{"id":119695,"date":"2022-11-01T12:20:59","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T02:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=119695"},"modified":"2022-11-01T12:21:01","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T02:21:01","slug":"cat-boss-happy-but-not-distracted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2022\/11\/01\/cat-boss-happy-but-not-distracted\/","title":{"rendered":"Cat boss happy but not distracted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AFTER his side recorded a big win over Sydney on Saturday, Geelong coach Dan Lowther<\/em><\/strong> spoke of how delighted he was with how his team went about the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally happy with the way they played, like we\u2019ve been trying to get to that level all season really. It\u2019s going to take time with a new list and a change in the way we want to play, but to see it all come to fruition today was really positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think we can see just from the first few minutes of the game that we were switched on with our contested ball method and the way we drove our contest and used the ball a bit more freely which is something we\u2019ve always been trying to achieve. So to get the inside 50s, we just lack inside 50s over time and last week was a really good learning game against Adelaide Crows about there’s a difference between controlling the game but not go inside 50, so that was our mission this week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about what the secret was for Geelong to kick the second highest score of AFLW history, Lowther said that \u201cit was as simple as putting Shelley Scott back I\u2019ve heard a number of times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But again it just comes down to that consistency piece around our midfield gelling with our front half, the way we want to defend and how we play the role within our system, and I think over the journey of 10 games, I think it\u2019s the journey over 20 games really, from Season 6 to Season 7 has helped the connection piece with our team, and it\u2019s made a significant difference in that space, so I reckon the second half of the year to be able to score far more freely, but I think our efficiency going inside 50, the score is quite positive. So we certainly got enough firepower up there, we\u2019ve got players that can play multiple roles for us which is exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking before North and Richmond drew on Sunday, Lowther was asked whether the Cats would be watching the clash between the Roos and Tigers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo I don\u2019t think so,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClearly we\u2019re sitting fourth now, and you\u2019re right there\u2019s a bit to go tomorrow, but we\u2019re just really happy to play finals. From where we\u2019ve come from the last few seasons, if we finish fourth, fifth it doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019d be great to have a double chance, to play finals football for our young group that was the goal and we\u2019ve got to that point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also noted that despite the tight percentage being such a deciding factor this season, percentage was not a big focus for Lowther and his team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo we didn\u2019t. Clearly it\u2019s been well publicised over the last few weeks about how tight it is between not just the top four but certainly probably the bottom half of the eight, but we just knew we had to play out round 10. Like last year we started well against the Giants in Round 10 and it fell away very quickly, so we\u2019ve got lots to play for, lots of motivators, so to play our system and out consistent style should get us the result. Granted Sydney are a young team and they\u2019re going to get better, there\u2019s no doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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