1. Slow start, fast finish
Geelong and Sydney came into the match having conceded the fewest and third-fewest points in the competition respectively, and the opening three quarters reflected that. It was a dour affair in slippery conditions, with neither side gaining any real ascendancy nor looking overly comfortable with ball in hand. They were locked at 46 points each coming into the final term, but some classy ball use by the Cats was enough to get them over the line. Geelong remains in touch with the top four, while Sydney has let a top-two opportunity slip with yet another SCG loss – four of its five defeats this season have been at what was once its home fortress.
CATS' WEIGHT OF NUMBERS Full match coverage and stats
2. Making their points, all 23 of them …
Geelong may have won by 12 points, but the victory was a long time coming. The Cats had ample opportunities to sew up the match, but horrible goalkicking kept fans on the edge of their seats right up until the final siren. The Cats finished the match with 31 scoring shots to Sydney's 14, but a wince-worthy return of 8.23 kept the Swans in the contest. Six of those 23 were rushed behinds, and many were kicked on the run, but Tom Hawkins (2.5) and his fellow forwards may be in for some extra goalkicking practice this week.
3. Where's Taylor's best position?
With Lance Franklin proving dangerous in Sydney's forward line for the first three quarters, the question remains as to what Harry Taylor's best position is in Geelong's line-up. Mark Blicavs has performed so well this year at full-back during Taylor and Lachie Henderson's injury-enforced absence that Taylor has had to play forward, and he even floated into the ruck at times against the Swans. He struggled to break free of Aliir Aliir and didn't look comfortable for vast portions of the match, but kicked the sealing goal – six days after missing a shot after the siren that would have won the match against the Bulldogs.
4. Young Geelong forwards get the job done
Geelong played four forwards under the age of 21 against Sydney, the inexperienced quartet of Brandan Parfitt (20), Quinton Narkle (20), Lachie Fogarty (19) and Jamaine Jones (19) all taking to the field. They struggled in the opening term, but rebounded in the second with fierce tackling, retaining the ball inside 50 and having repeated shots on goal. Fogarty and Narkle kicked a goal each, while Parfitt finished with 21 touches and Jones laid 11 tackles. Daniel Menzel is due to play his second VFL game back from a long-term groin injury this weekend, and it will be interesting to see where he fits into the mix.
5. Buddy does what Buddy does best
It was an interesting night for Sydney superstar Franklin, kicking four goals (4.0) but struggling to have an influence in the final term with the ball mainly camped in Geelong's forward line. But you can never count Franklin out of a contest. He was well corralled by Scott Selwood outside 50 in the second term, dancing around before passing off to Tom McCartin. Following his own crumb, he pounced, evaded yet another Selwood in Joel, before snapping a goal to bring the margin to 15 points. But his quest for 900 career goals will have to wait until next week against North Melbourne, with Buddy left stranded on 899 after a goalless last term.
