CATS BROUGHT DOWN BY HUNGRY DEMONS
But star’s debut looms
GEELONG has been dragged back to reality after two narrow wins by a comprehensive 25-point defeat by Melbourne on Sunday.
But the cavalry could arrive for a swift bounce back against a languishing North Melbourne side this weekend with Jeremy Cameron a chance to play as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Cats coach Chris Scott said he was hopeful the star recruit could help fix a forward half that had been decimated by injury so far this year.
Scott said he hoped Cameron played this Sunday, “but you might be surprised to hear it is not really my call”.
“You have to be careful that you don’t base your decision-making on what you want to be true,” he said.
Geelong’s pulled-together forward half wasn’t to blame for the loss to Melbourne in the rain and wind, with a Christian Petracca masterclass leading a midfield domination.
The Demons looked the better side for most of the contest until the Cats hit back with a four-goal third term.
But Geelong was well beaten in the final term for the third week running, kicking one goal to three as the game slipped away.
MELBOURNE has started a season 4-0 for the first time since 1994, defeating an undermanned Geelong by 25 points at a wet MCG on Sunday.
Of course, season 1994 is dear to the Demon faithful’s heart as it saw their side storm to a preliminary final from seventh, and they could be forgiven for already doing some September dreaming this year.
The Dees were in control for the most of the day but after leading by five goals early in the third quarter, they had to weather a Geelong burst that saw the deficit trimmed to 12 points at three-quarter-time.
Melbourne’s speed and transition footy troubled Geelong for the first 2½ quarters, but it couldn’t get reward on the scoreboard (it was 3.8 at one stage) and Geelong responded by speeding up its ball movement and effectively broke the lines to get back into the contest.
However, Simon Goodwin’s men looked more threatening when entering their attacking zone all day, and early goals to Ed Langdon and Bayley Fritsch in the final term shut the door on the Cats.
Christian Petracca produced another master class for the Demons, finishing with a game-high 36 disposals (15 contested), nine clearances, seven marks, eight inside 50s, two goals, a goal assist and a game-high 648 metres gained.
But the win came at a cost for the Demons with Steven May subbed out in the second quarter after being concussed by an accidental elbow from direct opponent Tom Hawkins, which also left the Demons key backman with a nasty gash above his right eye.
It’s unlikely Hawkins will come under scrutiny from the MRO, but May will now sit out Melbourne’s next game against Hawthorn.
Geelong was missing Jeremy Cameron, Patrick Dangerfield, Shaun Higgins, Brandan Parfitt, Esava Ratugolea, Gary Rohan and Sam Simpson and it proved to be too many key outs to overcome.
PETRACCA’S FAST START
MARK O’Connor started the game on Clayton Oliver, but perhaps he should’ve been given the task on Petracca who began like a house on fire with 11 disposals (five contested), two marks, two clearances, a goal, two score involvements and 203m gained from just 73 per cent game time in the opening quarter.
He was the main reason Melbourne started so well and ended up best on the ground.
FABULOUS FRITSCH
BAYLEY Fritsch was one of Melbourne’s best too, with four goals, and they always seemed to come at crucial stages. His second and third came in the space of three minutes late in the second quarter just after Geelong cut the deficit to 11 points, and his fourth came early in the final term to extend Melbourne’s lead to 24 points not long after the Cats made another charge late in the third quarter.
And to top off his great afternoon, he also took a mark of the year contender in the first quarter as he climbed on Jake Kolodjashnij’s shoulders on the southern wing.
MENEGOLA MIS-HIT
THE Cats had all the momentum heading into the final term, but in the opening minute, Sam Menegola made a crucial error deep in defence as he attempted to fist the ball through for a rushed behind, but unfortunately for him, the ball went the wrong side of the behind post and out of bounds.
He was duly penalised for putting the ball out deliberately, and Langdon made him pay with a beautiful snap from a sharp angle.
STANLEY’S COSTLY MISS
GEELONG had one last roll of the dice at the 19-minute mark of the final quarter when Rhys Stanley received a free kick for being held without the ball by Max Gawn.
But from 30m out directly in front, the former Saint missed a sitter and about a minute later, the Dees ran the ball down the other end of the ground with a superb chain of touches and Jake Melksham capped it off with a goal in a devastating 11-point turnaround for the Cats.
HENDO BRAIN FADE
JUST as the Cats started to slowly turn the tide in their favour late in the second term, with a Jordan Clark goal cutting the deficit to 11 points, teammate Lachie Henderson gave away a silly 50m penalty to Fritsch, who took a mark on the boundary line and would’ve had a tough shot on goal … until Henderson foolishly pushed him over and brought him to the goal square for the easy major. From that point the Demons kicked five of the next seven goals.