GEELONG were relentless from the opening bounce to the final siren against Fremantle on Thursday night prevailing by 69-points at Optus Stadium.

Following the Round 18 victory, geelongcats.com.au looks at some of the statistics that matter, presented by Deakin’s Centre for Sport Research.

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Cats Go Top After Dominant Display Against Dockers

Cats Stick Tackles

Geelong was relentless with their attack on the football and man in the early stages of Thursday night, laying a foundation for a dominant win.

Luke Dahlhaus and Brandan Parfitt led the charge for the Cats with an equal game-high 24 pressure acts, and alongside Brad Close the trio combined for 14 first half tackles.

Sam Menegola (18 pressure acts) and Shaun Higgins (16 pressure acts) were other strong contributors.

Their efforts rubbed off on their teammates helping the Cats to a 55 to 43 advantage in the tackle count come the final siren, despite a sizeable 422 to 299 lead in disposals.

Round 18 Showreel

  • 04:09

    Cats Goals R18

    Watch all the majors from our win in the West. Presented by The Gordon.

    AFL
  • 03:38

    Roaming O'Connor

    Mark O'Connor takes you inside the rooms after the Round 18 win over the Dockers. Presented by Ford.

    AFL
  • 00:42

    Inside the Team Song with Dahlhaus

    Luke Dahlhaus takes the GoPro into the team song after the win against the Dockers.

    AFL
  • 09:38

    Chris Scott Post Match

    Chris Scott says he was most pleased to see his side perform so strongly without the likes of gun forwards Jeremy Cameron and Gary Rohan

    AFL
  • 02:15

    Danger The Game Breaker

    Paddy Dangerfield looks back to his scary best with a dominant performance from the midfield that included three goals and a handful of assists

    AFL
  • 06:29

    Highlights: Round 18

    The Dockers and Cats clash in round 18

    AFL
  • 00:38

    Danger Fires To Miers For 'Hollywood' Finish

    Patrick Dangerfield and Gryan Miers combine for a flashy goal in the last as the Cats continue their blitz

    AFL
  • 00:43

    Skipper Joins The Party

    Joel Selwood tops off his impressive game with a brilliant goal in the last

    AFL
  • 00:51

    Too Big, Too Strong

    Tom Hawkins proves too big and too strong with two goals in short time

    AFL
  • 00:42

    Danger Time For Dockers

    Patrick Dangerfield hauls in a terrific mark in tough conditions and finishes off his work with a goal

    AFL
  • 15:33

    Chris Scott Press Conference

    Chris speaks to the media ahead of the round 18 match in Perth. presented by Morris Finance.

    AFL
  • 09:20

    Joel Selwood Press Conference

    Joel speaks after signing on for another year as a Cat. Presented by Ford.

    AFL

Clinical Cats

Matching the Cats physicality and work rate was their ability to be clinical by hand and foot throughout operating at 76.8% efficiency to finish above their season average despite conditions being unfavourable.

Close was as standout again with his 12 touches coming at 100% efficiency.

The Cats were also clinical in the middle with a clear advantage in disposals (+123), contested possessions (+20) and clearances (+9).

Cam Guthrie (35 disposals, 12 contested, 7 clearances) and Sam Menegola (30 disposals, 12 contested, 7 clearances) were the leading ball winners for the Cats. Menegola also amassed a game-high 745 metres gained to be named best-on-ground against his former side.

Cats Make Their Mark

Geelong recorded 137 marks (+72) in the win against Fremantle.

The Cats were particularly dominant in the air inside 50 with their 28 marks the most taken by any side this year.

Tom Hawkins and Patrick Dangerfield each had five apiece and were unstoppable in a new look attack for the Cats combining for seven goals to finish in the top two for most rating points with 21.5 and 18.5 respectively.

Esava Ratugolea took four grabs inside 50 to go with four contested marks, whilst at the other end of the ground Jake Kolodjashnij finished with a game-high 11 marks.

Sel Draws Level with Boris

Geelong captain Joel Selwood joined Ian Nankervis on 326 games in the hoops when he led the Cats into battle against the Dockers on Thursday night.

50th 50-Point Victory 

Coach Chris Scott’s record since joining Geelong speaks for itself. 175 victories from 253 games with a winning percentage of 69%.

On Thursday night, Geelong recorded its 50th victory by more than 50 points under Scott’s tenure.