Here are some of the key talking points from the Round 11 game against the Cats.

Bevo on the game

Proud of the response after the main break, Senior Coach Luke Beveridge highlighted a need for the Dogs to have made more of their in-game opportunities.

Speaking following the game, Beveridge spoke to the Cats’ ability to capitalise on the Dogs’ errors believing this helped shift the momentum several times throughout the contest.

“The missed opportunities in our front end and then just turned the ball over too blatantly and kicked it really poorly coming out of our back end which set up their momentum and set up their game for the first part,” Beveridge said

“I was really pleased with how the boys persevered and stayed in it.

“It’s another one of those ones where we drew level with plenty of time on the clock and weren’t able to complete it.

“With the progress that we’re making, these close games – we know we need to be coming over the top and winning these ones especially when the momentum is in our favour.”

Naughton on relationship with Khamis

While Aaron Naughton may be missing his usual forward-line partner in crime in the injured Sam Darcy, he has found a teammate to fill the void.

Khamis has stepped in and up to a new role in the forward half, beginning to find a consistent rhythm alongside Naughton, working as tall targets across the ground.

The two have combined for 17 goals since Khamis’ move forward, including another five in last night’s hard-fought loss.

 “I think me and Buku have gone well down there and are starting to get some chemistry going,” Naughton said

“He almost took another hanger tonight which was cool.

“Geelong are a quality defence and they’ve got some big boys down there.

“Buku and my role is to try and mark a few and bring it to ground and get our smalls involved.”

Richards and Kennedy continue to lead the way 

Despite the result, the Dogs’ midfield continued to build on what has been an impressive start to the 2025 season.

In particular, Ed Richards and Matt Kennedy worked tirelessly to even out the contest and launch scoring chains from around the ground.

Speaking on the duo’s impact in a member-exclusive interview, assistant coach Brendon Lade highlighted their ability to fight through extra opposition attention to have an impact on the game.

“All the mids worked hard and had their moments in the game,” Lade said following the game.

“Richards probably didn’t touch it much in the first half and then really dominated.

“Mulin has been a good tagger for (Geelong) and he did really well on Ed in the first half.

“(Ed) worked out himself that he needs to use his speed and power a little bit more and not just try and outrun him.

“He used his strengths to beat him which was pretty impressive from the kid and he’ll just keep learning from that.

“(Kennedy) just compliments what we’ve got in there already.

“He’s real tough and this year he’s been a goalkicker for us as well.

“He’s been a good pick-up and we’re excited for what he can bring for the rest of the year.”