Geelong concluded its VFL pre-season campaign with a rousing win over Collingwood at Simonds Stadium on Saturday, controlling the play for most of the match and showcasing a depth of talent across all parts of the ground.

The inclusion of AFL stars Steve Johnson and James Kelly to the Bendigo Bank Cats squad strengthened the reigning premiers stocks after an under strength Cats outfit went down to North Ballarat last week.

The Cats controlled the match from the opening bounce with standout performances by Johnson and Kelly, both demonstrating they were a clear cut above their Collinwood counterparts. The Cats weathered a fourth quarter charge by the Magpies with fortitude to take the win; Geelong: 14.20 (104) def Collingwood: 12.5 (77).

Also delivering sterling performances were Ben Capra, Matthew Sully and Ryan Bathie in defence, Dom Gleeson, Troy Selwood and Ben Raidme around the ball, as well as Jack Hollmer, Daniel Gibbs and Mark Corrigan up front for the Cats.

The first half went just about all the Cats way- they played in front, attacked the ball across the ground, used space well and had excellent back up from second and third string runners through the middle of the ground.

The scoreboard wasn’t reflecting the Cats dominance on the field though, with Collingwood proving far more efficient in front of goal.

The Magpies were 100% in front of goal, six goals from six scoring shots to the Cats seven goals from fourteen at half time to make the margin thirteen points.

Scoring efficiency plagued the Geelong side during the third quarter, booting 4.9 and letting slide the opportunity to bury the Magpies before the last change. Dom Gleeson amazed the fans during this quarter with his speed and tenacity, while booting three goals- at one stage he had two in two minutes.

The five goal lead the Cats enjoyed going into the last quarter seemed to be unassailable given the progress of the match so far. Collingwood had other ideas as it turned out, and made those ideas apparent as they charged the Cats down, making rapid inside 50’s, and cutting the Cats off from doing the same. Jackson Paine and Thomas Hudson proved tough to get by across the Cats half forward line, and Peter Yagmoor was Collingwood’s go to man, making sensational plays and providing inspiration to his team mates.

The steadying hand of experience fell upon the Cats after the Pies got within seven points through Kelly, Johnson, Corrigan, Gleeson and Selwood as the Cats rallied to the contest. They broke the back of the Magpies resurgence with a hard fought push deep inside 50 along the boundary, resulting in Corrigan snapping six points up against point post.

Feeling the momentum swinging Geelong’s way, the Cats took the game firmly in their grasp with goals to Hartman and MacFarlane sealing the 27 point win.

“The guys played some good tough contested footy today” Cats Academy Coach Paul Hood said after the siren.

“It was a great learning experience for our VFL listed guys to play with the likes of Johnson and Kelly. A lot of the guys have commented on the instruction they have given around the ball."

Hood believes the value of having players the calibre of Johnson and Kelly in the VFL, even for the briefest of moments, cannot be understated.

“It would be great if we could get them on our rotation, but I don’t think it is going to work that way” he said.

“However the strength of our AFL side at the moment means that some good (AFL) players are going to play in the VFL team, regardless of age, and we expect the VFL players will learn from them”.

The coaching staff had a hard time picking standout performers with the standard set high across the board right throughout the match by the Cats, in what could be only described as a fantastic effort from the entire team.

“With any young team, consistency is the key” Hood said.

As it turned out it was the younger players that impressed Hood the most.

“We set pretty high expectations at the moment, to be honest, but Ben Raidme was really good around the ball, Mark Corrigan was terrific, Dane MacFarlane did a great job, Mathew Sully was really solid down back, and Daniel Measures did well down in the back pocket again”.

“The rest of the boys showed plenty of good signs; we just want to see a bit more consistency”.  

The only real blemish on the day was the way Collingwood were able to fight back to within a good kick of the lead, yet the cool hands shown by the Cats when it mattered speaks volumes about their ability to finish the job.

“In any game both teams have periods where they do better than the opposition” said Hood.

“Collingwood just took their chances better and got their tails up when they saw for the first time in the game they were a chance of getting in front."

“It was a credit to our guys to fight back into the game and win the arm wrestle."

The Bendigo Bank Cats begin the season proper with a seaside encounter against Williamstown at Torquay on the 31st of March, beginning at 2pm.

Geelong: 3.1; 7.7; 11.16; 14.20 (104) def Collingwood: 1.0; 6.0; 8.2; 12.5 (77)
Goals: Gleeson 3, Barham, Corrigan 2, Hollmer, Measures, Selwood, Johnson, Hamling, Hartman, MacFarlane
Best: Corrigan, Johnson, Gleeson, Hartman, Gibbs, Bathie
Injuries: nil
@Simonds Stadium