Mulligan or more? Concerns for Cats after alarming Port loss

Do Geelong deserve a mulligan for their shocking Round 7 performance against Port Adelaide?

The Cats went down by 30 points in Adelaide despite heading into the game as massive favourites, with their form in 2026 now really hard to get a grasp on.

Port Adelaide won every quarter as they slowly pulled away from the Cats, with the biggest difference in the game being the stark number of scoring shots (30 to 15) they had compared to Geelong.

Having barely fired a shot against a side many consider a cellar dweller, SEN Breakfast’s David King asked his co-host Kane Cornes whether this was simply a one-off or a sign of more serious concerns at the Cattery.

King: “Is it a mulligan or more?

“Do we just say, ‘You know what, they've been so good for so long, just let's just move past this performance?’. Or is it one of those ones that sits in your guts?

“The coach looked angry in the post-match.”

Cornes: “History would say they do have the odd mulligan and bounce back pretty strongly, and nothing can sort of derail them, but there was some alarming stuff.

“I just think you look forward to their list, like Jack Henry played one of the worst games I've ever seen on Georgiades. We never put him (Henry) in the gun… Georgiades would have had double-digit shots at goal. He didn’t kick accurately, but I don’t know what he was doing, Henry.

“Tom Stewart can't keep doing it at 35. (Sam) De Koning, I know he didn’t play, but does he ever influence the game? He’s sort of just there and gets a fist in every now and then…

“There’s (Zak) Butters in the mix and Ben King in the mix, but they desperately need some key defensive support because that was as bad a defensive display as you're going to see from a Geelong side.”

King: “I think their defensive stuff starts from their forward line.

“I'm looking at them thinking, ‘Maybe Gryan Miers is their most important player’. He’s so clever with the ball, he plays a lot of midfield minutes, and they connect better when he's delivering the ball inside 50 with his angles and his precision.

“Maybe he's the biggest omission at Geelong.”

Cornes: “It's a watch the Cats, isn't it? It's a real watch. (Patrick) Dangerfield is a watch.

“I am (giving them a mulligan), but I just think there needs to be a plan for life after Tom Stewart.

“Have they got one (to replace him)? I'm sure that they do. I'm sure Andrew Mackie and the crew down there, and Chris Scott have got a plan for him.

“But if Henry keeps his spot in the side after that, I'll be surprised, and his brother's not going any good either. There's a Henry problem at Geelong. He (Ollie) hasn’t touched it for a year or longer.

“They've definitely got some form issues with a number of their players.”

King: “I'm not sure it's a mulligan. I think it could be a fraction more.”

The Cats will be looking to bounce back in a big way when they host North Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday afternoon.