AFL: Cats make light work of Bombers despite Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett Jnr, Jack Steven, Rhys Stanley and Zach Tuohy all missing
Geelong’s clinical demolition of Essendon was a warning shot to the rest of the competition. But the performance has left coach Chris Scott with some very difficult calls to make – who fits into the Cats’ best 22?
Essendon
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A three-hour bus ride from the Sunshine Coast to the Gabba was telling of Essendon’s unfortunate Sunday after going down to Geelong by 66 points.
The club buses were held up in traffic so the team only arrived at the ground an hour before the first bounce.
However, Bombers coach John Worsfold was not prepared to use that as an excuse for his side’s performance.
After a woeful first half, Worsfold told his troops at halftime that they could either “sit here and feel sorry for yourselves or stay focused on the second half”.
“It’s another half of footy to play against a very good team and try and play the way we want to play,” he said.
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“To have more scoring shots than Geelong in the second half was a credit to the boys to fight it out and not give in.
“That would be one thing we’d take out of it.
“There’s still plenty to work on from the second half and some massive things to dig into as to why our first half was so poor.
“They took the fight up to a pretty slick unit in the second half.”
Their loss was compounded by the fact that dynamic small forward Irving Mosquito suffered a suspected ACL injury during the match.
With their finals hopes all but dashed, Worsfold said the club was excited about the prospect of playing ladder leaders Port Adelaide on Saturday.
“The disappointment of this game makes playing against Port Adelaide in Adelaide next week something again we should really excited about stepping up to that challenge,” he said.
“That’s how we are going to get better, play against the best teams.
“Take them on.
“Regardless of whatever the season says can happen we want to take on Port Adelaide.”
Sunday’s win was the Cats’ sixth-straight and sets up an enticing Friday night blockbuster against Richmond in what could play out for a spot in the top four.
For the Bombers, their finals chances took an absolute beating as their season sunk to a new low.
The Cats put on a sublime performance from the get-go, running out to a 75-point score at halftime – the highest midgame total of the season.
The Cats never took their foot off the pedal, with Sam Menegola starring with 30 disposals, eight clearances and three score assists.
ESSEN-DONE FOR THE YEAR
Sunday’s loss has all but ruined Essendon’s chances of making this year’s finals.
When you start bringing mathematics into the equation to try and make the top eight, you know your season isn’t going well.
They sit six points outside the Giants – who are in eighth spot – and another win to the Pies and GWS will make it near impossible for Essendon to claim a finals berth.
“They just a look a step behind, the Bombers,” former Bomber Jobe Watson told Channel 7 commentary. “They just look a little lethargic.”
Their floundering first quarter effort has cost them this season with Sunday becoming their eighth straight game of not kicking more than one goal in the opening term.
Just to add to their woes, Irving Mosquito suffered a serious leg injury in the third quarter and will be in doubt for their next match.
GEELONG GOALS
The Cats put on one of the most clinical performances in all areas of the field, but their goal kicking was sublime.
They led by 30 after the first quarter and that lead stretched out to 59 by halftime as they posted the biggest halftime score of the season.
They also became the first club to boot six goals in both the first and second quarters.
North Melbourne’s 119 points over Adelaide earlier this year remains the biggest score of the year, but Geelong looked likely of beating that against Essendon.
Coleman Medal leader Tom Hawkins continued his dominance in front of goal, booting four goals, and one behind to go 10 ahead in the tally count.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
It was pointed out before the match that Sunday’s Geelong v Essendon clash was a blast from the past for Aussie Rules.
Back in 1952, both these clubs met at Brisbane’s Ekka showground turf in a bid to sell the game north of the border.
Essendon were 69-point victors that evening with club legend John Coleman booting 13 goals.
The link came in the same week the AFL announced the 2020 Grand Final will be moved to the Gabba on October 24 – with part of the incentive being of growing the game in Queensland.
AWFUL BOMBERS ‘TORCHED’
Former Bombers star Jobe Watson said Essendon did not turn up ready “physically or mentally” and were “pulled apart” by the Cats en route to conceding the biggest halftime margin this season.
“You don’t want to give excuses for them, but we’ve seen teams really turn it up on these condensed blocks of games … from the moment this game started, you could see the Bombers were slow to close space,” Watson said on Seven at halftime.
“It’s always the biggest telltale sign of a team that is not ready, physically or mentally, when you just see them really lethargic when they’re near the ball, and it’s just snowballed from there.
“They’re now just getting pulled apart completely.”
North Melbourne champion David King said the two clubs were poles apart.
“One team’s looking for a premiership and one team’s looking for the finish line. The oxygen’s come out of their bubble, their energy is gone, they look spent, they look like they’re playing for themselves,” King said.
Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton added the Bombers’ defensive systems had failed.
“Torched them, that was extraordinary, when you’re getting dominated in clearances, dominated in possessions, dominated in contested possessions … in a season that you’re fatigued already, the first thing that goes is your attack on the opposition,” Brereton said.
“When the opposition have the ball, they’ve lacked the pressure, the system has fallen away.”
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Originally published as AFL: Cats make light work of Bombers despite Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett Jnr, Jack Steven, Rhys Stanley and Zach Tuohy all missing