Geelong has fought off Port Melbourne in a gritty 13-point win on Sunday, to move themselves firmly into finals contention at the halfway mark of the 2023 season.
In what shaped as an important mid-season clash between two sides jostling for ladder ascendency, the Cats dominated large portions of the game despite entering the clash with their most inexperienced side of the season.
Centre: Geelong v Port Melbourne
Ollie Dempsey starred in his return to the VFL Cats side, collecting 27-disposals and a goal in a classy display that helped lift Geelong over the Borough.
In a hotly contested opening quarter, the Cats found themselves in a stalemate with neither team managing to break away on the scoreboard.
Port Melbourne broke the deadlock with the first goal in the 14th minute, but it would be the only major the Cats surrendered in the first term.
Geelong captain, Angus Byrne brought elite pressure with a physical play in the middle of the ground that created a vital turnover, leading to a Phoenix Foster goal to open the Cats account.
Ollie Dempsey was important early for Geelong with nine-disposals in the opening quarter, as the Cats trailed by just three-points at the first break.
It was the Cats skipper once again that broke the game open, with Byrne booting three goals in the second quarter as the Cats grabbed a three-point lead heading into the main break.
Bailey Van De Heuvel, Daniel Capiron and Mace Cousins racked up numerous intercept possessions in the opening half, restricting the Borough attack to just four goals from 27 inside-50 entries.
Dempsey maintained his strong start with two score involvements in the second term, to go alongside 13-disposals in his return to the Geelong VFL side.
Kade Chalcraft continued on from his last outing with four clearances in the opening half, while Billy Crofts didn’t look out of place in the middle with four of his own.
A see-sawing third term saw both teams trade goal for goal, with neither side able to find any breathing room in a tight contest.
Dempsey opened the second half with a brilliant roving goal to extend the Cats lead, before Foster plucked a one-handed mark and slotted his second of the contest.
Mitch Chafer bobbed up at the top of goal square for his first major, before a flurry of behinds marginally extended Geelong’s lead to 7-points at the final change.
With a crucial four points on the line, Geelong executed a brilliant final quarter to close out the 13-point win.
Geelong struck first in the final term as Tom Pannucio found space 35-meters from goal, before going back and calmly slotting the set-shot.
Matty Lloyd then brilliantly picked off a Port Melbourne fast break through the middle of the ground, with the ensuing chain of handballs ending with Pannucio again to bust the dam wall open and give Geelong a 21-point buffer.
From there the Cats were able to lock down the contest, conceding just one goal to Port Melbourne as they finished off the 13-point win.
Dempsey starred in the midfield alongside Billy Crofts and Kade Chalcraft, who combined for 11-clearances throughout the match. Tough-nut Ted Clohesy put together an impressive performance, picking up 19-disposals to go with six tackles and four clearances.
Tanner Lovell impressed in his first game for the season with 24-disposals, while Daniel Capiron anchored the backline with 20-touches and nine marks.
The impressive win from the Cats will move them into 10th spot on the ladder, putting them firmly in finals contention at the halfway point of the season.
Geelong will look to make it back-to-back wins in round 11, as they take on Footscray next Saturday at Avalon Airport Oval.
VFL Round 10
GEELONG 1.1 5.4 8.10 10.13 (73)
PORT MELBOURNE 1.4 4.7 7.9 8.12 (60)
GOALS: Byrne 3, Foster, Panuccio 2, Evans, Dempsey, Chafer 1
DISPOSALS: Dempsey 27, Lovell 24, Capiron 20, Clohesy 19, Lloyd 18, Whyte 16
