Geelong went down 10.15.75 to 20.16.136. The result could have been much worse for the Cats if it wasn’t for the efforts of Mathew Stokes who collected 42 touches and two goals and also a last quarter by the Cats which resulted in eight goals.
Geelong got out of the blocks slowly kicking against a strong breeze managing only 1.3 to 5.6 for the quarter. Ben Johnson was the lone goal scorer for the Cats. Paul Carson worked hard for the Cats collecting 11 touches and was well supported by Matt Firman who collected seven touches for the quarter.
Geelong had the breeze in the second quarter and although they had the same amount of inside 50’s and scoring shots as the Seagulls they could only manage 1.5 to 3.3 with Stokes the only goal scorer. Stokes also found plenty of the footy collecting 18 touches for the quarter and was well supported by Jono Simpkin who collected eight touches for the quarter.
Geelong still looked like a chance at half time but all hope was extinguished by three quarter time as Williamstown kicked 7.7 to two behinds to lead by 84 points at three quarter time. Nathan Djerrkura tried hard collecting eight disposals for the quarter whilst Ben Raidme, Kane Tenace and Jeremy Laidler all collected six disposals for the quarter.
Coach Dale Amos asked for a good last quarter effort and the Cats didn’t let him down slamming on eight goals in the last quarter. Stokes again showed his class collecting 12 touches and kicking a goal whilst Tenace and Raidme also found plenty of the ball for the quarter.
For the Cats James Podsiadly, Stokes, Dan McKenna and Tom Allwright all kicked two goals for the match. The final margin was a 61 point loss and it was probably a bit more disappointing as on paper it looked like it was Geelong’s best side for the year.
“It was probably our strongest list we’ve played with, the guys who came in all played pretty well as well. It would have been nice to back up after playing well against Frankston. We showed some glimpses but didn’t play well enough throughout the game.” Amos spoke of the playing list he had for the game.
It didn’t help the Cats that it was the worst conditions they had played with all year. Amos had this to say about the conditions and the last quarter.
“I think we definitely battled with the conditions today, it was a bit windy. We probably have played in good conditions before today. It’s not an excuse but we did struggle to adjust. It was encouraging the way we played in the last quarter. It was a disappointing result as we know we could of played better.”
Stokes was clearly the standout player on the ground with 42 touches and kicking two goals this is what Amos said of his game and his other better players.
“Stokes was clearly our best, he showed why he is an AFL player and why he should still be in the AFL. Tom Lonergan showed he could be played forward and back and did both jobs well. Westy was again in our best with 31 hit outs, he wasn’t as commanding as in recent weeks but he was very competitive around the ground.”
