GEELONG CATS vs FREMANTLE DOCKERS

2nd Qualifying Final, 2:20pm Saturday September 7 @ Simonds Stadium

The second qualifying final on Saturday afternoon will be a monumental occasion for the Geelong Football Club, a fitting conclusion to an historic year at Simonds Stadium. The excellent season played by the Cats has been complemented by exceptional performances off the field and has resulted in record membership and the development of state of the art club facilities. On June 1 stage three of the stadium redevelopment was unveiled and the people of Geelong witnessed the first night game played at the venue. This weekend the Geelong community will again witness history, the first final played in city for over 100 years and the first ever at Kardinia Park. The club have turned their home stadium into a fortress, boasting 49 wins from the last 50 matches and drawing near capacity crowds for every game. The impressive home record in no way guarantees victory against the Fremantle Dockers, who have played the entire season with the defensive intensity required to win finals and are more than capable of winning their first premiership. For both teams the last 22 games of football were merely a matinee for finals, the main performance and the truest test of a team’s character and capability. There remains a second chance for the loser on Saturday and a home preliminary final awaits the winner, giving them the best possible opportunity to take out the 2013 AFL premiership.

Last Time They Met
GEELONG        11 – 19 – 85    
FREMANTLE    7 – 2  – 44  

The Cats responded to their surprise defeat at the hands of Brisbane with a vengeance, thrashing Fremantle by 41 points in round 14 at Simonds Stadium. Geelong had lacked consistency and defensive effort for several weeks, a deficiency that was exposed by a stunning late surge from the Lions. The poor performance demanded a dramatic reaction and resulted in a comprehensive demolition of the Dockers. The Cats had over 100 more possessions than Fremantle and more than double the scoring shots. More impressively, they displayed a formidable team defence and limited their opponent to just 32 inside 50s and seven goals. Coincidentally the qualifying final also follows a close contest between the Cats and Lions, in which Brisbane were merely a Paul Chapman fingertip from yet another unlikely upset. If Geelong can respond to the Brisbane challenge and repeat their performance from round 14 they will go along way to winning on Saturday afternoon.

Key Match Up
JOEL SELWOOD vs RYAN CROWLEY

Five Dockers were selected in the All-Australian squad of 40 this week, from which Ryan Crowley was a surprise omission. The reigning Fremantle best and fairest has had another strong season and has arguably been one of the Dockers’ most important players this year. Taggers are not recognised by the All-Australian selectors but can play a vital role, particularly in finals. Crowley has lined up against many likely All-Australians, including Joel Selwood, and taken the honours more often than not. In round 14 Crowley shut down Selwood and limited him to just 13 disposals by closely guarding the star Cat. There has been talk during the week from both teams that the match up remains uncertain, with Steve Johnson floated as a potential target for the Fremantle tagger. Given how successfully he nullified Selwood the last time the two teams met, Crowley will most likely focus all his attention and relentless harassment on the Geelong skipper. Selwood is also a likely target for a run-with player because of the impressive form he has displayed this year, particularly in the latter half of the season. He averages nearly 25 possessions and six tackles and has kicked more than a goal a game in 2013. Selwood has become a more dangerous player since enhancing his ability to have an impact on the scoreboard, kicking 17 of his 28 goals since he last played against the Dockers in round 14. As a result of his prolific goal scoring and multiple best on ground performances he has shortened to second favourite behind Gary Ablett to take out this year’s Brownlow medal. Individual honours, however, are the furthest thing from Selwood’s mind right now. He is a big game player and has become one of the most influential on-field leaders in the competition. His sole focus will be getting the best performance out of his team and himself this Saturday and for the rest of the finals series.

Did You Know
Five players from both the Cats and the Dockers were named in the squad of 40 from which the All-Australian team is selected. Nathan Fyfe, Michael Johnson, David Mundy, Chris Mayne and Michael Walters from Fremantle and Joel Selwood, Andrew Mackie, Corey Enright, Harry Taylor and Steven Motlop from Geelong are all in contention for the honour. In 2007 every Cat in the initial squad made the All-Australian team, a record nine players in total. Reflecting to dominance of the team in 2007 and their strength across the ground, three defenders (Mathew Scarlet, Mathew Egan and Darren Milburn), four midfielders (Joel Corey, Cameron Ling, Jimmy Bartel and Gary Ablett) and two forwards (Cam Mooney and Steve Johnson) received All-Australian honours.

Former Dockers head coach Mark Harvey lead the Lions against Geelong last week in a caretaker role following the dismissal of Michael Voss. Chris Scott was an assistant coach for three years under Harvey at Fremantle before taking over the senior position at the Cats in 2011. At the end of that year Harvey was sacked after a sudden and surprising decision to replace him with current coach Ross Lyon.