THE CATS have played in many great preliminary finals over the club’s long and proud history.
Among them are the loss to Collingwood in 1980, the nail-biting win over North Melbourne in 1994 and the narrow victory over the Magpies in 2007.
But, when it comes to drama, the 1962 preliminary final against Carlton at the MCG remains unsurpassed.
Bob Davis’ Geelong team had finished the ’62 home and away season in second place on the ladder, but suffered a heavy loss to top side Essendon in the second semi-final.
Ken Hands’ Blues line-up, meanwhile, had finished fourth on the ladder, before edging out third-placed Melbourne by two points in the first semi.
The preliminary final was placed on Saturday, September 15, and a crowd of almost 88,000 packed into the MCG to see the Cats and Carlton do battle for the right to take on the Bombers in the Grand Final.
Geelong went into the game without star full-forward Doug Wade, who had topped the VFL goalkicking table for the home and away rounds with 62.
The table of leading goalkickers from the 1962 Preliminary Final Record
Wade was sidelined by a thigh strain that had kept him out of the second semi-final as well.
The Cats were also without Ken Goodland. The key defender had withdrawn from the team on the Friday morning citing a sore back.
But with star centreman Alistair Lord, who was presented with the 1962 Brownlow Medal prior to the game, leading the way, Geelong led by five points at quarter-time.
The Cats then kicked three goals to one in the second quarter to open an 18-point advantage at the long break.
The match developed into a very willing affair in the third quarter.
Carlton back pocket John Benetti was helped from the field after being flattened. Rover Leo Brereton then copped an even heavier bump that left him with severely bruised ribs.
But the Blues rallied amid the carnage, kicking 4.5 to 2.1 in the third term. By three-quarter time, it was just two points the difference.
Geelong gained the ascendance again early in the last term, and with just a few minutes remaining in the match, Davis’ men led by 12 points.
However, Carlton ruckman Maurie Sankey kicked a controversial goal on the run to narrow the margin to six points. (The Age newspaper’s football writer Pearcy Beames later wrote that Sankey should have been free-kicked for running to far.)
The Blues then surged forward again, and an accurate pass from Martin Cross found Tom Carroll all on his own, 40 metres from the big sticks.
Carroll put his kick straight through the middle, tying the scores.
Carlton’s John James, the 1961 Brownlow medallist who had been controversially dropped to 19th man for the game, then took a brilliant pack mark at centre half-forward.
James sent a drop-kick towards goal, but it faded wide and rolled out of bounds as the final siren sounded.
“And it’s a tie,” yelled the commentator on the television coverage.
Geelong 13.7 (85) had drawn with the Blues on 12.13 (85).
An excerpt from The Age, which was published on the Monday after the drawn preliminary final
A crowd of more than 99,000 turned up at the MCG for the replay the following Saturday, and the teams played out another heart-stopping contest.
Carlton was five points up with just seconds remaining when Wade, who had returned from his thigh injury and kicked six goals in a brilliant performance, took a mark 30m out from goal, right in front.
But the umpire subsequently penalised Wade for holding the shorts of his opponent, Peter Barry, prior to taking the mark.
The siren sounded before Barry could take his kick, and the Cats were left to rue what might have been.
As it turned out, the Blues lost the Grand Final to Essendon, while Geelong recovered to win the premiership in 1963.
** To watch the final minutes of the drawn preliminary final click on the video player at the top of the page
1962 PRELIMINARY FINAL
Saturday, September 15
GEELONG 4.2 7.4 9.5 13.7 (85)
CARLTON 3.3 4.4 8.9 12.13 (85)
GOALS
Geelong: Wooller 4, Miller 3, Goggin 2, Wright 2, Vinar, Fox
Carlton: Williams 3, Sankey 2, Carroll 2, Brereton 2, Nicholls, Collins, James
BEST
Geelong: A. Lord, Goggin, S. Lord, Rice, Brown, Walker, Wooller
Carlton: Silvagni, Nicholls, Buckley, Lofts, Anderson, Sankey
Umpire: Schwab
Official crowd: 87,724 at the MCG
******************************************
1962 PRELIMINARY FINAL REPLAY
Saturday, September 22
GEELONG 3.2 5.9 7.12 10.13 (73)
CARLTON 1.4 5.8 9.9 10.18 (78)
GOALS
Geelong: Wade 6, Vinar 2, Rice, Sutherland
Carlton: James 3, Gill 2, Nicholls, Greenwood, Sankey, Carroll, Williams
BEST
Geelong: Callan, Rice, Vinar, Wade, Walker, S. Lord
Carlton: Nicholls, James, Silvagni, Kick, Cox, Collins, Lofts
Umpire: Irving
Official crowd: 99,203 at the MCG
Cats star Fred Wooller, who kicked four goals in the drawn preliminary final in 1962
