CATS ON THE RISE
Geelong leaps into third after grinding win over Pies
SAM Menegola has sung the praises of Stewart Crameri after Geelong’s 21-point win over Collingwood yesterday.
Menegola’s three secondhalf goals proved vital in turning the game back in Geelong’s favour when the Magpies looked to be making inroads into the 19-point halftime deficit, and rounded out a game that saw him finish with 24 possessions, 10 marks, four clearances and three inside-50s.
But the 26-year-old said it was the work of teammates further afield that led the Cats to victory, with Crameri’s gut running and pressure at stoppages earning a big tick, while his work in the forward half won a nod of approval.
“I thought he (Crameri) was awesome at making a contest when we needed him to,” Menegola said.
“They generally don’t get recognised but some of his contests were so important.
“It’s going to be hard for match committee when ‘Hawk’ (Tom Hawkins) and ‘Menz’ (Daniel Menzel) and all of those guys come into the mix again, but I thought he was really, really good.
“It felt like he gave us another dimension in the forward line.”
By his lofty standards, Menegola was quieter than usual last week but he responded in brilliant fashion, forming part of the midfield rotation that read Brodie Grundy’s tap work all day.
When he was not delivering the ball inside-50 he was often on the end of it from teammates, but he was happy to deflect, instead saying the work of emerging key forward Esava Ratugolea was not going unnoticed by teammates.
“The most consistent thing about Esava is he competes, and I think most coaches would say for young talls, if they could pick one thing, that would probably be it,” Menegola said.
“I thought he was awesome again tonight and, like ‘Crammers’ (Crameri), he just makes a contest and when he wins them it’s pretty good to watch.
“I love playing alongside him and we’ve got a pretty good forward mix at the moment.
“Those contests are really important to that because it gives guys like ‘Greggers’ (Cory Gregson) and ‘Murds’ (Jordan Murdoch) who played down there today a chance, and they were really good on the ground.”