Cats midfield becomes the Kelly Gang
ROUND 7: GEELONG V ESSENDON
M.Duncan 3, G. Ablett, T.Hawkins, T.Kelly 2, C.Guthrie, G.Miers, G.Rohan, L.Dahlhaus.
J.Stringer 3, D.Parish, J.Daniher, M.Baguley, T.Bellchambers.
T.Kelly, G. Ablett, M.Duncan, M.Blicavs, M.O’Connor, S.Menegola, T.Stewart.
D.Shiel, J.Stringer, Z.Merrett, M.Hurley. 63,527 at MCG. ed after, forced to play deep forward. He had no impact on the game. Enter Kelly. Previously seen as the third or fourth in line behind Selwood, Dangerfield and Gary Ablett rotating through Geelong’s midfield in 2018, he was the main man against the Dons.
It was not his best performance. He has had better in blue and white hoops.
But it is arguably the most important performance of his short 30game career.
Kelly was a dominant presence without Selwood and Dangerfield next to him, finishing with 30 disposals and two goals.
The 25-year-old said in the pre-season he did not know what his future held.
He was not sure if he would stay in Geelong or again ask for a trade.
But he made a point to say he would be playing for the Geelong jumper this season. There is little doubt Kelly is fully committed to the Cats.
And with every standout performance his value increases. That is not only for Geelong, but also when it comes to his next contract.
There is every chance Kelly will deserve a contract in excess of $800,000 a year. That is the measure of his value.
But it should be said the electric Western Australian was not the only one who led Geelong to a comfortable victory over the Dons.
Sam Menegola and Mitch Duncan also stood up in the midfield.
Tom Atkins was given more time in the guts, too, and showed some touches of class with 22 touches.
The Cats resisted temptation to throw Ablett in the middle when Dangerfield went down, and were rewarded in attack with the “Little Master” kicking two goals and finishing with 27 touches.
The Bombers dominated the first quarter at the MCG, but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard.
Despite having 18 inside-50s, Essendon mustered only 3.3 as Geelong’s defence remained watertight.
Mark Blicavs and Tom Stewart played key roles, while Mark O’Connor put the clamps on Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
At the other end the Cats kicked 4.0 from eight inside-50s in a further example of their ruthless edge in 2019.
It continued in the second term with the Cats kicking six goals from 10 inside-50s. It helped the Cats kick away to a 16-point halftime lead.
With the game on their terms, the Cats continued to build on their lead with goals to Tom Hawkins, Ablett and Kelly stretching the margin to 36 points.
Facing a 31-point deficit at three-quarter time, the Bombers kicked the opening goal of the final term through a barely seen Joe Daniher.
But the comeback was short-lived with goals to Ablett and Hawkins sealing the contest.
The win might have been one of Geelong’s most forgettable games of 2019. There was not anything particularly exciting about the victory. You would be a keen Cats fan to want to watch a replay.
However, we still learnt a lot from the win.
The Cats can win without Dangerfield and Selwood.
They’ve sorted out their troubles at the MCG, and now boast a record of three from three at the ground this season — the first time they have won that many in a row since 2014.
Kelly will earn himself a heavy pay rise come the end of 2019. And whoever is lucky enough to have him will have a player who is worth every cent.