Geelong has made five changes to its line-up to take on Carlton in the VFL at Ikon Park on Saturday.

Ruck Toby Conway and midfielder Jhye Clark return from AFL duties, while Shannon Neale has been named after being the carry-over emergency for the AFL side in Brisbane last week.

Oisin Mullin also returns to the side after being unavailable last week due to his sister's wedding overseas, while Hampden league star Hamish Sinnott comes into the line-up.

VFL Match Centre | Round 5

AFL-listed players Phoenix Foster and Oli Wiltshire will both miss through injury, while VFL leadership group member Bailey van de Heuvel will miss the next 10-12 weeks with a PCL injury and Ajang Kuol mun and Tanner Lewis have been named among the emergencies.

The VFL Cats will take on Carlton at IKON Park this Saturday afternoon, with the first bounce at 12:05pm. 

All matches in the 2024 Smithy’s VFL and VFLW seasons will be live streamed free via the AFL website, AFL Live Official App and VFL App.

VFL Round 5

Geelong v Carlton
12.05pm AEST, Saturday April 27, 2024
IKON Park, Melbourne

In: Toby Conway, Jhye Clark, Shannon Neale, Oisin Mullin, Hamish Sinnott

Out: Phoenix Foster, Oli Wiltshire, Bailey Van De Heuvel (Injured), Ajang Kuol mun, Tanner Lewis (Omitted)

The VFL Cats have demolished Carlton at IKON Park on Saturday afternoon, closing out a 101 point victory to record their third straight win of the season.

Gary Rohan put together a strong performance with four goals from his 12 disposals, while Mitch Hardie amassed a game high 25 disposals in another dominant display.

Ted Clohesy produced his best performance of the year with 25 possessions and two goals, and Toby Conway did a bit of everything with 19 touches and three goals, to go with 24 hitouts and six clearances. 

Geelong dominated the opening quarter leading in most of the major statistical categories including disposals (+31), Inside 50’s (+14) and most importantly, the scoreboard as the Cats held a 24 point lead at quarter time.

Shannon Neale got the ball rolling for Geelong, getting on the end of a scintillating Jhye Clark kick before calmly slotting the set shot for the first goal of the game.

Mitch Knevitt followed shortly after with the Cats second major, before Gary Rohan clunked a big contested mark at the top of the goal square and put through his first of the day.

After some wayward kicking in front of the big sticks, Osca Riccardi put through an impressive set shot from the boundary to give the Cats a healthy lead at the first break.

Geelong picked up right where they left off after quarter time, winning the opening clearance and finding Gary Rohan, with the veteran forward slotting his second goal of the day.

Ted Clohesy converted on the run moments later, before Connor O’Sullivan launched through his first goal in the blue and white hoops from outside the 50 metre arc.

Toby Conway, Darcy Edmonds and Hamish Sinnott all hit the scoreboard later in the quarter and in the blink of an eye, the Cats were out to a 55 point lead at the main break.  

Geelong had nine individual goal kickers in the opening half, while Jhye Clark (17 Disposals) and Mitch Knevitt (11 Disposals & 1 Goal) dominated through the middle.

The Cats kept their foot on the throat of the Blues after half time, slamming home nine goals in the third quarter to extend their lead to 85 points at the final break.

The dominance continued into the final term with another barrage of inside 50 entries, as Geelong extended the margin to 101 points by the final siren. 

Oisin Mullin joined the party late with his first goal for Geelong, while Shaun Mannagh continued to dominate in the forward half. 

Shannon Neale performed well on his VFL return with three goals, while Mitch Knevitt (23 Disposals) and Jhye Clark (22 Disposals) were strong through the midfield all day. 

The VFL Cats will return home next week, to face Frankston at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday afternoon. 

VFL Round 5

GEELONG      4.6    10.10   19.11    23.18    (156)
CARLTON      1.0      2.3       6.4       8.7      (55)
 
GOALS: Rohan 4, Neale, Conway 3, Sinnott, Clohesy, Mannagh 2, Knevitt, Riccardi, O’Sullivan, Edmends, Humphries, Mullin, Bradtke 1

DISPOSALS: Hardie, Clohesy 25, Knevitt 23, Clark 22, Humphries, Conway 19

@ IKON Park, Melbourne