Geelong makes a statement with 38-point win over St Kilda
GEELONG entered the season an asterisk, but at 5-0 after a 38-point win against St Kilda, the Cats have proved they are far from a spent force.
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GEELONG entered the season an asterisk.
Overly reliant on two superstar midfielders, a bit old down back, and an inconsistent forward line.
A lot of good judges had them sliding down the ladder.
Yet as the Cats approach the first turn of the season undefeated after five games, even with a couple of scares against North Melbourne and the Demons, it is clear this footy club is far from a spent force.
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Joel Selwood made sure of it.
Sunday’s 38-point win over St Kilda felt like a bit of a statement from the Cats as they shrugged off St Kilda, who was brave for the first three quarters, but was punished in the last term as Geelong slammed home eight final-quarter goals.
The inspirational Geelong captain was disappointed pre-season when he was caught speeding, costing the club its TAC sponsorship, but he promised to pay back the Cats on the field and he produced one of the best second-halves of his career to bury the Saints at Etihad Stadium.
He equalled his career-best 43-possessons with yet another courageous mark out in front and released Cam Guthrie with a pinpoint handpass that allowed Geelong to slam home its eighth goal of the final quarter.
Teammates rushed to their captain, showing their respect.
Saints fans jeered a few times early when he received some high free kicks, but Selwood’s desperation at the ball and selflessness was extraordinary.
You had to marvel at his toughness.
And while his mate Patrick Dangerfield finished up with 31 possessions and slotted two important goals in the last term, the superstar Brownlow medallist was not his normal damaging self.
Pleasingly for the Cats, the midfield cameos were provided by Mitch Duncan, George Horlin-Smith and Darcy Lang.
Zach Tuohy was excellent off half back and is looking like one of the recruits of the year, while former Roo Aaron Black made an important contribution in attack.
In his first senior game for the Cats, Black provided another mobile marking target and was clever late in the game reading a reflex all off hands to boot his second goal.
And we can’t under estimate the effort of full back Tom Lonergan who threw himself at a rampaging Tim Membrey, preventing the Saint’s forward from hitting the open teammate upfield and most certainly saving an open goal early in the fourth quarter.
Lonergan has only one kidney yet produced the courageous moment in a moment which sparked his team.
Tom Hawkins was well beaten by Nathan Brown, who was one of St Kilda’s best players for the second week in a row.
But the Saints had no answer for the Cats’ last-term dominance despite leading by five points at the last change.
Saints speedster Jack Steven ran out of gas after troubling Geelong with his speed earlier, until Selwood stepped in.
His team is the best last quarter performer in the AFL, underlining their maturity as they seek redemption for last year’s preliminary final thrashing from Sydney Swans that haunted the club and ignited change in Geelong’s game plan.
They want to defend deeper, and use the ball better than last year, and in an open season, they believe they can still trouble the early fancies, in Greater Western Sydney and Adelaide.
The Cats tackle Collingwood, Gold Coast and Essendon over the next three weeks, before their next biggest test against the reigning premier Western Bulldogs.
The Saints looked damaging on the rebound early but late knocks to Nick Riewoldt and Billy Longer hobbled the duo late as the Cats made their charge.
They looked to be beaten by the better team yesterday.
Chris Scott would have been thinking about ways to try get spearhead Hawkins involved in the third term as the Geelong full forward struggled to break free of Brown.
The full back was picked up on the cheap as a free agent at the end of last season and must be high on confidence after getting the jo done on his former team last week.
Hawkins had only one mark and five possessions at the last change, as Harry Taylor was swung forward and back and forward again, and butchered a 35m set shot that almost went out of bounds on the full in the third term.
“It’s all mind games,” Wayne Carey said of the goal scoring yips on Triple M.
By halftime we were trying again to make sense of the hot and cold Cats.
In the first quarter, we again marvelling at their burst scoring and potency forward with new Cat Black latching on to a juggling mark over Jarryn Geary to help round out the scoring threat in attack.
Taylor nailed his first major five games into the season in his new forward role as the Cats racked up the uncontested marks and controlled the ball in the middle.
They had eight goals from only eight inside 50s, and looked the real deal as they surged to a 19-point lead, after again pummelling Hawthorn last week.
But, as often happens in Geelong matches, the tone of the contest changed considerably in the second term as the Saints stepped up their pressure game, helping deny the Cats the easy ball down the corridor and free handpasses around the clearances.
And Alan Richardson’s men began to cut apart Geelong on the rebound, using Dylan Roberton in a damaging counter-attack role that punished Collingwood at the same venue.
In his first game back from a punctured lung, Steven turned on the afterburners around the contest and began to have a significant influence with a damaging 12-possession second term.
Seb Ross also continued his outstanding form from last week’s win over the Magpies and is pushing towards being classified as an A-Grade midfielder.
His sizzling low bullet inside 50m to Jack Newnes, which picked apart a congested Geelong defensive zone, late in the second term put the Saints up by two points at the main change.
New recruit Jack Steele was also doing his customary tough stuff with eight first-half tackles and four clearances, taking up some of the slack left by sidelined star ballwinner David Armitage as he deals with a serious groin injury.
ST KILDA 4.1 8.5 12.7 13.10 (88)
GEELONG 6.1 8.3 11.8 19.12 (126)
GOALS
Saints: Minchington 3, Membrey 2, Steven, Riewoldt, Bruce, Acres, Ross, Weller, Dunstan, Newnes
Cats: Menzel 2, Lang 2, Hawkins 2, Dangerfield 2, Cockatoo 2, Black 2, Horlin-Smith, Mackie, Guthrie, Taylor, Duncan, Selwood, Murdoch
BEST
Saints: Ross, Brown, Steven, Roberton, Minchington, Steele, Newnes
Cats: Selwood, Horlin-Smith, Tuohy, Blicavs, Henderson, Duncan, Dangerfield
INJURIES
Saints: Longer (TBC), Riewoldt (right ankle)
Cats: Hawkins (corked hip)
Reports: Nil
Official crowd: 33,884 at Etihad Stadium
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