck because he rolled an ankle.
"But the others were more wear and tear things as opposed to specific ones, so yeah,
any injury you get and the fact that we had a whole glut at the one time at the club
you've got to look at it for sure."
Harley said Geelong were refusing to let the injuries paper over the cracks prised
open at the Gabba, where coach Mark Thompson was disappointed with the effort.
"Real bitter disappointment it was," Harley said.
"Back to the dark old days when most sides used to go up to Brisbane and cop a hiding.
"I was sitting in the cold tank with Joel Selwood and that was his first interstate
loss and I remember when we lost about 12 in a row interstate, so everyone was
pretty dark about it and we've got to move on pretty quick."
Geelong should have Ablett, Scarlett, Mackie, Milburn and Varcoe available to host
the Demons; Johnson is a maybe.
That encouraging news came alongside the sigh of relief when Brownlow medallist
Jimmy Bartel had his report of rough conduct against Lion Luke Power thrown out by
the match review panel.
Harley said Geelong needed to address matters on the field if they were to cap the
club's 150th birthday on Saturday with a win.
"Effort's one thing and then personnel is another, so we need to get better," he said.
"You can't shy away from the fact that we've lost two games in a row and it's new
and we lost them in different ways.
"It was a close one against St Kilda, but it was just unacceptable against Brisbane,
so we'll address what we need to address."
If omens are anything to go by, 15th-placed Melbourne could be in for a tough
afternoon despite them winning their last two games.
The last time Geelong lost two straight, they responded the following weekend with a
157-point annihilation of Richmond, the first in a 15-game winning streak.
As part of the birthday celebrations, the Cats will have a guernsey featuring the
names of the 1,100 players to have represented the club.
Harley, who will turn 31 on Saturday, spoke at the launch of a pictorial history of
the club, We Are Geelong.