1 Mitch Brown gathered 9 disposals against the Suns before being substituted out of the game early in the 3rd quarter. Brown spent most of his time in defence, as he has for much of this season, but managed 1 inside 50 and kicked 1 behind during the brief period he played forward. The wet, greasy conditions didn’t favour the tall players, with Brown taking just 2 marks before he was replaced by Allen Christensen.
DT: 35
SC: 29

3 Jimmy Bartel was one of the Cat’s best performers, collecting 19 kicks and 11 handballs. He had clean hands in the wet, taking 5 marks, and put Geelong inside 50m a game high 8 times. Bartel played in defence and through the midfield but was most damaging in the forward line, kicking the first goal in each of the last 3 quarters.
DT: 119
SC: 119

4 Andrew Mackie was among Geelong’s best, gathering 21 disposals across half back. One of the few Geelong defenders who managed to regularly work off his direct opponent, Mackie lead the Cats with 6 rebound 50s. In wet conditions he had 6 running bounces and, incredibly, a disposal efficiency of 90.5%, providing first class transition out of defence.
DT: 94
SC: 105

7 Harry Taylor had 16 possessions, half of which were contested, and 3 inside 50s. He is 3rd in the AFL for marks this year, averaging 7.7 a game, but only managed 5 on Saturday night. Taylor was rarely beaten by his direct opponent but the Suns blocked his run into marking contests, allowing only 1 uncontested mark and minimising Taylor’s ability to intercept forward entries.
DT: 94
SC: 84

8 Josh Hunt played his first game in Geelong’s starting 21, having worn the green substitute vest for his first 2 matches of the year. He was one of the few Cats to play well over 4 quarters, collecting 17 disposals and taking 6 marks. Hunt finished off his best match for the season with a goal late in the final term, kicked from nearly 60m out.
DT: 80
SC: 89

9 James Kelly was a welcome inclusion for the Cats after serving a 2 match suspension. He had 25 possessions and 6 inside 50s playing through the midfield. Laying 5 tackles, Kelly provided much needed strength and physicality at the stoppages, helping Geelong regain ascendancy in the centre during the final term.
DT: 98
SC: 86

11 Joel Corey gathered 24 possessions playing predominantly in the back line. One of the oldest on the ground, Corey played 95% of game time and, with 3 rebound 50s and 3 inside 50s, covered the ground well against much younger opponents. He provided a highlight early in the match, beating Gary Ablett to chase down a ball kicked into an open Gold Coast forward line, much to the appreciation of the Geelong crowd.
DT: 95
SC: 101

12 Trent West spent more time forward than in previous weeks, sharing the ruck duties with Mark Blicavs and Nathan Vardy. He collected 12 disposals, won 10 hit outs and had 3 clearances. West took 4 marks, the first of which was a strong contested mark inside forward 50. He converted the opportunity, scoring Geelong’s second goal of the match.
DT: 66
SC: 75

13 Tom Lonergan played well on Tom Lynch, limiting the young Sun to just 5 marks and 1 goal. Lonergan gathered 9 disposals and took 2 contested marks. He has had a strong season to date, outperforming some of the games best forwards. Gold Coast effectively separated the Geelong defenders, preventing the Cats from supporting each other aerially and intercepting forward entries. Lonergan accounted for Lynch but struggled  to work off his inexperienced opponent or have an mpact offensively.
DT: 38
SC: 44

14 Joel Selwood started slowly against the Suns but still collected 9 kicks and 11 handballs, getting better the longer the match went. When the Cats were struggling in the 3rd term Selwood lifted his intensity, willing his team back into the contest. The Geelong skipper made 5 tackles, took 5 marks and sent the ball into attacking 50 on 6 occasions.    
DT: 83
SC: 73

15 Jordan Schroder struggled to find the ball early in the match playing as a small forward. Gold Coast applied great defensive pressure across the ground and restricted the amount of open space crumbing forwards, like Schroder, could work into. He gathered majority of his 5 possessions in the final term when moved up the field. Schroder won 2 clearances, including 1 from the centre, playing through the midfield late in the game.
DT: 17
SC: 18

20 Steve Johnson had a tantalising battle with Gary Ablett, playing on his former team mate for the first half. Good friends off the field, there was plenty of niggle and conflict between the two throughout the match. Johnson had 17 kicks and 5 handballs and managed to minimise Ablett’s influence in the first 2 quarters. He took 6 marks and had 2 centre clearances, an area Geelong has struggled in so far this year.
DT: 94
SC: 86

22 Mitch Duncan was the equal leading possession winner for the Cats, collecting 21 kicks and 9 handballs. He kicked 1 goal, had 6 inside 50s and was just as impressive defensively, with 7 tackles and 5 rebound 50s. In slippery conditions Duncan took 8 marks, better than his average of 7.3 per game, the 6th best in the AFL.
DT: 138
SC: 135

26 Tom Hawkins had a fascinating aerial duel with 2 metre tall Gold Coast defender Rory Thompson. Thompson manned Hawkins closely for most of the night, forcing the big Cat to win 4 of his 5 marks and 8 of his 9 disposals in a contest. As the game went on Hawkins was able to work free of his opponent, kicking 2 goals in the last quarter.
DT: 52
SC: 71

27 Mathew Stokes gathered 27 possessions, 11 kicks and 16 handballs, playing through the midfield. He continues to perform in the centre for the Cats, averaging 26.8 disposals this season. Stokes, leading Geelong with 2 centre clearances against the Suns, is also improving around the stoppages which has been a weakness for the side so far this year.
DT: 86
SC: 79

28 Allen Christensen started the match as the substitute and was brought into the game for Mitch Brown early in the 3rd quarter. Despite playing only 39% of game time, he managed 15 disposals, 9 of which were contested. Christensen took 2 marks inside 50m and had 1 goal assist. He provided an injection of speed and intensity, coming on when Gold Coast had momentum in the match.
DT: 49
SC: 54

29 Cameron Guthrie had 8 possessions playing mostly in defence, effective with all but one disposal despite the slippery conditions. He ran with Gary Ablett in the last quarter, following the former Cat wearing his old number 29. After kicking his first goal for the year 15 minutes into the term, Guthrie intercepted an Ablett kick in and added a 2nd goal at the 29 minute mark of the final quarter.
DT: 51
SC: 50

30 Nathan Vardy didn’t miss a beat in his first AFL game for 2013. He displayed great speed and agility for a big man, kicking Geelong’s first goal of the match on the run from 40m. Vardy, plagued by injury over the last 2 years, played just 68% of game time but managed 10 disposals. Most impressively he presented and marked well inside forward 50 and kicked 4 goals, the most of any player on the ground.
DT: 71
SC: 73

32 Steven Motlop was followed closely by Gold Coast’s Joel Wilkison and managed just 12 disposals, well below his 2013 average of 18.5. He was unable to use his speed to break free of Wilkinson who finished 4th in the 2011 Grand Final sprint. On the verge of quarter time Motlop took an impressive contested and kicked his 1st goal as the siren sounded. He had 1 goal assist and added a 2nd goal in the 3rd term.
DT: 58
SC: 65

43 George Burbury followed up his impressive debut last week with another strong performance against the Suns. He gathered 13 possessions playing on a forward flank, 7 of them contested. He provided good forward pressure with 4 tackles and kicked a goal late in the 3rd term to draw the Cats level with Gold Coast at the final break.
DT: 59
SC: 67

44 Corey Enright had 15 kicks and 6 handballs playing across half back. Gold Coast played man on man for most of the match and effectively limited intercept marks from Geelong defenders, including Enright. He was still offensively effective, however, sending the Cats inside 50m 4 times and managing a disposal efficiency of 85.7% despite the wet weather.
DT: 85
SC: 97

46 Mark Blicavs lead the Cats with 13 hit-outs, sharing the ruck duties with Trent West and Nathan Vardy. Playing one if his best games for Geelong, Blicavs collected a career best 20 disposals, 13 of them contested. His work around the stoppages was also high class, winning 7 clearances and making 5 tackles.
DT: 94
SC: 107