Round, time and date: Round 4, 3.20pm, Sunday, April 26, 2015
Venue: Simonds Stadium
The lead-up: Tom Hawkins returned to the team for his 150th game after missing the narrow home win over Gold Coast the previous weekend following the death of his mother. There was some other selection news just 90 minutes prior to the first bounce when Geelong's team sheet showed that triple premiership player Steve Johnson had been made sub.
The game: The Cats went into the game keen to atone for their loss to the Roos in the 2014 qualifying final, and they started in brilliant fashion, opening a 19-point lead by quarter-time. But they fell away badly from there, failing to kick a goal in the second quarter. Inspired by ruckman Todd Goldstein, skipper Andrew Swallow and small forward Robin Nahas, the Kangaroos led by four points at half-time. Despite a brief flurry early in the last quarter, Geelong never really looked like taking back control of the contest. In the end, the Cats suffered their second loss at Simonds Stadium for the season (they had been beaten there by Fremantle in round two). It was Geelong's fourth loss to North in seven matches.
The final score: Geelong 9.13 (67) def by North Melbourne 12.11 (83)
Who played well: Back pocket Jed Bews was the Cats' outstanding performer, holding North dynamo Lindsay Thomas goalless. Jared Rivers, Joel Selwood (29 disposals) and Cory Gregson were other Geelong players who had an impact. Steve Johnson also did well after being subbed into the game. He kicked two goals during the Cats' brief comeback in the last quarter, while Mitch Clark led the way up forward and finished with three majors. Clark also took a screamer on the half-back flank.
Click here to view the Game Day Hub for the match
What it meant: The loss sent the Cats tumbling to 16th on the ladder with a 1-3 record, while the Roos, who had improved their record to 2-2, climbed to 10th. Fast-forward to now, and Geelong is 6-6 (plus the two points from the cancelled Adelaide game), in 10th place on the ladder and still in finals contention. But North's season is in danger of slipping away after a bad loss to Gold Coast. The Roos are 6-7 and 11th.
Mitch Clark's form was one of few bright spots for the Cats when we last played North Melbourne (AFL Photos)
