AFL Geelong v Adelaide: Cats win thriller as young guns stand tall and Tyson Stengle responds after nightclub incident

It looked to be another game at GMHBA Stadium gone to waste for the Cats, but two emerging talents stepped up to the plate when they needed it most. And Tyson Stengle made a statement after a challenging week.

Geelong fans were ruing and booing the controversial non-call on Jeremy Cameron late in the third quarter.

The Cats had Adelaide at arms length and another goal for Cameron would have put them more than 20 points ahead, making it difficult for the Crows to come back.

Instead, the chopping the arms free kick wasn’t called and the Crows went on to kick a goal at the other end.

Then another. And another.

In all the Crows piled on four goals in the space of eight minutes, with key defender Sam De Koning going down innocuously behind the play as Jake Soligo put the Crows in front.

Four in a row and the Crows are in front 👀#AFLCatsCrowspic.twitter.com/82Qu0h3xdB

— AFL (@AFL) August 3, 2024

Suddenly the Crows had all the momentum after another catnap at GMHBA Stadium.

Think the losses to Port Adelaide, GWS and the Western Bulldogs at the ground they used to call a fortress, all marred by horrible patches where the Cats were opened up significantly.

Such was the costly nature of this lapse, the Cats went from second on the live ladder.

Crows big man Riley Thilthorpe made it five in a row in the opening minutes of the last to silence the crowd.

But the Cats weren’t dropping this nailbiter.

Geelong had almost all of the play from that point on, peppering the Crows defence with repeat inside 50s, surging the Sherrin in 16 times to Adelaide’s 10.

And it wasn’t their experienced heads who delivered the telling contributions. Instead, it was two youngsters who stepped up to the plate when it mattered most.

Key forward Shannon Neale took a towering grab close to goal and kicked truly to put the Cats within a goal at the 10 minute mark.

The Cats could muster just three behinds in the next twelve minutes despite dominating the play, until the unlikely hero Lawson Humphries put his side in front with his first AFL goal.

Lawson Humphries and Jake Kolodjashnij celebrate his go-ahead goal. Picture: Martin Keep/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Humphries had come close to a goal minutes earlier after taking a big grab and just fell short with his set shot. But his second chance sailed straight through off a step from 45 metres after Rising Star favourite Ollie Dempsey found him in space by hand.

The 21-year-old had impressed at the other end earlier in the match with some critical defensive acts and intercepts.

The cool, calm and collected sensation has defied all expectations in his six AFL games, and has now proved early in his career that he true matchwinning ability.

After being denied in the third term, it was fitting that Cameron, who kicked five goals in the first three quarters, got the chance to kick the sealer after a courageous mark back with the flight.

However, the dangerous Josh Rachele made things interesting by putting the Crows within a goal again with seconds on the clock.

But the Cats managed to hang on by the skin of their teeth in the final 30 seconds to keep their top-four hopes alive.

It wasn’t pretty, nor was it convincing. But all Geelong needs to do at this stage is keep winning, with games against Fremantle, St Kilda and West Coast to come.

STENGLE RESPONSE

Geelong coach Chris Scott was emphatic that Tyson Stengle didn’t need to take a week off after his nightclub mishap – whether that be for health or disciplinary reasons.

And just six days after he was rushed to hospital from Geelong’s Bloom nightclub, Stengle stood up against the club that turfed him back in 2021.

Stengle showed no effects from what would have been a challenging week. If anything, he appeared determined to make things right by doing what he does best: wreaking havoc inside 50.

The 25-year-old was given rounds of applause from the supportive GMHBA Stadium crowd after his first disposal on the wing.

Shortly after they were roaring again when he had the first goal of the game on the board, judging a kick forward better than his 19-year-old opponent Hugh Bond, who had a baptism of fire in just his fourth game.

Tyson Stengle produced an impressive performance after a challenging week. Picture: Martin Keep/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

What would have impressed the Cats more was Stengle’s rundown tackle that followed in the first quarter, crunching a Crow in a flash to win a free kick.

Stengle continued to win critical contest throughout the match and should have added a second goal after another cleverly taken mark inside 50.

He also smartly kept his man out of the contest on two occasions close to goal in the second term that led to majors for Cameron on the run and Ollie Henry marking back with the flight

Stengle finished with more contested possessions than any other Cat with 14 as well as 20 disposals, nine score involvements and 1.1 in a stellar performance against the odds.

Originally published as AFL Geelong v Adelaide: Cats win thriller as young guns stand tall and Tyson Stengle responds after nightclub incident