Dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna has heaped praise on Port Adelaide’s plan that shut down star Cats defender Tom Stewart, urging other clubs to follow suit.
The Cats were the latest club to fall victim to the red-hot Port Adelaide in a 38-point thrashing at Adelaide Oval last Thursday night as the Power extended their record winning streak to 11 games.
Stewart was held to a season-low five intercepts as well as producing his second-lowest rated game of the year as one of many Cats down on the night.
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And Montagna showed vision on Fox Footy’s First Crack of how Ken Hinkley’s side kept Stewart occupied at all times with a variety of opponents – even when the Power were going into attack.
“I thought this was brilliant coaching by Ken Hinkley and the attention to detail of his team. This is a team that is in sync and all on the same page,” Montagna said.
“I’m surprised more teams don’t have a plan against Tom Stewart. The plan in this game was for anyone around the area to play on Tom Stewart and not allow him to be free.
“This is Willem Drew, a midfielder – he sees Stewart has got the position he wants to get to. So Drew goes and plays on him – not even his opponent – and says ‘this is the instruction’ and he gets a fist in.
“Then in this situation it’s young (Jed) McEntee playing on Stewart and he knows what the role is in this game … even though he’s almost half his size, look at the work he puts in to not allow Stewart to fly and get a first in on intercept mark.
“It wasn’t just those guys – (Sam) Powell-Pepper did it and Quinton Narkle did it. Whoever was down there went and played on him.
“I want to see more teams do that to Stewart and other interceptors in the competition. There is a way to stop them, they’re having significant influence on games.”
The loss saw the reigning premier Geelong fall to 6-7 to remain outside the top eight and sit among a logjam of teams in the middle of the ladder.
Geelong Press Conference | 08:03
The decline of the Cats’ once stout defence has typified their overall struggles, ranked 15th in the competition in marks conceded inside 50 – including giving up 17 to the Power – while Chris Scott’s side has been the fourth-easiest team to score against when opposition go inside 5.
“This year it has been (easy to pull Geelong apart) … and they’ve got all their premiership stars back,” Montagna said.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk about that continuity, but the cohesion is just not there this year. For whatever reason, they’re just slightly off, you can see them guarding grass a little bit too much.
“They just haven’t been able to get it right this season. That’s the reason why they are where they are on the ladder.
“They’re going to be a big if for the rest of the year, they’re going to be hovering around the top eight. “
To further sour the loss, Geelong is now likely to be without Patrick Dangerfield for the next several weeks after the skipper suffered a partially collapsed lung and cracked rib against Port – an injury he played most of the game through.
It continues a brutal injury run for Dangerfield, 33, having just returned from a four-game absence due to a hamstring issue.
“How tough was he though to continue to play? He is as tough as they come,” Montagna added.
“He is certainly such an important player for them … they’ve missed him significantly.”
Geelong will look to bounce back next Thursday night against Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium followed by clashes against Sydney (away), North Melbourne and Essendon (both home).