DESPITE the 'Dangerwood' hype and a red-hot start to the season, Chris Scott was never as convinced by Geelong as the rest of the football world.

And after a home ground shellacking from the Sydney Swans last Friday night, it seems the rest of us are finally catching on.

At their best, the Cats will trouble any opponent, but right now they're miles off the uncompromising football that catapulted them to premiership favouritism after round eight.

"We have got some clear flaws that are not hard for us to identify," a frustrated Scott said after the Swans loss.

"When we play our style we can beat some good teams, as we have done this year, and when we don't play so well we look really average."

There are problems springing up everywhere and at least half-a-dozen individuals are underperforming – headlined by stars Tom Hawkins and Steven Motlop.

Hawkins has booted 33 goals this season, but there are queries over his mobility and what the inefficient Cats forward line should look like with Mitch Clark coming back and Rhys Stanley out of touch.

Since the opening eight rounds Motlop's numbers have taken a hit, and the midfield's overreliance on Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood has been exposed without Geelong's supporting cast stepping up.

Mitch Duncan and reigning club champion Mark Blicavs are battling to make an impact, despite putting up solid numbers, while Josh Caddy's absence has been sorely felt and fans hope Scott Selwood's imminent return will add some grunt.

When the Cats were purring from rounds one to eight, they hunted the opposition and won the territory battle.

Scott's men forced the ball forward, locked it in their attacking half (AFL No.1) and applied immense pressure (AFL No.2 tackle differential) to keep their opponents pinned in defence.

Rush a wild kick out of the backline and the Cats would turn it over and make teams pay (No.2 points from intercepts), but Scott's outfit could also engineer a score from a ball-up or boundary throw-in (No.3 for scores from forward-half stoppages).

The Cats were in sync and had the League's second-most potent attack (110.6 points per game), plus the competition's stingiest defence.

They conceded just 66 points a game during the first eight weeks, protecting their backline by keeping the ball in their own attacking half.

So where has it all gone wrong?

Essentially, a shock loss to Collingwood in round nine started the rot.

Since then there's been a seven-goal swing against the Cats, who have been scoring less (22 points fewer per game) and coughing up more (20ppg).

Rival clubs are breaking through Geelong's forward press and keeping the ball in their own attacking half for longer (Cats' time in forward half down by five-and-a-half minutes).

It means the Cats' forwards aren't feasting on as many opportunities (inside 50 differential down 9.2 per game) and even when the ball does get down there (score per inside 50 down by nine per cent) they're battling to kick a score.

Worryingly for Scott, the list of problems to fix goes on.

However, the glass half-full outlook is that there's still time for Scott to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

Geelong has a favourable run home and, with most key players fit and available, the Cats should still secure a top-four spot.

We can still be convinced.

STATS QUIRK OF THE WEEK: In the victory over Port AdelaidePaul Puopolo became the fourth Hawk this year to register his 100th career win, joining Luke Breust (105), Liam Shiels (104) and Isaac Smith (101). Of the quartet, Shiels (137 games) has played the most matches.

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