Cats’ great escape
Geelong kick final two goals to beat Werribee in nailbiter
GEELONG has pulled off the great escape, kicking the last two goals of the game against Werribee to prevail by four points in a nailbiter at Spring Creek Reserve.
The Cats led by as much as 18 points early in the last term, before the Tigers kicked the next four goals to break away to a 10-point lead at the 31-minute mark of the final quarter.
But a Wylie Buzza mark and goal was followed up by a miraculous Luke Kiel snap in the dying minutes to seal a thrilling 12.12 (84) to 11.14 (80) win for Geelong.
“We have pinched one and we’ll take it,” coach Shane O’Bree said.
“I had a feeling there was a fair bit of time left in the game, when ‘Buzz’ took that mark I felt we were coming.
“We just had to get the right structure at the centre bounce and we did that, lucky the ball went forward and we locked it in there and got a great goal from ‘Kiely’.
“The second half I thought we controlled the game a lot, it was just a matter of we didn’t score and every time they went forward with a thrust, they really hurt us. It’s something we’ll learn from.”
The Cats, who boasted 15 AFLlisted players, kicked the opening four goals of the match and things were looking ominous for Werribee. But the Tigers, led by best-onground Sam Collins, worked their way back into the contest to close within seven points at the main break.
Jackson Thurlow was rested at halftime as an extra emergency for Geelong’s clash with Hawthorn today, but the Cats were able to maintain a buffer on their rivals until the Tigers finished with a flurry.
“It was a game where I thought Werribee were really good, their pressure and ability around the contest to win it and get it forward and spread from there was something our boys can learn from, when teams come at us and have that mindset,” O’Bree said.
“We stuck to our structures, the messages got out on the ground and the boys stuck to them. That probably shows where we’ve come from as a group.” Jordan Cunico, Scott Selwood and Charlie Con- stable were all brilliant for the Cats, while Campbell Floyd and Jackson McLachlan were also busy.
The Cats will enjoy a week off before their next match against Sandringham on April 15.