Cats defeat Freo in an AFL thriller

GEELONG overcame the early loss of Joel Selwood and a stirring challenge by Fremantle to claim a thrilling two-point win at Simonds Stadium.

Dockers star Michael Walters missed a flying shot at goal in the dying seconds, the final siren then sounding with the Cats scoring a heart-stopping 10.14 (74) to 11.6 (72) win.

In a season filled with upsets, Fremantle – without Nat Fyfe and Aaron Sandilands – nearly provided arguably the biggest of them all.

Geelong led by five points at the first break, but the fired-up Dockers slammed home the next seven goals to lead by 34 points before conceding late goals that reduced the margin to 22 points at half-time.

The out-of-sorts Cats lifted a notch in the third quarter but still trailed by 19 points at the last break before they sprang to life in the final term despite being left with with one fit player on the bench.

Scott Selwood completed a remarkable recovery from a hamstring strain suffered against West Coast to play, but the Cats lost brother Joel in the opening minute. The skipper was knocked out in a head clash with Hayden Ballantyne.