1 Mitch Brown gathered 11 disposals playing in defence for the Cats. He has played the last three games in the Geelong senior side but will be one of a big group fighting for selection after the bye. Brown had 3 rebound 50s and made 3 tackles, a career best.
DT: 48
SC: 52

2 Billie Smedts was one of five changes to the Geelong side, collecting 7 kicks and 7 handballs. He played as a small forward, laying 5 tackles and taking a career high 6 marks. Smedts had 1 goal assist and sent the Cats inside attacking 50m on 4 occasions.
DT: 76
SC: 59

3 Jimmy Bartel had 18 disposals playing at both ends of the ground in a utility role. In an effort to inspire better performance from the team after a disappointing start, he heightened his attack on the ball, winning 10 contested possessions. Bartel kicked the Cats’ second goal of the second quarter, helping Geelong peg back the lead after a low scoring first term.
DT: 84
SC: 91

4 Andrew Mackie worked his way into the match, gathering 18 possessions after a slow start. He kicked the Cats’ first goal of the second quarter and sent the ball inside attacking 50m 4 times. Mackie is usually effective with his disposal, particularly by foot, but struggled to find the space and opportunity to utilise his kicking ability.
DT: 72
SC: 74

8 Josh Hunt followed up his excellent game against the Suns with another strong performance at Skoda Stadium. He took 7 marks and gathered 23 disposals playing across half back. Hunt displayed his elite kicking ability with 2 goals, one of them from a set shot 55m metres out.
DT: 108
SC: 107

9 James Kelly displayed a physical intensity that most of the team lacked early in the game, leading the Cats with 12 contested possessions and 8 tackles. Kelly won 7 clearances gathering the ball in heavy traffic and managed to kick 1 goal just 35 seconds before the final siren.
DT: 124
SC: 106

11 Joel Corey collected 21 disposals playing both in the midfield and defence. He lead the Cats with 8 tackles, winning the ball in congestion and feeding it out to team mates. Corey has been used as a utility this season, spending a lot of time across half back. He displayed his wealth of midfield experience against younger opposition on Saturday, winning 7 clearances.
DT: 91
SC: 87

12 Trent West played his first game of the year without the support of young Cat Mark Blicavs. He had 42 hit-outs, 1 centre clearance and 1 goal assist. West’s best moment of the match was the goal he kicked right on the 3 quarter time siren
DT: 69
SC: 80

13 Tom Lonergan had 8 possessions and battled to contain young gun Jeremy Cameron. Lonergan is not a prolific ball winner, averaging 9.3 possessions per game. He took 5 marks but looked lost at times without the support of Harry Taylor. He struggled to counter the speed of emerging star Cameron who kicked 4 goals for the Giants.
DT:36
SC: 40

14 Joel Selwood demanded a better performance from his team after a sluggish start to the game. The Geelong skipper was the leading possession winner for the Cats, with 13 kicks and 16 handballs at 89.7% efficiency. He fought hard at stoppages to win 12 contested possessions and kicked 2 goals. Bursting form the centre square to kick a goal on the run from 50m, Selwood provided one of the highlights of the match.
DT: 132
SC: 137

20 Steve Johnson collected 24 possessions, 10 of them contested, playing mostly through the midfield. He sent the Cats inside 50m 6 times and provided 2 goal assists. After 5 unanswered goals by the Giants, Johnson kicked Geelong’s first goal of the match late in the first term. Concussion from a head clash with Allen Christensen ended Johno’s game prematurely but both players are expected to recover fully before the next match.
DT: 101
SC: 111

21 Jordan Murdoch impressed in his first game since Round 6, one of 5 inclusions in the Geelong line up. Playing in the forward line, Murdoch gathered 14 disposals and took 6 marks. His pressure inside attacking 50 was first class, laying 7 tackles, and the young Cat was rewarded with a career best 3 goals.
DT: 97
SC: 77

22 Mitch Duncan started the match wearing the green substitute vest but played the entire last quarter when subbed in for Nathan Vardy. Playing just 26% of game time, Duncan gathered 9 possessions with 100% disposal efficiency. Soon after taking the field Duncan kicked the first goal of the final term, clutching a diving mark and converting the set shot.
DT: 40
SC: 38

26 Tom Hawkins was well held by GWS defender Tim Mohr. He has the ability to out-muscle most opponents but, when attempting to mark, he struggled to get separation from Mohr and had to win 5 of his 6 possessions in a contest. Hawkins has been able to impact the score board with little involvement in the play over the last 12 months and still managed 1 goal assist and 2 goals against the Giants.
DT: 41
SC: 48

27 Mathew Stokes will seek treatment for leather poisoning over the bye weekend, gathering another 28 disposals against the Giants. Stokes has averaged 27 disposals a game this season, thriving in the Geelong midfield. He also displayed his talents close to goal against GWS, kicking 1 goal in addition to 4 goal assists.
DT: 96
SC: 105

28 Allen Christensen had 23 possessions and 6 clearances playing through the midfield. He was slow to start, like many of the Cats, but lifted his intensity and finished the match with 6 inside 50s and 1 goal. Christensen watched the final 15 minutes of the game from the bench after clashing heads with team mate Steve Johnson.
DT: 90
SC: 100

29 Cameron Guthrie collected 4 handballs and 6 kicks playing in defence. After working up the ground to kick a career best 2 goals against the Suns last week, Guthrie spent most of the match in the back half. He took 3 marks and made 5 tackles, the most he has made in a match this season.
DT: 55
SC: 54

30 Nathan Vardy kicked 4 goals in an exciting return to AFL football last week, but struggled to have the same impact in his second game of the year. He gathered 5 disposals in the forward line and won 6 hit-outs during brief spurts in the ruck. Vardy played 53% of game time before being subbed out of the match for Mitch Duncan at the end of the third quarter.
DT: 32
SC: 38

31 James Podsiadly was Geelong’s best forward, returning to the side after injuring his knee against Port Adelaide. Spending periods of games in defence throughout the year, he had 13 possessions and made 5 tackles playing solely as a key forward. Podsiadly kicked 3 unanswered goals in the space of 6 minutes in the 3rd quarter and finished the match with 5 goals, his best return this season.
DT: 95
SC: 118

40 Jackson Thurlow played one of his best games for the Geelong, gathering a career best 19 possessions. He has grown in confidence with regular selection, playing 4 out the last 5 games for the Cats. Thurlow took 7 marks across the half back line, reading the play well to intercept Giant attacks.
DT: 81
SC: 72

41 Jesse Stringer collected 14 disposals in his first AFL game this season. Playing predominantly as a small forward, Stringer kicked 1 goal and applied good pressure in the attacking 50, laying 5 tackles. He took 3 marks and had 2 rebound 50s, working up the field to support the defence when needed.
DT: 64
SC: 60

44 Corey Enright won 22 disposals across half back with a disposal efficiency of 81.8%. He took 11 marks, more than any player on the ground, and provided great transition out of defence with 4 rebound 50s. Enright took 10 of his marks uncontested, reading the play and working off his opponent to intercept the Giant’s forward entries.
DT: 103
SC: 87