“They went into that optimistically and came out misty optically." This phrase, coined by legendary broadcaster Dennis Cometti, could be applied to the performance and mindset of the Northern Blues in Round 13 of the Peter Jackson VFL season.

Fielding their best side for the year, the Northern Blues headed into their clash with Geelong full of belief that they could pull off an upset. Alas, it was a shocking day for the Blues, as the Cats romped home in difficult conditions to secure a 51-point victory.

It was Geelong who adapted quicker to the ugly conditions and took control of the game, displaying cleaner use of the ball and leading the Northern Blues to the footy, smashing them in contested possession.

Understandably disappointed, Northern Blues Coach Robert Hyde was not hiding behind any excuses and put the loss down to a “lack of physicality and effort” and that the players had fallen back into safety mode and needed “to play for their teammates and not just themselves”. 

Hyde forced his players to analyse each other's performances in the rooms in the aftermath of the loss.

It went from bad to worse for the Blues in the second term. Despite a promising effort, in which they kept the Cats goalless and kicked two themselves, they were shell-shocked by an injury to key defender Jeremy Laidler. In his comeback game from a previous set-back, Laidler lasted just over a quarter after landing awkwardly and re-injuring his troublesome left knee. He took no further part in the match.

According to Hyde, the Laidler injury “was disappointing and devastating for him and the team”. Prior to going down, Laidler had looked sharp out on the field and appeared to show no signs of soreness. Hyde described the return of Laidler in the first quarter as pleasing “he’s a real general down back and the team was looking forward to his leadership as he reads the play so well and was getting some good touch and game time”.

Tom Bell was also a casualty from the loss, coming off the ground in the third term with hamstring troubles and taking no further part in the match.

With injuries taking their toll, the Blues were unable to add any goals on the scoreboard after half time as Geelong through Billy Smedts (22 disposals), Shannon Byrnes (20) and Simon Hogan (19) dominated the game. Jordan Russell was the major ball-winner for the Northern Blues, amassing 26 disposals, while Kane Lucas found the ball 23 times and Paul Bower had 21 touches.

Having lost their last five games, Hyde did take time out to praise his young group in their endeavour and application in trying to turn things around and keep the morale high in the group.

“The kids here have been really positive, they front up and train as hard as they can they have spirit,” Hyde said.