It was a victory Geelong supporters won’t be forgetting any time soon with a Gary Rohan goal after the siren sealing a thrilling five-point win against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
The victory continued the Cats dominance against the visitors at GMHBA Stadium, with the Bulldogs last victory coming in Round 16, 2003 at Kardinia Park.
Here are some of the statistics that caught our eye in this week's edition of 'By The Numbers', presented by Deakin’s Centre for Sport Research.
Rohan The Hero
Most young kids dream of kicking the winning goal after the siren… Gary Rohan has now done it twice joining Barry Hall as the only other player in the game’s history to do so.
2017
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) June 18, 2021
Round 14
Friday night game
Gary Rohan kicks winning goal after the siren (for SYD)
2021
Round 14
Friday Night game
Gary Rohan kicks winning goal after the siren (for GEEL)
@GeelongCats #AFLCatsDogs
With the Cats trailing by a point with less than a minute to play Isaac Smith found Rohan inside 50 and he kicked one of the all-time great goals after the siren from a difficult angle.
A sensational finish to an incredibly hard-fought contest between two quality sides.
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38:57
To the Final Bell R14
To the Final Bell is back for 2021, Geelong Premiership Captain Cameron Ling and the Herald Sun's Scotty Gullan recap the round 13 win over Port and look ahead to this weeks match against the Western Bulldogs.
AFL
To The Final Bell -
Great Mates Enter the Record Books
They started their journey back in 2007 together and now they’ve won more games as teammates than any other combination in the history of our game.
Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins moved to 194 wins together, surpassing Kevin Bartlett and Francis Bourke on 193.
Selwood also features fourth on the list with recently retired Cat and premiership teammate Harry Taylor with 188 wins together.
Geelong’s Intercept King
Tom Stewart was on another level on Friday night with a dominant display across half back for the Cats.
Coach Chris Scott described Stewart’s performance post-game as “One of the best games I’ve seen a half-back flanker play.”
Stewart’s 10 intercepts marks is the equal most recorded by a player in a single AFL game in the past 20 years.
The 28-year-old also finished with 27 disposals, 15 intercept possessions and 697 metres gained in a best-on-ground performance.
“That was one of the better games I’ve played in in my career,” Stewart said post-match.
“It’s a product of the pressure up the field and the boys around me as well. Jack Henry played another awesome game tonight so massive credit to him as well. A few stuck for me tonight.
“Matthew Scarlett has been a fantastic influence on me and not only him but having Corey Enright as an extra set of ears as another champion defender.
“All the coaches have really worked hard on me and hopefully they’re starting to see some good things come out of it.”
Pressure forwards Stand Up Again
They are after often the players that go under the radar most, but Luke Dahlhaus and Brad Close were strong contributors again for the Cats on Friday night.
Dahlhaus’ 11 disposal and one goal second term helped the Cats to a seven-point half time lead after the Dogs threatened to take control of the contest opening up a game-high 11-point lead earlier in the quarter.
The former Dog finished with 21 disposals and seven tackles.
Close was equally important with his clean touches in and around the stoppages in Geelong’s attacking half, registering 18 disposals (83% efficiency), five score involvements and hitting the scoreboard himself.
