The Cats lost to the Swans in the AFL and the Bulldogs in the VFL, but there were still plenty of positives. Here are our favourite things from the weekend …
1. JACKSON THURLOW'S CONSISTENCY
Prior to this season, the young Tasmanian had never tallied more than 20 disposals in an AFL match. But since returning to the Cats' AFL team for the round three clash with Gold Coast, Thurlow is averaging 21.2 disposals per match. He was among Geelong's best players again on Saturday night after racking up 25 disposals, seven marks and seven rebounds from defensive 50.
2. MITCH CLARK'S NO-LOOK HANDBALL
One of the Cats' best passages of play against the Swans came midway through the first quarter when Clark flicked a very clever no-look handball over his right shoulder to a running Mitch Duncan. Duncan then combined with Darcy lang, whose handball set up Cameron Guthrie for a nice running goal that gave the Cats an early lead.
Watch Mitch Clark's clever handball and Guthrie's goal
3. MATHEW STOKES' SOLID RETURN
After missing three matches due to achilles soreness, Stokes returned to the field against the Swans on Saturday night and was among the Cats' best players in the 43-point loss. Roaming through the midfield, Stokes tallied a team-high 27 disposals, along with three clearances, four tackles, four inside-50s and a goal-assist.
Hard work for @GeelongCats vs @sydneyswans but great to see M Stokes back with 27 touches..for #27! #allaboutthe27 #AFLSwansCats
— Coco Tipper (@Coco27Coco) May 16, 2015
@RebeccaMaddern7 @GeelongCats Agreed. Without over 1000 games of experience and losing Duncan.. a great experience & some quality footy.
— Arj's Eye (@ArjGiese) May 16, 2015
4. THE CATS' WORK AROUND THE CLEARANCES
Geelong went into Saturday night's game ranked 18th for clearances, with an average of just 32.2 per game. The Swans, in contrast, were ranked No. 1 for clearances, with an average of 45.2 per game. But thanks to the bullocking work of Joel Selwood and Josh Caddy, who won eight clearances each, the Cats were able to assert themselves around the stoppages. The final clearance count at the end of the game revealed an unexpected triumph for Chris Scott's men, who finished with 39 clearances to the Swans' 34.
Watch Chris Scott's post-match press conference
Not often we lose and I am pretty positive. Optimistic. Fade out a shame but rest of game ok. @GeelongCats @KROCKFootball
— @cats!!! (@cats2007) May 16, 2015
5. JARRAD JANSEN'S VFL FORM
The West Australian midfielder, who is yet to play an AFL game, produced one of his best VFL performances in the loss to Footscray at the Whitten Oval on Saturday. Jansen finished with 18 possessions, 14 of which were contested. He also laid seven tackles and won eight clearances. "Jarrad works as hard as he can every time he comes out to play. He’s worked on areas of his game that needed work and he continues to give himself every opportunity to become a good footballer," Cats VFL coach Paul Hood said after the game.
