You can’t quite smell the freshly cut grass of September yet but certain fixtures at this time of the year have that finals feel about it, and this one is one of those.

The Bulldogs’ are reigning grand finalists whose season is on the line and you’d expect them to come out firing on Saturday night.

Joel Selwood, who will play his 350th game for the club, was 15 years old when the Dogs last headed back up the highway with the four points, so traditionally Geelong hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for them. Not that Luke Beveridge and his men will care about old stats.

The Bulldogs are lethal when they get their contested game going and the duel at the coalface on Saturday night will be fascinating.

You’d suspect even the neutrals will tune in for this one.

Here are a couple of things to look out for when the ball is bounced at 7.25pm.

Tom Stewart’s Return

As Geelong premiership captain Cameron Ling said on this week’s To The Final Bell podcast, the fact that the Cats have gone 4-0 without their defensive general shows how tight the Geelong defence has become in 2022.

It wasn’t long ago that a missing Tom Stewart would leave Cats fans taking a deep breath. If you cast your mind back to Round 12 against the Dogs when Stewart was subbed out with a concussion, the Cats' almost had their 40 point lead reigned in.

But with the continued growth of players like Zach Guthrie, Jack Henry, and Sam De Koning, that game feels like a very, very long time ago. To emerge from a stretch that included Melbourne, Carlton and a trip to Adelaide 4-0 is a big plus for the Cats defenders.

A Cegsy Debut

It was going to be interesting to see how the Cats’ coaching staff got games into a fit Jonathon Ceglar before September with Rhys Stanley playing some seriously good football. That decision was made for them when Stanley hurt his knee last week against the Power and Cats fans will have their first look at the former Hawk in the hoops this weekend.

He’s already put together some nice performances at VFL level, but here are his six most recent games at AFL level if you were wondering:

V GWS (15 disposals, 29 hitouts)

V Port (19 disposals, 17 hitouts)

V Fremantle (13 disposals, 17 hitouts, 4 tackles)

V Collingwood (20 disposals, 21 hitouts)

V Western Bulldogs (17 disposals, 34 hitouts)

V Richmond (19 disposals, 24 hitous, 4 tackles)

#Sel350

There’ll be plenty happening at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night to mark the skipper’s milestone, including a panoramic shot of the ground pre game, so make sure you get there early to be part of history.

But for Joel himself, the pomp and ceremony will be nice, but the win will be better.

He’s currently tied with Essendon great Dick Reynolds for the most wins as captain (159), so he’ll be keen to break that one, but there’s only one prize that the warrior in the #14 cares about, and a win this weekend will take the club one step closer.

Either way, go well Skip.

IT'S CALLED the premiership quarter for a reason. 

And on Saturday night it was premiership favourite Geelong which put the Western Bulldogs to the sword in a third-quarter burst that ensured Joel Selwood's 350th game was a night to remember at GMHBA Stadium.

Geelong v Western Bulldogs Statistics

The Cats booted the first four goals after half-time within just nine minutes to dramatically swing the contest, finishing with 8.2 to 0.3 in the term to put Geelong's side on course to a 28-point victory, 14.10 (94) to 9.12 (66).

It was a devastating, clinical blitz that killed the contest and made it 10 straight wins for Geelong, keeping the Cats a win clear of Melbourne and Collingwood at the top of the ladder, with Brisbane yet to play this weekend. 

Tom Hawkins, Gary Rohan, Jeremy Cameron and Tyson Stengle each booted two goals as the Cats stormed home to win 14.10 (94) to 9.12 (66).

On a night of celebration in Geelong, the Bulldogs threatened to spoil the party early when they kicked the first four goals of the game before the Cats had registered a score, shocking the locals into silence. 

But Luke Beveridge's side could only maintain the rage for a half, falling away poorly after the main break to fall out of the top eight after St Kilda held on to beat Hawthorn earlier in the day.

After such a bright start to the game, it took 50 minutes of game time for Cody Weightman to kick the Bulldogs' seventh goal of the game midway through the final term, after Josh Dunkley kicked their sixth just before half-time.

But while Selwood only played a supporting role, it was all about the triple-premiership icon who became only the 21st player in AFL/VFL history to reach 350 games, months after he overtook Stephen Kernahan to become the longest-serving skipper ever. 

GMHBA Stadium was packed to the rafters to pay tribute to one of the greatest players to ever wear the famous hoops. 

And now the 34-year-old looks set for yet another finals series – the 15th of his career – after Geelong tightened its grip on top place with three games to play in the home and away season.

Only Michael Tuck has played in more finals – 39 to 37 – and that might be the next milestone Selwood breaks this September.

Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield dusted himself off after a quiet performance against Port Adelaide last Saturday night to produce a game-breaking performance to salute Selwood, amassing 26 disposals, 10 contested possessions and seven score involvements to bounce back in style. 

After conceding 10 second-half goals, the Dogs now face Fremantle at Marvel Stadium next Saturday in another crucial game in the context of a season that's hanging in the balance.

Back In Business

With most of the focus on Selwood's milestone, it was the perfect setting for Tom Stewart to quietly slot back into the Geelong line-up after serving a suspension.

The three-time All-Australian defender had been one of the standout defenders in the game before that controversial incident and it didn't take him too long to settle into the backline and make an impact. Stewart finished with 22 disposals and 10 marks.

GEELONG         1.2       4.6       12.8       14.10 (94)
WESTERN BULLDOGS        4.3      6.5       6.8   9.12 (66)

GOALS  
Geelong: Cameron 2, Hawkins 2, Guthrie 2, Rohan 2, Stengle 2, Close, Dangerfield, Miers, Smith
Western Bulldogs: Weightman 3, Dunkley 2, Ugle-Hagan 2, English, Johannisen

BEST   
Geelong: Dangerfield, Smith, Guthrie, Stewart, Close, Duncan, Stengle
Western Bulldogs: Richards, Dunkley, Liberatore, Dale, Bontempelli

INJURIES  
Geelong: Rohan (concussion)
Western Bulldogs: Nil

MEDICAL SUBS  
Geelong:  Brandan Parfitt (replaced Gary Rohan)
Western Bulldogs: Lachie McNeil (unused)