After the Cats got home in the AFL blockbuster on Friday night, it was up to the Geelong VFL side to repeat the dose against the Collingwood VFL team at Victoria Park on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately though the Tarkyn Lockyer coached VFL Magpies made the score line ‘1 all’ for the weekend, as they ran away 4 point winners winning 10-15-(75) to 10-11-(71).

Jonathan Simpkin (20 disposals, 6 marks), Cameron Guthrie (28 disposals) and Steven Motlop (13 disposals, 4 goals) were the best performed of the AFL listed contingent, while the impressive form of the VFL listed recruits continued with Mark Corrigan (35 disposals - 27 contested, 7 marks) playing his best match of the season and Andrew McLean (20 disposals, 8 marks) solid again in defence.

After the disappointing 45 point lost to North Ballarat last week, the Cats lost co-captain Troy Selwood (pectoral), Marcus Drum (hamstring tightness), Jesse Stringer (ankle/knee), Ben Johnson (groin) to injury, but welcomed back basketball convert Ryan Bathie and a host of VFL regulars including veteran defender Jack Hollmer, Tommy Maas and Anthony Biemans

After a series of bad starts this season the Cats were keen to get off to a flyer, but the highly fancied Collingwood unit had other ideas as they went on a six goal to nil run. The talented John McCarthy (40 disposals, 5 marks) and AFL omission Dayne Beams (34 disposals) destroyed the Cats midfield, racking up 25 disposals between them to quarter time.

Looking down the barrel of another considerable defeat it was the Cats who came out the better side in the second quarter. Three quick consecutive goals to Steven Motlop, Nathan Vardy (10 disposals, 5 marks) and hard nut Casey Tutungi (26 disposals, 4 marks) saw the Cats get back within 18 points. The Cats midfield had assumed total control of the game with Joshua Cowan (19 disposals, 6 marks), Mark Corrigan, Jordan Schroder (17 disposals, 3 marks) and Tutungi continually winning the crucial contested ball and clearance count. After two quiet weeks Motlop was providing the spark that the Cats needed - a clever mark and resulting goal in the latter stages of the quarter saw the Cats go to the main break with just a 5 point deficit.

With respective AFL senior coaches Mick Malthouse and Chris Scott looking on, the scene was set for a huge second half. In a carbon copy of the night before, Collingwood and Geelong played out a war of attrition in which both sides kicked two goals a-piece to setup a thrilling final term. AFL prospect Cameron Guthrie was a stand out in the third term with his football smarts and poise standing out.

With five points separating the two sides it was all about who could keep their cool under extreme pressure. Early goals to Collingwood’s Brett Eddy and Geelong young gun Nathan Vardy kept the contest tight and further enhanced the enthralling contest.

With the valuable four points up for grabs both teams were throwing their bodies into contest with little thought for self preservation. Collingwood stretched the lead out to 10 points before Magpie turned Cat Jaxson Barham took a courageous mark and held his nerve to kick truly with only minutes remaining. The Cats threw everything at the final few contests but to the delight of the home crowd it was the Magpies who were able to hold on and win the game by four points.

From an injury management point of view, next week’s VFL bye has come at a good time for the Cats as they look set to welcome back a number of players after the break including dual AFL premiership player Shannon Byrnes, Trent West, Dawson Simpson, George Horlin-Smith, Marcus Drum, Ben Johnson and skipper Troy Selwood.

The next match for the Bendigo Bank Cats is against the Bendigo Bombers on the 28th of May. The match is part of ‘Geelong Vs Bendigo Day’ at Skilled Stadium and will be the curtain raiser to the Geelong Football League (GFL) Interleague versus the Bendigo Football League (BFL) Interleague match. The VFL game kicks off at 11:15am while the Interleague clash kicks off at 2.15pm. With the AFL Cats playing on the Gold Coast that night, the day at Skilled provides a unique opportunity for people to see the region’s best local players play on the one day. Geelong members get free entry.

In other news, Cats youngster Jesse Stringer suffered a partial tear of his ACL and a sprained ankle at training on Thursday. A decision on whether surgery will be required will be made in the coming weeks.

Collingwood 10-15-(75)
Geelong Cats 10-11-(71)
Goals: Motlop 4, Vardy 2, Schroder, Bathie, Barham Tutungi 1
Best: Corrigan, Simpkin, McLean, Guthrie, Raidme, Motlop.