AFL 2022 Geelong v Brisbane Lions preliminary final: All the latest news and updates
Geelong remains optimistic about Max Holmes’ Grand Final hopes but are unlikely to know for days just how bad the young star’s hamstring blow was.
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Geelong may not know until mid-week whether in-form midfielder Max Holmes will be part of the club’s bid to win a first premiership in 11 years.
Holmes underwent scans on his right hamstring on Saturday after being subbed out of the previous night’s dominant preliminary final win over Brisbane.
He emotionally pounded the MCG turf on the sidelines in the minutes after the setback, but Cats coach Chris Scott said post-game the club’s medical staff were “optimistic” he could play in the grand final.
Geelong football boss Simon Lloyd told News Corp that Holmes had experienced neural hamstring pain, or tension – rather than a strain or tear – in the past and played the next week.
The hope is it is again nerve-related but the Cats will wait for scan results before confirming that diagnosis.
“We saw him limp off the ground and I think we all thought the worst to begin with, then he went down with our medical team, who did a little bit of screening,” Lloyd said.
“Chris relayed post-game there was a bit more optimism from Max and the medical team, but we always give it 24 to 36 hours with these sorts of things, for our medical team to do their scans and speak to different consultants.
“They’ll come to us over the next day and let us know what it’s going to look like, but I’d envisage this will be one that we’ll see how Max recovers throughout the week.”
Holmes, 20, blossomed late in the season as an important player for Geelong but the Cats have quality players on standby if he is ruled out.
Mark O’Connor was the medical substitute on Friday night, while Brandan Parfitt and Sam Menegola were among the emergencies.
Geelong will also take precautions against illness ahead of the grand final, including arriving at a different time and being seated in a separate room to fellow guests at the Brownlow Medal on Sunday night.
Jeremy Cameron is rated the Cats’ best chance of winning this year’s medal and the player would accept the honour on stage in that scenario.
The Cats also limited family access in the rooms after beating the Lions and required working media to wear masks, but Lloyd said the strategy went beyond Covid concerns.
“You only need to go back 12 months and we had an outbreak of gastro (ahead of the preliminary final) and lost a lot of players, and there’s a fair bit going around,” he said.
“We saw that last week with a couple of opposition teams ... so we’ve taken a lot of precautions in that space around how we’re operating and that’s through what we’ve learned previously.
“We’re just trying to make sure we give the club every opportunity to have our best team out there and performing at our optimum.”
😞#AFLFinalspic.twitter.com/cvdLWZvwND
— AFL (@AFL) September 16, 2022
Scott said his team was in “really good shape” ahead of its third grand final during his 11-year reign at Kardinia Park.
“We thought we were in really good shape going into the game. We will take that feeling into next week as well,” he said.
“There is always a level of anxiousness when the stakes are so high. The execution from our team over the last three or four months has been really good but you have to keep doing it in the moment.
“Save for a few missed shots early on when we really could have put them away it was a good performance.”
The igniter for the Cats was veteran Patrick Dangerfield who started in the centre square - he was on the bench at the opening bounce of the qualifying final against Collingwood - and kicked two first quarter goals.
“He is in really good shape and compared to where he has been previously it’s chalk and cheese,” Scott said of Dangerfield’s 28-possession performance. “He’s a bit older but he goes into the biggest game of the year in the best shape he has been in for years.”
Irishman Mark O’Connor was again the medical sub and came on for Holmes but should a change be forced Brandan Parfitt and Sam Menegola will also come under consideration.
Parfitt was unlucky to fall out of the side for the finals while the experienced Menegola has been hampered by injury for most of the year but is finally back to full fitness.
Prelim pantsing: Scott proves critics wrong as Cats GF bound
— Marc McGowan
Sweet redemption is within reach for Chris Scott and his grand final-bound Cats.
Mocked after another preliminary final flop a year ago to eventual premier Melbourne, Scott set about tweaking rather than completely overhauling a game plan that had mostly served him well.
But it repeatedly came unstuck in the biggest moments since Geelong won the 2011 premiership in Scott’s first season at the helm.
There were five infamous preliminary final defeats in six tries, as well as the heartbreaking grand final loss two years ago to Richmond after leading by 22 points nearing half-time.
Even Scott, one of the winningest coaches in VFL/AFL history, was questioned.
It is too early to suggest the Cats are over the hump, given they must beat one of Sydney or Collingwood in next week’s decider, but they looked as slick as ever on Friday night.
After a competitive start, Geelong put an overmatched Brisbane to the sword, eventually pounding the Lions by 71 points in an MCG massacre that delighted the Cats’ fans.
A blistering second-quarter burst wrenched the contest in Geelong’s favour for good, and the Lions’ five-goal deficit at the main break was actually flattering.
The Cats moved the Sherrin with speed not often associated with them – and certainly not last year, when they were at pains to control the ball and limit turnover.
Patrick Dangerfield produced a brilliant display from the get-go and Tom Hawkins overcame a case of the yips to kick four goals but this was also a night for Geelong’s low-profile crew.
Gryan Miers, Jake Kolodjashnij and Brad Close were all magnificent, while the Cats’ bargain-basement recruit-turned-All-Australian Tyson Stengle slotted three classy goals.
But Geelong’s otherwise perfect night was marred when Max Holmes, who was amid another mature performance, cruelly sustained a right hamstring injury in the third term.
Holmes was visibly shattered on the sidelines as he pounded the turf in realisation his grand final dream was almost certainly dashed.
Danger-ous early signs
Not even a minute elapsed before Patrick Dangerfield kicked truly on Friday night, after marking over his head while running inside 50 towards goal.
The champion Cat struck his set shot beautifully, setting the tone for a signature night as he edged ever closer to an elusive premiership.
Dangerfield did it all – snaffling an intercept grab in defensive 50 shortly after, dominating in contests across the ground and driving trademark kicks into attack.
The 2016 Brownlow medallist and eight-time All-Australian has basically done it all as an individual but craves a flag more than anything else.
That is simply extraordinary from Patrick Dangerfield!#ColesGoals | #AFLFinalspic.twitter.com/lna33YiLMT
— AFL (@AFL) September 16, 2022
Costly Sherrin spill
Only nine points separated the teams when Eric Hipwood spilled a straightforward chest mark on his haunches and tumbled to the ground.
It was about 10 minutes into the second quarter, and the Lions had kicked the only goal of the term.
But Hipwood’s elementary error not only resulted in Zach Guthrie setting up a Gary Rohan mark and goal, but the Cats quickly added two more and blew the half-time margin out to 30 points.
That was flattering, too, given one of the goalkickers, Tom Hawkins, sprayed two other set shots, including one 20m out directly in front.
Making matters worse, Hipwood didn’t have a single touch at the time of his drop.
Brisbane’s forward line had a nightmare first two quarters, with none of Joe Daniher, Hipwood, Daniel McStay or Charlie Cameron winning more than four disposals by then.
The night didn’t get any better.
CATS 4.2, 7.7, 14.11, 18.12 (120)
LIONS 2.0, 3.1, 5.2, 7.7 (49)
McGOWAN’S BEST
Cats: Dangerfield, Kolodjashnij, Miers, Hawkins, Close, Stewart, Holmes.
Lions: Gardiner, Payne, Rich, Coleman.
GOALS
Cats: Hawkins 4, Stengle 3, Dangerfield 2, Rohan 2, Miers 2, Holmes, Selwood, Cameron, Close, Z.Guthrie.
Lions: Hipwood 2, McCarthy, Ah Chee, Bailey, Cameron, Berry.
INJURIES Cats: Holmes (right hamstring). Lions: Rayner (right ankle).
UMPIRES Rosebury, Gavine, Hosking.
VENUE MCG
CROWD 77,677
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