Well, if you ever want to see what a game looks like when one team puts the cue in the rack, you can throw a copy of this game on from halftime onwards, and that’s exactly what you’ll get.
Ten goals up at the main break, the Cats had put the result of this game beyond doubt. As such, with a top two position all sewn up and nothing more to play for, the game basically stopped as far as Geelong was concerned. Not so for the Tigers, but as they lacked firepower, there was no chance of the gap being bridged.
The Tigers started well, taking the game on and owning the footy, but the Cats, much like their namesake, per patient, and waited for their chance to pounce. When those opportunities presented, they made the most of them.
By the time the second quarter concluded, the Cats had rammed home 11 goals to just the two from the Tigers. Home and Away season over, the remainder of the game was just playing out time.
It makes this game difficult to review, but there were still things to look at, both in terms of this performance, and where things head next.
Without further ado… as an eye an early night in bed, time for The Mongrel’s Talking Points from this one.
DID THIS GAME COST JEREMY CAMERON THE TON?
The simple answer is no.
Last week, he was held goalless, and if he is good enough, he can still kick bags over the first couple of weeks of finals to put himself right in the mix to register 100. However, this was his chance to really get a large bag under his belt.
The Tigers were a relatively easy kill for the Cats, as evidenced by the half-time scoreline, but as the game slowed down, and Jez missed several attempts, I reckon the chances of him creating history, and a multitude of headaches for the AFL in terms of finals crowd invasions, diminished.
How so?
Well, I like to look up previous finals and who has been able to produce something great. Cameron would have to kick 17 goals over the course of the finals. If the Cats manage three games, that is just over five and a half goals per game. If they play four, it is 4.25 per game.
Wanna know what Cameron’s finals average is to date?
1.94 goals per game.
Big forwards don’t own September. They haven’t for a long while. They have moments, but they rarely have massive days out. Jezza will have to buck the system to accrue 17 goals over September. History tells us it CAN be done, but it hasn’t been done in a long time.
The last person to kick 15 goals in a finals series was Matthew Lloyd in 2000.
The last person to kick 17 was Peter Sumich in 1992.
I wanted to see Cameron kick the ton. I love seeing history made in front of me. However, unless he can produce something extraordinary over September, it will prevent him from producing something extraordinary over the 2025 season, as a whole.
He needed a bag in this one.
THE RECORD-BREAKER
I actually barrack for the record-breakers, and over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a few emerge through the AFL ranks.
Scott Pendlebury became the all-time leader in disposals and tackles, Todd Goldstein continues to break records every week as he sets new highs for career hit outs, as does Patrick Dangerfield with clearances and inside 50s.
But seeing the best season in history of a specific statistic feels like you’re witnessing something great, and that’s what we’ve seen from Tom Atkins in 2025.
In the final home and away game of the year, he surpassed the 14-year-old record of Scott Selwood, by recording nine tackles to become just the second man to ever record 200+ tackles in a season.
It is likely that Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell will join him next week, meaning that in an extraordinary turn of events, we will see two players go past what was a record margin in the same year.
Atkins is Geelong in 2025 in a nutshell. No fuss, no bullshit, minimal flair, but extremely effective. And as we roll into finals, he is exactly the type of player that ends up slipping under the guard of opposition players and teams, only to inflict huge damage via his continued defensive excellence.
I reckon 100 footy fans (outside of Geelong) could walk past Tom Atkins and 99 of them wouldn’t know who he was. I also get the feeling there are a few at Geelong that don’t mind that being the way, at all.
I wonder how many will learn who he is the hard way, the longer September goes?
BALTA – FORWARD OR BACK?
He’s a defender, and he is the type of defender that needs a simple set of instructions.
In a lot of ways, Balta reminds me of a faster version of Esava Ratugolea. The Big Sav can be good when he is allowed a free run at the footy, but as soon as you complicate matters, he starts to get a little lost.
That’s Balta. In straight lines, he is a weapon. Even with one turn, or a twist thrown in, he remains a threat. But anything beyond that, he gets lost, and confused, and when he is not lost and confused, he doesn’t know where he is, and he is unsure about what to do next.
See what I did there?
Or are you lost and confused, as well?
The Tigers are depleted in terms of strong bodies – I get that. However, at a time when Richmond are building, you are probably better with a strong presence in defence, particularly with Tom Lynch in the side, to allow the other defenders to learn and continue their development.
Of course, it makes the instructions a little easier, too.
“Noah, stick with your man, spoil, and dish off whenever possible.”
The Tigers have Balta locked in on a long-term deal, but as much as teams love to use a swingman, I am not sure Balta is the right man to be swinging from forward to defence. As the Tigers’ list starts to take shape next season, I’d like to see Balta back in defence providing support to Ben Miller, Nathan Broad, and Nick Vlastuin. Hopefully, Josh Gibcus more often, as well.
THE CATS’ SOFT RUN TO SEPTEMBER
We basically know where teams will finish the season now, so it’s a good time to have a gander at the last six weeks for Geelong, as the toughest opposition they’ve faced will end up being Sydney. It begs the question – have the soft kills helped or hindered their September preparation?
Here are the results of their last six games.
ST KILDA – Currently 12th – WIN BY 31
NORTH MELBOURNE – Currently 16th – WIN BY 101
PORT ADELAIDE – Currently 13th – WIN BY 88
ESSENDON – Currently 15th – WIN BY 44
SYDNEY – Currently 10th – WIN BY 43
RICHMOND – Currently 17th – WIN BY 39
So, with the highest-placed team in tenth, it opens up the questions.
What is the benefit?
The Cats have been able to approach September on their own terms. They have the shortest injury list in the game, and have close to a complete contingent of players to choose from. When I was watching this game, it was painfully obvious in the second half that the goal was to get through unscathed, and prepare for an assault on September with a team at full health.
The downside is that they’re nowhere near battle-hardened. I’m not saying that the teams they’ve played have not put in – I’ve watched the games, and they definitely have, but the Cats are a level above them, so it has only taken a quick gear change to snuff out any threat.
Those threats are not as easily snuffed out in September.
As it stands, it is looking as though Geelong will face one of Collingwood, Hawthorn, or Brisbane. I’m not sure any of those teams permit you to be at anything less than 100% for a game, and after six weeks of comparatively easy wins, there is an argument that the Cats needed to meet and beat a contender along the way.
Of course, you can only beat who is in front of you, and the Cats have done that, but I reckon by about quarter time of the first final, we’ll understand whether this build up has helped or hindered their charge at another finals campaign.
ANY CHANCE BAILEY JUST WON THE BROWNLOW?
There are a few players that bumped up their numbers after the main break, but my hope is that the umpires have the common sense to assess which players were best on ground when the game was there to be won.
And given the game was over about halfway through the second term, that’d mean that this contest largely belonged to Bailey Smith.
At the halftime break, he had 18 touches, two goals assists, and six score involvements, as his pace was far too much for the one-speed Richmond midfield to combat.
I’ve touched on the one-pacers at Tigerland a bit this season, but when you look at a setup that has Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper, and Dion Prestia in the centre bounce, it should be painfully apparent that the Tigers are not going to win any sprints out of the middle.
The Cats are not a big clearance team, but as soon as the footy hits the outside, players like Smith, Max Holmes, and even Gryan Miers in this game, can blow an opposition off the park.
The Cats have a fantastic variation of speed and power in the middle, and if the umps are being serious, they’ll have a look at where the Cats were able to punish the Tigers early, and that was on the rebound via their leg speed.
Of those running, Smith was the one. I’d give him three votes, based on his first half alone. Maybe a toss up between him and Tom Stewart, which I am sure Tiger supporters will love reading. Sorry folks… the bloke controlled the back fifty with ease in the first half.
GIBCUS GETS THROUGH
Well, almost through.
Adem Yze subbed him out in the third quarter, and the young man looked a little frustrated at being pulled from the game. Understandable, both from Yze and Gibcus, as the coach was obviously rapt to get his young defender through the game without incurring another injury, whilst Gibcus had to have felt he had waited so long, only to be subbed out.
As a neutral, he looked a bit rusty, and understandably so, but I was thrilled to see him out there, and I hope he is able to get some solid miles into his legs over the off-season, which leads into a full pre-season for 2026, and a complete season next year.
If there is anyone that deserves it, after what he’s been through, injury-wise, it’s him.
ARE THERE ANY MIDS THAT SHOULD BE FEARING OISIN MULLIN THIS SEPTEMBER?
I’m not sure ‘fear’ is the right word, but teams should be well aware that he is a weapon Chris Scott can deploy at his leisure.
At quarter time of this game, Tim Taranto was getting his hands on the footy a little more than the Geelong coach was prepared to tolerate.
Taranto had 11 touches and four inside 50s in the opening period, and Mullin was quickly moved onto him to start the second.
The result?
Five touches in the second quarter, and only two deemed effective.
Mullin has become an integral part of the Cats’ best 22 this season. It has surprised me quite a bit, because as I watched him over 2023/24, I thought he looked a bit lost, at times. As you’d expect, I suppose, given where he came from.
Still, he has been asked to do big jobs this season, and has not disappointed. If I were sitting there as a premier mid in the competition, and saw we had drawn the Cats in week one of the finals, I’d be having a few chats with teammates about laying blocks, and perhaps even having someone sit Mullin on his backside at some point. If I were Nick Daicos, I’d absolutely have those chats, given the Irishman’s recent work on top-line mids.
CREDIT TO THE TIGERS FOR MAINTAINING THE RAGE
Look, we can say the Cats took the foot off the pedal all we like, but to give the Tigers no credit for the way they played the game out would be remiss of me.
Ben Miller played his backside off as the main key defender, and had some solid wins against Jeremy Cameron deep inside 50.
At the other end, Tom Lynch kept fighting (and had that great stiff arm on Tom Stewart at one stage that even drew a smile from the coach) and ended up with three goals to his name.
It is easy to lay down when the season is all but over and you’re copping a hiding, but whether the Cats fell away or not, it was still incumbent on Richmond to make the play in the second half, and they did, outscoring Geelong seven goals to three.
Little things like this give a team plenty to work with, going forward. Not to belabour the point, but this was supposed to be a team that went winless according to some. It is the “never say die” attitude that has seen them prove plenty wrong.
Given their situation, five wins in 2025 is a huge win. Onwards and upwards.
QUICKIES
Another week, another goal from the wing for Ollie Dempsey. That makes it 19 games in 2025 that he has hit the scoreboard. An incredible return from that position. He now has 28 goals for the year after being praised so much for his offence in 2024, when he had 22.
I wonder whether we’ll ever see Dempsey move forward? He is brilliant at getting to the right spots, and has made the wing his own at Geelong, but you get the feeling he could be even more potent than we’re seeing this season.
Some fierce tackling in this game early on, from both Maurice Rioli and Rhyan Mansell. The Mansell tackle, in particular, was delivered with a bit of feeling. I love seeing that from a young player.
I touched on it above, but the addition of Gryan Miers to the midfield rotation adds another dimension to the Cats. His ball use is going to hurt a team in the finals. I say “team” but it could very well be teams. Let’s see how it plays out.
Finally, a couple of excellent signs for some young defenders in this one. I thought Tom Brown had some nice moments for the Tigers, whilst Connor O’Sullivan continues to impress in a key position.
And that’ll about do me.
The Tigers wander off into the off-season with their heads held high. Even if all they do is match this season’s result next year, they are learning some valuable lessons, and the most impressive one might be the way they refuse to lay down.
As for the Cats, another year, another September assault. I am a Hawks man… I am supposed to hate you guys.
But damn it, I respect the hell out of the way that club does its work.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. You can see the amount of care that goes into it. I love footy, I love writing about it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Without you, this whole thing falls over. Sincerely… thank you – HB
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