Round 6 – Geelong v Western Bulldogs: Jezza’s tenner shines in Cats clinic, as Darcy disaster leaves the Dogs speechless

 

Geelong v Western Bulldogs

7:20pm, Friday April 17

Kardinia Park

 

 

The Geelong Cats have hit top gear on Friday night against a helpless Bulldogs, compiling on a attacking domination across four quarters to leave the Dogs bruised, winning 19.17 (131) to 8.8 (56).

 

Jeremy Cameron starred, booting 10 goals to kickstart his season, having seven to his name by half time, he hit full flight as the Geelong faithful enjoyed the display for milestone men, Mark Blicavs and Jake Kolodjashnij, under the lights.

 

The biggest story out of the game came early in the second quarter as Dogs star forward Sam Darcy went down clutching at his knee, as Dogs fans held their breath, he limped off and was ruled out of the game with a serious knee injury.

 

Despite Luke Beveridge’s hopes being vanished after Darcy went off injured, the damage had already been done. The Cats piled on six goals to one in the first quarter to put the Dogs on the backfoot. Another six in the second quarter left the margin at 57 points at half time, the Pups shell-shocked.

 

For a second consecutive week the Dogs had no Tim English and again struggled to fill the void at centre bounce. Young Cats ruck, Mitchell Edwards, had 34 hit outs; his leap and competitiveness too much for Dogs’ second gamer Louis Emmett.

 

The Dogs’ star-studded midfield were no match for their opponents as Bailey Smith (33 disposals, 11 clearances) and Max Holmes (28 disposals, 510 meters gained) continue to be the dynamic duo of the competition. Their running capacity was too much for Bevo’s men to handle as they wore the Dogs’ mids into the ground.

 

Oisin Mulin stared down the biggest role in footy with authority as he managed to keep Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli to 14 possessions for the night, and asserting his own influence on the contest when the game was on the line, ultimately enhancing his reputation as one of the better taggers in the competition.

 

Geelong’s ball movement was too dynamic for the Dogs’ defence, who, have had a good start to the season, however couldn’t contain the 67 inside 50s the Cats had, who supplied for their forwards all night. What was most impressive was Geelong’s efforts on the defensive side, squeezing the Dogs in their back six, applying pressure and shutting down their kicking game, leaving the Dogs with nowhere to go, turning the ball over 72 times for the match.

 

The Dogs showed a glimpse of fight for a spell in the third quarter, with Aaron Naughton (three goals) continuing his strong form to start the season, and Oskar Baker enjoying some time up forward getting on the end of a few consolation prizes. Ed Richards (30 disposals and 13 tackles) was his side’s best, working overtime after being in doubt during the week due to injury.

 

The night seemed to get worse for the Barkly Street boys, with Tom Liberatore being ruled out with concussion as defensive duo James O’Donnell and Rory Lobb found themselves hamstrung, leaving the Dogs with one bench rotation for the game.

 

The Cats, now with some momentum move into the AFL’s top six after hitting some form, as they eye off another four points against the Power this week. For the Dogs, they will start life without Sam Darcy in the forward line this Thursday, as a host of stars look set to be absent when they take on the rampant Swans.

 

 

GEELONG                              6.4    12.6    13.11   19.17 (131)
WESTERN BULLDOGS    1.2     3.3      7.5      8.8 (56)

GOALS  
Geelong: Cameron 10, Dangerfield 2, Dempsey, Neale, Martin, O.Henry, Humphries, Kolodjashnij, Smith
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 3, Baker, Croft 2, Lewis

BEST  
Geelong: Cameron, Smith, Holmes, Dempsey, Edwards, Martin
Western Bulldogs: Richards, Baker, Kennedy, Naughton

Crowd: 33,200

 

 

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