AS GEELONG searches for an answer to turn around its form slump, coach Chris Scott has savaged his team's "disgraceful" tackling effort in its loss to Essendon. 

The Cats' last-quarter fightback saw them cut their losing margin to just 17 points at the hands of the Bombers at the MCG on Saturday night, despite being outplayed for the majority of the contest.

In their third straight defeat since winning the opening five games of the season, the Cats recorded just 39 tackles for the game – 42 fewer than the Bombers. That number included just six at quarter time, with 14 Cats players finishing the game with either one or no tackles to their name.

Scott was emphatic about his team's lack of effort when it came to stopping the Bombers, who blitzed through the middle of the ground and held a 40-point lead at the final change.

"For the third week in a row it was a really, really poor performance. We've got to stop talking about being uncharacteristic, because it is what we are right at the moment," he said after the defeat.

Five talking points: Bombers v Cats

"The execution with the ball, and goalkicking is the best example of that, and it is very poor in our game at the moment. Our ball handling, our fumbling, [which] invites the opposition's pressure and helped their tackle count tonight, is a big problem in our game…15 (sic 13) tackles in a half is just a disgraceful performance."

Scott said the coaching group addressed the situation at half time but there was not an immediate response after the main break. There were 12 Cats who did not lay a tackle in the first half, with Scott indicating the blowtorch will be out in the review of the game.

"It was spoken about at half time, we're not idiots. We were very fumbly around the ground ball, which allowed them to get closer to the tackle. And they were a lot cleaner around the ground ball than us which made it a little bit harder for us. But that's a very, very shallow excuse for such a poor number," he said.

"We look at our method and we look at the individuals as well, because if you drill down to that one number there are a lot of individuals who didn't contribute at all in a half of footy and some over the course of the whole game."

The Cats booted six goals in the final term to get close to pipping the Bombers, in what would have been a record comeback from a three-quarter time deficit. But Scott said even if his side had have run over Essendon it would only have been masking the cracks that exist in their game.

"Late in the game we were on top and 10 points down and looked like we could have stolen it which, to an extent, wouldn't have reflected the way the rest of the game was played," he said.

"We had a really good patch in the last quarter but even then when we had our chances we fluffed them as well. You can't defend the indefensible, so when you look at the numbers, especially the tackle count, and say our mindset wasn't right, I'm not going to argue with that."

Ruckman Rhys Stanley was helped from the field with a leg injury in the final minutes of the game and sat out the rest of the contest on the interchange bench. However, Scott is optimistic the athletic big man has escaped serious damage.

"He seems to be okay. It potentially looks worse than it is when a player goes straight off, but it was just a case of not being much time to go and we needed to get a player on," Scott said.

Lachie Henderson (sore ribs) is expected to return next week against the Western Bulldogs after missing the clash with Essendon, and Scott Selwood may also come in for his first senior game of the season after promising VFL form.

The Cats host the premiers at the Simonds Stadium on Friday night in their first game at their home ground this year, and Scott said his group needed to rebound promptly.

"It should be a quick fix, but three weeks into it, we need to turn it around and turn it around quickly," he said. 

"The upside is it's a pretty tight competition. If you take a couple of steps back, 5-3 is not a horrible position to be in. But I think potentially the first five rounds of the year flattered us a bit."