GEELONG might be sitting comfortably in the top eight after four rounds, but they're still a "mediocre side at best", according to midfielder Mitch Duncan
The Cats are 3-1, having beaten Hawthorn in a brilliant round one performance before accounting for the Brisbane Lions, and now Essendon.
Ess v Geel: Full match coverage and stats
But the loss to Greater Western Sydney, and the lacklustre win over the Bombers on Saturday have raised questions about whether or not the Cats can find the consistency to become a legitimate premiership contender.
In a scrappy game, Geelong was outdone at the clearances (23-42) and had 19 fewer clearances than Essendon.
With a midfield that boasts Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield, Josh Caddy and Duncan, coach Chris Scott said the inability to win the ball from stoppages was a big concern.
Duncan echoed his coach's comments and admitted the midfield group needed to step up if the Cats were to be genuine finals contenders.
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"We got bashed up a little bit in there," Duncan told AFL.com.au after the 30-point win.
"We're just a mediocre side at best at the moment, and very inconsistent. We've got a lot of work to do.
"I think we can get a lot better. We've only played a few games together now. We're still jelling together as a group, it's just a very different looking side to the one we had last year."
Duncan, who had 27 disposals and four clearances, said he was disappointed with his side's endeavour on Saturday, conceding the Bombers were "hungrier" at the contest.
The Cats have a big month of football ahead with Port Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Gold Coast (Simonds Stadium), West Coast (Simonds Stadium) and Adelaide (Adelaide Oval) their opponents.
The midfielder said he was confident the Cats would be able to start stringing together some consistent performances in the coming weeks.
"I suppose it's about coming in with the right mentality week in, week out," Duncan said.
"We're going to become a target each week if we keep winning so we need to expect that and be harder and win the clearances."
