What an occasion it will be.

Geelong’s Round 5 clash against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday afternoon will see two of the Cats’ modern-day greats celebrate milestones.

Captain Joel Selwood will pull on the Geelong hoops for 300th time, while Gary Ablett Jnr will play his 350th AFL game.

The match itself should be a close contest. The Suns are flying sitting second on the ladder off the back of three consecutive wins. Geelong’s form has been a little up and down to start the season, but there is no doubt the team will be looking to lift for this big occasion.

Match Details

Geelong Cats v Gold Coast Suns at GMHBA Stadium
Saturday 4 July @ 4.35pm

Last time we met: Round 10, 2019 – Geelong 13.13 (91) def Gold Coast 9.10 (64)

Mitch Duncan was the star for the Cats with three goals and 27 touches. Tom Hawkins chipped in four goals, while Mark Blicavs was excellent down back with 18 disposals and 11 intercepts.

Brayden Fiorini and Lachie Weller led the charge for the Suns with 29 and 27 disposals respectively.

For and Against: Played: 11 | Won: 9 | Lost: 2

Milestone Men

Between them they have then have won five Carji Greeves Medals, featured in three premierships and 14 All Australian Teams.

On Saturday, Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett Jnr will play their 300th and 350th games respectively.

“They have just been remarkable players and people for our football club,” Geelong Coach Chris Scott said at Tuesday’s press conference.

“They will go down as all-time greats irrespective of what happens from here.”

“It is a privilege to be involved in the game and it is important that we play well for a whole host of reasons and the fact that it is a milestone for those guys is only one of them.”

Jack Henry will also celebrate a milestone, be it a smaller one – pulling on the blue and white hoops for the 50th time.

How the two sides compare

The statistics point towards a close contest between two evenly matched sides.

The Cats may not have produced their best football in the past fortnight, but it is worth noting that they are the second highest scoring team behind Port Adelaide after four rounds.

Geelong’s average of 74.8 points per game is slightly better than Gold Coast, who are ranked fifth in the competition with 65 points per game.

Both forwardlines don’t rely heavily on one or two individuals to kick a winning score.

Ben King leads the charge for the Suns this year with seven majors ahead of Matt Rowell and Ben Ainsworth with six, while Tom Hawkins, Mitch Duncan and Gryan Miers have each kicked five goals for the Cats.

Both sides also rank in the top five for clearances and total disposals.

In fact, the midfield battle could be where it is won.

Rowell, who Chris Scott compared to a young Selwood, has been superb for the Suns this season and alongside Touk Miller form a dangerous duo to watch in the middle. 

Their battle with Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield is set to be a beauty.

Broadcast

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IT TOOK until the final four minutes, but it came. And when it did, it was special.

Gary Ablett was no standout in the Cats' champion's 350th game, floating between the forward line and midfield, but with his side's win against Gold Coast wrapped up late in the last quarter, Ablett still provided a memorable moment. 

From a set-shot from outside 50 metres, Ablett slotted the long bomb to seal the Cats' 37-point victory over the Suns before raising both arms in celebration.

His Cats teammates, having seen off a tough and competitive Suns unit, swarmed him as they celebrated their 13.11 (89) to 8.4 (52) victory at GMHBA Stadium.

The Cats were steered to their third win of the season by midfielders Mitch Duncan (25 disposals) and Sam Menegola (23), while Joel Selwood, in his 300th game, was also excellent.

The Suns' streak of three wins was ended in their first game away from Metricon Stadium this year.

They played the majority of the game without young gun Matt Rowell, who suffered a shoulder injury early in the first quarter and sat on the bench for the rest of the game with his right arm in a sling.

His absence was costly for Gold Coast but not a killer blow, with the Suns overcoming a slow start to jump to a nine-point lead in the early stages of the third term after back-to-back goals at the start of the second half. 

But that only stung the Cats into action. They booted five of the next six goals for the quarter and then kicked three goals in the last term and kept the Suns scoreless to run out comfortable winners.

Milestone men 

It wasn't the type of outing that Ablett and Selwood would have been hoping for in their milestone matches without a crowd and their families unable to attend. But the Cats' comeback in the second half to steer them across the line was important in honouring the champions' respective milestones. Skipper Selwood was typically tough and instrumental in the midfield, gathering 22 disposals and eight tackles, while Ablett was a little quieter with 14 disposals and his long goal. They walked off the field in front of a guard of honour and clapping ringing around an empty GMHBA Stadium. 

Is the Rising Star race back on?

Rowell's injury will have big repercussions for Gold Coast. The midfielder's immediate impact in the start of his AFL career has been immense, and he has become one of the club's first-picked players already. But pleasingly for the Suns, they responded well to his absence after quarter-time, settling in the midfield and working through other on-ball options. His close mate and last year's No.2 pick Noah Anderson was strong on the wing with 17 disposals, and if Rowell faces a lengthy stint on the sidelines the race for the NAB AFL Rising Star is back wide open.  

The battle of the big men

At one end Tom Hawkins enjoyed the best game of his season. And at the other Ben King proved once again that he is one of the best young forwards – and players – in the competition. Hawkins feasted on a disorganised Suns defence in the first term, booting two goals and then adding a third in the second term, to record his best goal tally of the season by half-time. He also finished with five score assists. King was also impressive, though. The athletic big man, matched up against Mark Blicavs, kicked three goals in a scintillating second quarter.

GEELONG                            4.3       5.6       10.7    13.11 (89)
GOLD COAST                       1.1       5.2      8.4    8.4 (52)

GOALS
Geelong: Hawkins 3, Parfitt 2, Ablett, Dahlhaus, Dangerfield, Menegola, Miers, Ratugolea, Rohan, Steven
Gold Coast: King 3, Day 2, Weller 2, Sexton

WE WIN, YOU WIN - FUEL DISCOUNT

BEST
Geelong: Duncan, Hawkins, Menegola, Selwood, Dangerfield, Tuohy
Gold Coast: Swallow, Greenwood, King, Anderson, Bowes, Miller

INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Gold Coast: Rowell (right shoulder)