It's hard to read too much into Geelong's performance, missing a number of its best players, but they were thoroughly outplayed by the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium on Monday night.
Matt Rowell played his best game since 2020 and Jack Lukosius proved he could be a dangerous forward as the Gold Coast Suns ran out 13.17 (95) to 11.6 (72) victors.
It completed a near perfect build-up to round one for Gold Coast after it also beat Port Adelaide in a practice match 10 days ago.
Noah Anderson (25 disposals), Ben Ainsworth (four goals) and the irresistible captain Touk Miller (31 and two goals) were also influential.
Cam Guthrie and Tom Atkins battled hard, while Jeremy Cameron (three goals) looks in great touch.
Gold Coast kicked the first three goals of the night and should have led by more at quarter-time but hurt themselves with ill-discipline.
From a set shot at goal just 20m out, Izak Rankine gave away a free kick for a hit to his opponent's stomach that led to quick Geelong transition and a goal to Patrick Dangerfield.
Moments later Wil Powell gave away a 50m 'stand' rule penalty and Joel Selwood's conversion from the top of the goalsquare reduced the Cats' deficit to seven points.
The Suns then kicked a barely believable 0.9 in the second quarter, with seven of the shots relatively easy, to trail at the main break.
Weight of numbers won in the end though.
New Faces
Suns recruits Mabior Chol and Levi Casboult showed enough grunt inside 50 to please their supporters. Chol kicked a goal and looked good in his back-up ruck minutes before being iced at half-time, while Casboult split packs and caused the spillages that led to the opening two goals. Tyson Stengle really battled after his breakout against Richmond last week, but popped up with a goal in the dying moments, while young defender Sam de Koning impressed both in one-on-one contests and with ball in hand.
Round 1 Chance
It's fair to say Jarrod Witts is almost completely back from the ruptured ACL that wiped out most of his 2021. The Gold Coast co-captain had a terrific return to competitive footy, playing into the final quarter and finishing with seven disposals and some clinical tap-work to his midfielders. He will now certainly play in the opening round against West Coast. De Koning should have inked his name in for Geelong, looking right at home alongside Mark Blicavs and Jake Kolodjashnij in the key posts. He finished with 19 disposals, including six intercepts, to go with a number of quality spoils.
Medical Room
A concern for each club with Mabior Chol coming off at half-time with ice on his hamstring. The Suns say it is just cautionary though. Geelong lost defender Jed Bews in early in the match after a collision left him dazed. The Cats should get Tom Stewart (family) back for round one, while Jack Henry (foot) and Mitch Duncan (calf) are in a race to make it. Gold Coast expects wingman Jeremy Sharp to be available for the season opener after he missed with a tight hamstring.
Fantasy Watch
If you were wondering if Touk Miller (MID, $1,024,000) is worth spending the big bucks on, his performance against Geelong should answer that. 130 points thanks to 32 disposals, eight marks, two marks and two goals in a typical effort where he works extremely hard to get from contest to contest. Matt Rowell (MID, $464,000) has been high on the radar for many after a disappointing sophomore season which was hampered by injury. Those Fantasy tons he scored in his first few games were added to with 101. He racked up 27 disposals and seven tackles in a 'don't overthink it, lock him in' performance. Our bench rookie worries have been solved by Sam De Koning (DEF/FWD, $190,000). The versatile Cat looked terrific scoring 70 points and is worth slotting in as your D7/D8 or F7/F8. Hopefully Cooper Stephens (MID, $190,000), who finished with 62 points, did enough to warrant a spot in the Cats' round one line up for his debut.
GOLD COAST 3.3 3.12 9.13 13.17 (95)GEELONG 2.2 5.3 8.4 11.6 (72)
GOALSGold Coast: Ainsworth 4, Lukosius 3, Miller 2, Chol, Flanders, Holman, SextonGeelong: Cameron 3, Dangerfield 2, Dahlhaus, C.Guthrie, Holmes, Narkle, Selwood, Stengle
BESTGold Coast: Miller, Anderson, Rowell, Ainsworth, Witts, LukosiusGeelong: C.Guthrie, Atkins, Cameron, de Koning, Selwood
INJURIESGold Coast: Chol (hamstring)Geelong: Bews (head)
Reports: Nil
Crowd: 2486 at Metricon Stadium
