By Damien Ractliffe
Geelong have sent a warning to the rest of the competition about their premiership credentials after a crushing victory over Essendon, in which the Cats kicked seven goals before the Bombers got their first.
While the Cats have thrashed Hawthorn, Sydney and North Melbourne this season, not since last year’s grand final have they punished a top-eight side like they did the Bombers on Saturday night, winning 18.14 (122) to 7.3 (45).
Geelong proved way too strong for Eseendon.Credit: Getty Images
Essendon travelled down the highway full of promise after last week’s impressive win over Adelaide saw them jump from eighth to fifth on the ladder.
But Geelong coach Chris Scott inflicted his 10th win from 14 matches in the coaches’ box against his brother Brad, whose side had no answers for the Cats in the first 30 minutes, and few more after that.
“It’s sort of hard to believe they were sitting in eighth position coming into this round,” said Bombers coach Brad Scott.
“They’re clearly the best team we’ve played all year. We’ve only conceded 100 points twice - to the same team. They dominated us in all parts of the game today.”
The reigning premiers had 18 of last year’s grand final side 23 on the field, with only Cam Guthrie, Zach Tuohy, Jed Bews, Brandan Parfitt and retired captain Joel Selwood not playing.
And they found some of that vintage form that made them the competition’s most lethal side 12 months ago, piling on seven unanswered goals in the first quarter to shell shock the Bombers and basically ice the game.
The Bombers stemmed some of the bleeding after quarter-time, but their kicking was woeful, and Geelong’s intercept defenders Jack Henry and Tom Stewart had a field day picking off marks across halfback.
“They kicked their first 13 goals from turnovers, and that wasn’t necessarily us butchering the ball, it was on the back of their pressure and structure and being able to win it back off us,” Brad Scott said.
“They were far too good for us. We got a good lesson today.”
At the other end, Tom Hawkins proved too powerful for his opponents, adding five more goals to his incredible career tally of 777, which saw him close to within one major of Tigers great Kevin Bartlett - 14th on the all-time goalkickers list with 778.
Chris Scott said his side’s first-quarter performance was its best quarter for the season.
But ahead of a meeting with Brisbane, he quashed suggestions the Cats needed a true litmus test against a top-four side.
Essendon’s loss was soured by an ankle injury to Jayden Laverde, but Brad Scott was optimistic it was only a minor injury.
Life of Gryan
Inadvertently caught up in a fake news storm this week, Gryan Miers enjoyed the first highlight of his 100th match, slotting the first goal of the game.
Miers, who has stamped himself as one of the best goal assist players in the competition, intercepted a handball deep inside-50, broke a tackle and then slotted the checkside, before replicating champion soccer player Lionel Messi’s ‘sky point’ celebration.
Gryan Miers kicks the first goal in his 100th match.Credit: Getty Images
Miers’ football nous was compared to the skills of soccer great Messi in a fake quote brouhaha on social media this week, a reference pretending to have come from experienced radio broadcaster Gerard Whateley, which went viral after Whateley unsuccessfully urged Twitter users to delete the meme.
The path to finals
Three wins and a draw from their past month, and the spluttering of other teams inside the eight, saw Geelong jump to fifth on the ladder to maintain striking distance on fourth-placed Melbourne.
There’s a game and a half gap between the Demons and Cats, and two and a half games to Brisbane in third, who the Cats play next weekend at the ’Gabba in a blockbuster match-up.
Games against Port Adelaide and Collingwood also beckon for the Cats in the run to September, which may or may not shape the top four, but will certainly provide Scott with a guide on how in-tune his brigade is humming going into finals.
And while a lot has to go right for the Cats to finish in the top-four, Scott was confident their game was in good order.
“We always said we’d rather be playing our best footy towards the end of the year, even if it meant sacrificing ladder position,” he said.
“I’m not happy with our ladder position but really confident we’re tracking in the right way to finding our best footy, which is dangerous.”
The half-a-game gap between fifth and ninth was even greater reflected in Essendon’s drop, back to the pack after losing six per cent with the 78-point loss.
Spot for Sav?
A lot of the selection spotlight this weekend has been on Brodie Grundy’s omission from the Melbourne side, but simultaneously, Esava Ratugolea was ‘managed’ this week, and may struggle to break back into the Cats line-up as a key defender.
Sam De Koning, Jack Henry and Jake Kolodjashnij looked as rock solid as they have all year on the last line, making it difficult to see how Ratugolea finds his way back into the team.
But Chris Scott said he had no intention on locking down an ideal team to take into finals.
“We just don’t think in terms of what’s our best 22 when we have to pick it,” he said.
“We just wait until we get to that week and pick the appropriate team for that moment, and it rarely - if ever - gets to the point we think it’s locked in.”
Votes:
Tom Hawkins (Geelong) - 8
Tom Stewart (Geelong) - 7
Max Holmes (Geelong) - 7
Jack Henry (Geelong) - 6
Tom Atkins (Geelong) - 6
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