Fremantle expose Geelong in one-sided victory at Optus Stadium

Geelong have been brought back down to Earth with a thud on Saturday after being run off the park for the second straight week.

The Cats have been exposed. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Geelong were well and truly exposed on Saturday afternoon in Perth against a rampant Fremantle Dockers outfit.

The Cats entered the contest as the overwhelming favourites, but from the outset it was clear the home team meant business.

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After holding a nine-point lead at halftime the Dockers kicked away in the second half, kicking eight goals to five as they claimed the 29-point victory.

The margin flatters Geelong who were blown off the park and looked helpless at stopping or even slowing down the Dockers.

Without Patrick Dangerfield or Cam Guthrie in the team, the Cats midfield was nowhere to be seen as Dockers stars lined up to fill their pockets.

Andrew Brayshaw led the charge with 33 disposals as nine Fremantle players recorded 20 or more disposals.

For Geelong it was Zach Tuohy and Tanner Bruhn leading the way with an equal team-high 19 disposals.

When the final siren sounded the disparity in disposals had eclipsed the 100 mark. A damning figure, made even uglier by the fact the Dockers led the contest with six more tackles.

The Dockers are clicking. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

For a second consecutive week, Geelong were exposed by a classy opposition midfield.

In Round 9, the tackling, ability to win contested possessions and clearance work of Richmond’s Shae Bolton and Tim Taranto were too much for the Cats to manage.

In Perth on Saturday, it was Brayshaw and Caleb Serong that the reigning premier struggled with.

Last week, the Cats allowed a combined seven goals from Tigers Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin last.

On Saturday, the Dockers had 11 goal scorers, led by Michael Walters and Jye Amiss, with three each in the 16.10 (106) to 11.11 (77) win.

Tom Hawkins kept the Cats in the game, kicking three goals. Jeremy Cameron could have, but missed his chances, finishing with a wasteful 0.4.

Fremantle has recovered from its 2-5 start to the season, having now won its past three games on the trot, including consecutive wins over last year’s grand finalists, Sydney and Geelong.

The ability to win clearances and strong tackling is resulting in Fremantle having more inside 50s entries.

They had six fewer entries into attack than the Cats on Saturday, but took five more marks while in there.

The Cats have been exposed. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Brayshaw has turned his form around, matching the Dockers’ form revival. Over the past three weeks, he’s had 96 possessions, 23 tackles and 17 clearances.

He’s now had five games of more than 30 touches and needs to again start to be in conversations about Brownlow Medals and All-Australian selection.

For a lot of both the second and third term, Geelong looked less like the reigning champs and more like the side that lost the first three games of this season.

A feature of those defeats was getting beaten in key statistics of contested possessions and clearances.

Collingwood, Carlton and the Gold Coast were able to get on top in both areas to record wins.

But over the following six rounds, Geelong was able to turn the tables in those areas, even in the Round 9 loss to Richmond.

Over that time, the Cats recorded 49 more clearances and 83 more contested possessions than their opponents.

For the majority of the second term on Saturday, the Dockers dominated in both areas to open up a 17-point lead. They did the same in the third and go out to a 22-point advantage.

At times, the Cats couldn’t get their hands on the footy.

– with Brad Elborough, NCA Newswire