As unexpected as it may have been, it was all Geelong on Saturday afternoon at Simonds Stadium.
The spoils were not just limited to the AFL side either, as all three Cats’ sides came out on top in a memorable day for the club.
Cats Media identified three points of interest to follow in the Cats’ third versus fourth match-up with Richmond. Here’s how they played out:
The captain, the full forward and the midfielder
Clearly the Cats don’t read the papers.
The undermanned underdogs, Geelong was given little chance to no chance to stop the rampaging and seemingly top-two bound Tigers, having lost three of their most influential players in one hit.
No Joel Selwood. No Tom Hawkins. No Mitch Duncan. No worries, as the Cats recorded a memorable 14-point victory against the odds.
There were winners all across the ground for the Cats.
Harry Taylor starred with four goals and six marks inside 50 (four contested) – a day out in anyone’s book, let alone matched up on the competition’s premier defender Alex Rance. In the absence of Hawkins and without the leadership of Selwood, the acting skipper did it all.
Used in a variety of different roles this season, Cameron Guthrie sat on Richmond star Dustin Martin for large parts of the win and significantly curbed his influence while finding touch of his own – 25 disposals, four clearances, six tackles and a goal.
Steven Motlop too put in his best performance of the season, gliding through the midfield and forward half to show his two-week conditioning stint was just what the doctor ordered; 19 disposals and the sealer a pleasing return for a player with much-needed x-factor.
Even Jake Kolodjashnij played arguably his best game for the club with 20 disposals, five marks, three clearances and four tackles in a fresh hybrid-role for the 22-year-old, who split his time between defence and through the midfield.
Even the lesser-known Patrick Dangerfield tallied 30 disposals (21 contested), five marks, 11 clearances and 10 tackles to aid the Cats’ cause without their star-trio.
The biggest show in town
Three teams. One town. And three wins.
That in itself is something to be proud of – that the VFL Cats, VFLW Cats and the AFL side all ran out winners on the same day and all at Kardinia Park.
But what’s more was the atmosphere.
A crowd of 32,266 came in as the biggest home and away crowd at Simonds Stadium since round 21, 1993 and the highest attendance at the ground in general since the 2013 qualifying final versus Fremantle.
The curtain raiser between the VFL Cats and Richmond was a real winner, with thousands of fans present and inside Simonds Stadium for the majority of the second half at least. What’s more was that the Cats won by a single point in a thriller.
Outside on Anthony Costa Oval, the VFLW Cats negotiated the gusty conditions far better than their VU Western Spurs opponents to secure a 32-point victory, while the day culminated with the Cats outlasting the Tigers by 14 points in the main event back on Simonds Stadium.
It really was the biggest show in town and we can only hope there’s more days like it in the years to come.
Shooting stars
With Cameron Guthrie sent to Dustin Martin and Richmond opting to go without the hard-tag on Patrick Dangerfield, we didn’t exactly see the dream match-up of the game’s two best midfielders going head-to-head.
The two stars did cross paths multiple times, however, and both gained second-mention in their side’s best players.
Martin was the Tigers’ leading goalkicker with two majors to go with 21 disposals, three marks and seven tackles, while Dangerfield found a lot of the football for his 30 disposals (as mentioned previously).
In terms of overall influence, both had their moments but neither broke the game open as expected.
Dustin Martin and Patrick Dangerfield jostle for the ball during Geelong's 14-point win over Richmond on Saturday. (Photos: AFL Photos)
