The Cats kept their slim finals hopes alive by seeing off Gold Coast Suns side by 17 points at Skilled Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Pacy first year rookie Jack Weston was the unlikely hero for the Cats booting 3 goals as the Cats ran out 13-10-(88) to 11-5-(71) in front of a vocal hometown crowd.

The defensive combination of Jeremy Laidler (28 disposals, 4 marks), Matthew Firman (25 disposals, 3 marks, 1 goal), Ryan Gamble (39 disposals, 7 marks, 5 tackles), Tom Gillies and Jack Hollmer were rock solid and provided a great deal of rebounding attack throughout the day.

The Cats were forced to make four changes to the side that recorded a 29 point victory over Coburg Tigers at Craigieburn last week. Tom Hawkins and Trent West were both elevated to the AFL side while first year recruit Daniel Menzel went along to Sydney as the travelling emergency.

Ben Raidme was the other omission from the side after sustaining a serious shoulder injury early in the match last week. Raidme underwent surgery last Thursday will miss the rest of the 2010 season. It was terrible news for Raidme, who was one of the favourites to take out this year’s VFL Best & Fairest award after enjoying a stellar second season with the VFL Cats.

AFL omission Mark Blake came into the selected side along with first year trio Allen Christensen (calf), Joshua Cowan (general soreness) and St Mary’s midfielder Daniel Jull - who made just his 7th appearance in the blue and white hoops this season.

The sun may have been shining at Skilled Stadium during a frantic opening term, but the newly named Queensland franchise was doing anything but shine early on. The in form Cats hit the ground running and continued their stellar run and carry football that have produced in recent weeks. Rookie forward Ben Johnson (17 disposals, 5 marks) looked to pick up where he left off last week - kicking the opening goal and looking dangerous every time the ball went into attack.

AFL Premiership ruckman Mark Blake appeared a man on a mission as he brought down a superb contested mark against rugby league convert Karmichael Hunt and then played on quickly to kick a somewhat cheeky goal on the inexperienced former Brisbane Bronco.

Two goals from Mitch Duncan (24 disposals, 5 marks) and Simon Hogan (22 disposals, 3 marks) put the margin out to a comfortable 31 points at quarter time and the match gave the early impression of a mismatch.

The contest tightened up in the second quarter as the Suns looked to attack the Cats and take them on at their own game. The opening goal of the quarter went to the Suns through former Geelong premiership forward Nathan Ablett (11 disposals, 4 marks, 1 goal) who was back playing at Skilled Stadium for the first time since 2007. Ablett’s goal was soon answered by a Steven Motlop mark and goal that seemed to stem the Gold Coast momentum.

Former Collingwood player Danny Stanley (19 disposals, 5 marks) looked promising at half forward, while the exciting Rex Liddy continued to work hard and attack at every opportunity. After a tight quarter in which both sides turned the ball over and squandered scoring opportunites, the Cats still held onto a comfortable 26 point lead.

In a complete juxtaposition to the first half it was the Suns who stormed back into the game with a 7 goal to 3 quarter. It was all the Gold Coast as the term opened with quick goals to Swallow, Weller, Stanley and Jolly amazingly putting them in front at the 15 minute mark of the quarter.

The Cats were stunned back into action as they slowly got back into the game with goals to Johnson and an amazing running goal from defender turned forward Jack Weston. The game stepped up a notch late in the third quarter with both sides putting everything on the line. After a number of lead changes it was the Cats who went into three quarter time 4 points up.

The biggest Geelong VFL crowd of the year was buzzing with anticipation as everyone in attendance could sense a cliff hanger in the making. Both sides appeared to be fatigued and running out of legs early in the quarter both neither side wanted to throw in the towel. Jack Weston’s ability to break the lines and take the game on gave the Cats the edge at crucial stages while the class of Nathan Djerrkura (32 disposals, 3 marks) and Simon Hogan’s rose to the top as the VFL Cats gradually got on top of the contest once again.

The margin didn’t blow out beyond 5 points for the majority of the final quarter until a brilliant Simon Hogan tackle earned him a shot on goal which he converted to give the Cats the breathing space they desperately needed. Moments later a desperate lunge from Jack Weston to kick the ball off the ground in the goal square closed the curtain on a very entertaining affair. The Cats ran out 17 point winners to the delight of the vocal home crowd (although some were left disappointed about not hearing the GC Suns new catchy team song again!).

After the game classy midfielder Nathan Djerrkura said he was amazed at the intensity of the contest, ‘It was a very fast game and it really took it out of the guys today’

Djerrkura went on to discuss the impact the fiery contests had on the rest of the team, ‘there was a bit of heat in the game and I think it fired the boys up a bit, it’s always good to have a bit of feeling in the game like that’.

The Cats are now in tenth position and needing to win the remainder of their three games to feature in the VFL finals this season. The matches are aginst the 2nd placed North Ballarat Roosters, 4th placed Port Melbourne and the 5th placed Box Hill Hawks - making the challenge highly unlikely, but not impossible.

The Cats will be looking for their third win on the trot when they take on the Box Hill Hawks next Sunday afternoon. The match kicks off at 2pm.

Geelong Cats 13-10-(88)
Gold Coast Suns 11-5-(71)
Goals: Weston 3, Blake, Hogan, Johnson 2, Firman, Motlop, Christensen, Duncan 1
Best: Gamble, Laidler, Hollmer, Firman, Blake, Djerrkura
Injuries: Nil
Reports: Nil
Crowd: 1158