Cats’ tribute to champions
Hawkins 3, Parfitt 2, Ablett, Dahlhaus, Dangerfield, Menegola, Miers, Ratugolea, Rohan, Steven.
King 3, Day 2, Weller 2, Sexton.
Hawkins, Menegla, Duncan, Selwood, Fort. Swallow, Greenwood, King, Anderson, Bowes, Miller. early on without capitalising on their chances, something the Suns did whenever they went inside-50.
In stark contrast to the previous week’s win over Melbourne, Geelong moved the ball quickly more often against Gold Coast and was prepared to go long, even on the occasions it was outnumbered in attack.
It put pressure on the Suns’ defence and the Cats were rewarded with four goals in the first quarter, but the 20-point margin at the first break did not reflect their dominance.
That allowed the visitors a sniff, which they took thanks largely to young forward Ben King, who made the most of the open space in Gold Coast’s forward line, kicking three goals in a superb 20 minutes of footy.
King’s performance and the Suns’ sharp reply put the visitors within striking distance of
Geelong at the main break, and there was a genuine feeling Stuart Dew’s men were on the brink of causing a boilover when they kicked the first two goals of the third term.
But the Cats steadied and seized control of the game once more, with small forwards Brandan Parfitt, Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan all scoring majors to give their side back the lead.
Despite losing the clearance count nine to four in the third quarter, Geelong had positioned itself perfectly for a lastquarter assault, and, with Gold Coast seemingly out on its legs, the Cats pounced.
Patrick Dangerfield hit the scoreboard inside five minutes, before much talked-about recruit Jack Steven kicked his first goal in the hoops a little while later, prompting each of his teammates to flock to him to help celebrate.
But while that may have been the sealer for the Cats, the one man capable of topping Steven’s effort did so just minutes afterwards.
Ablett, in game 350, showed he still had the leg to carry lengthy distances when he marked a pass from Tom Hawkins outside 50 and went back and put the ball through the goals. It capped an emotional night for Geelong, which paid tribute to two champions of the club, and, in the process, moved to a 3-2 record ahead of a five-week road trip to Sydney and then Perth.