One of the big questions in the lead-up to the game was whether Geelong's back-up ruckmen, Mark Blicavs and Josh Walker, would be able to contain the influence of North Melbourne's Todd Goldstein. The answer was a unanimous "no". Although Blicavs tried to use his aerobic capacity to run Goldstein around, the Roos big man outclassed the Cats pair in comprehensive fashion. Goldstein ended the game with 15 disposals and 54 hit-outs (Blicavs and Walker managed only 29-hit-outs and 16 disposals between them). He also kicked a great snap goal four minutes prior to the quarter-time siren after sharking a horrendous kick-out from Andrew Mackie. Goldstein then finished the night in a blaze of glory by hauling in a game-saving contested mark with less than a minute remaining, which prevented the Roos from snatching a defeat from the jaws of victory.
2. Thomas gets it started, Ziebell finishes it
North Melbourne's premier small forward Lindsay Thomas led three-time Geelong premiership player James Kelly a merry dance in the first eight minutes of the match. Thomas booted the opening goal just 20 seconds in, then sharked a crumb and slotted a brilliant 35m snap in the seventh minute. Just 90 seconds later, Thomas ended up on the end of another fast and furious passage of play from the Kangaroos and put through his third goal. A couple of hours later, Jack Ziebell produced a brilliant cameo of his own after being moved deep into attack midway through the final quarter. In the 12th minute, Ziebell nailed a nerveless set shot from 45m out near the boundary in the right pocket. Two minutes later, he slotted one from 50m out in the left pocket. Those two majors looked to have put the result beyond doubt, although there proved to be plenty of life left in the game.
3. Hawkins almost the hero
Geelong was 32 points down after Ziebell kicked the second of his goals, but the Cats stormed back into contention on the back of an extraordinary six-minute burst from Tom Hawkins. The big forward bombed two goals from 50m out on the right flank, then clunked a big grab in the goalsquare and slotted a third, to make it five for the game. When Jimmy Bartel put through a great snap from close range, the margin was suddenly six points. But in the end, Cats were unable to pull of a miracle.
4. Gibson gallops away
If reputations are made or broken in finals, then North Melbourne midfielder Sam Gibson can now consider himself very much a big-game player. Gibson outworked and outran his Geelong opponents in the first half, amassing 24 disposals (12 of them contested) and six clearances. In the third term he racked up another eight touches and laid a massive tackle on Josh Walker on the wing, which resulted in a holding the ball free kick. Gibson faded late, gathering just three disposals in the last quarter, but he finished with 35 touches in what was a tremendous performance. When it came to the losing side, onballer Josh Caddy enhanced his reputation in a big way. Caddy's work around the contests was first-rate, and his passing inside 50 was pin-point.
5. Stokes' diminishing returns
The pint-sized midfielder was probably Geelong's best player in the first half of the season. He regularly topped 30 disposals in games, tallying 38 against West Coast in round four and 36 and a goal against St Kilda in round 13. But after being sidelined for the best part of a month following an ankle injury in the Cats' loss to Gold Coast in round 14, he was unable to reach the same heights. And his performance against North Melbourne was another example of that. Stokes had just six disposals in the first half and finished with only 12. However, he was far from Geelong's only poor performer, especially in the early stages. Stokes, James Kelly, Jimmy Bartel, Tom Hawkins, Tom Lonergan and Corey Enright all failed to have a legal disposal in the opening 15 minutes of the contest.
6. Geelong's finals record
While North Melbourne gets set to play the Sydney Swans next Friday night for a berth in the Grand Final, Geelong has been left to ponder its poor record in finals since winning the 2011 premiership. In the three seasons since then, the Cats have played in six finals but have lost five of them. Their only victory was in last year's semi-final against Port Adelaide at the MCG. Their losses have been against Fremantle (2012 elimination final and 2013 qualifying final), Hawthorn (2013 preliminary final and 2014 qualifying final) and North Melbourne (2014 semi-final).
