Coming into this match, you’d have to be a staunch Dees fan or a true gambler to put a dollar against the undefeated Cats side. While they’ve had some scares, they’ve always had the class, depth of talent and sheer will to get themselves across the line—and they almost got out of gaol here too, except for some unbelievable play in the dying minutes (or sheer arse as the Cats fans might see it) from a Melbourne side that showed they can match it with anyone when their team is firing.
While some will point to the long goalless lull as a negative for the game, I think it just shows how modern footy is about putting as much pressure on opponents as possible, whether you have the ball or not.
Both sides put a hell of a lot of effort into the game, with neither side willing to give away an inch, and personally, I’ll take that over a 40-goal shootout any day of the week.
The build-up
Geelong have been a bit of a surprise packet this year. After finishing 12th in 2023, many non-Cats fans might have taken a little bit of schadenfreudian joy in the perennial finalist succumbing to the inevitable slide down the table.
Except now it looks like it was just a small bump in the road.
Geelong have managed to yet again blend young talent, experienced hands and savvy recruiting to become the standard of the competition yet again, though doubts still linger with the majority of their wins thus far coming at the expense of teams outside the top eight. This game promised a test against a side with finals very much on their radar.
On the subject of Melbourne, 2024 has been one of confronting their own demons as much as those outside of the club. Well-publicised issues with Clayton Oliver dominated the newspapers in the off-season so thoroughly, it almost pushed Harley Reid off the back page of The West.
Almost.
With both sides coming into the game in winning form, it was always going to come down to who could get things going at the right time to take the four points, and with some immense effort (and a ludicrous goal from Bayley Fritsch) Melbourne were able to get the job done.
Ins and outs
Melbourne went into the game with an unchanged lineup from the team that smashed Richmond. They also finished the match with a clean sheet on the injury front, which at this stage of the season is worth almost as much as a win. Not quite, but almost.
They’ll even be welcoming players coming off the injury list over the next couple of weeks, with Jake Bowey and Christian Salem expected to start building up to a return after a collarbone and hamstring respectively. Shane McAdam and Marty Hore both played in the VFL last week and look ready for selection if a spot opens up.
Geelong would have been very pleased to welcome Tom Stewart back after finishing his concussion protocols, along with Gary Rohan returning from a back complaint, while Jhye Clark gets brought after a week in the VFL where he helped his side to a 101-point win over Carlton.
Making way for the side were two omissions in Mark O’Connor and Brandan Parfitt, but it’s the injured hamstring of Dangerfield that will be of the most concern. It looks like he’ll be out of the side for at least a month. Would his experience have helped the Cats win a close one like this? Who can say?
The start
From the opening bounce, Geelong showed they were shaking things up. Jeremy Cameron started on the wing, while Blicavs lined up in the middle alongside Rhys Stanley. It didn’t help them win the clearance though, as Melbourne pushed the ball forward through their inside mids of Oliver and Petracca before rookie Caleb Windsor timed his run perfectly to collect the bobbled ball from ‘Trac to deliver a low inside 50 that landed in the diving arms of Bayley Fritsch, despite some close checking from Jake Kolodjashnij.
It’s a small thing, but you could see Fritsch pointing exactly where he wanted the ball, then slow down his lead enough to give Kolodjashnij a bit of a ‘brake test’ that meant he had to hold up unless he wanted to risk making minor contact with a small forward that could then be accentuated to make it seem like Fritsch had been hit by a freight train. Not that Fritsch is the first (or even the worst) forward to put mayo on contact from a backman, but it’s a common enough skill that any backman worth their salt knows they need to be careful about it.
The age old contest between backs and forwards. Personally, I think the forwards get by far the better end of the deal with the way the game is officiated. Maybe they need to bring in an AFL version of cricket’s one bouncer per over rule, except the backman is allowed to give the forward one wedgie per game? Maybe we need a change.org petition to get going in order to save the endangered backman species?
Anyway, Bayley converted the kick beautifully, but as happened so often in the match, Geelong responded quickly with a quick switch that was collected by Blicavs on the wing. He went for a run and put in a quick, long kick that Rhys Stanley probably should have marked, but instead we got a textbook example of forward structure as he brought the ball down in front of him where Tyson Stengle collected it, took a few quick steps to get away from the defenders and snapped truly across his body.
Watching the replay of that goal, you can see Stengle time his run from 40 metres away, looking at the marking contest as he hangs back and then accelerates once he expects the ball to land in front of Stanley.
Both of the opening goals showed great forward craft and understanding between teammates. If you didn’t watch the game, at least check out those two highlights, especially if you’re a young player looking to get into the mid-sized forward role.
Geelong got another goal through Dempsey as he slotted a perfect drop punt from the boundary to give the Cats back-to-back goals, but Melbourne responded with two of their own through Petty and Pickett.
Petty’s goal was another that showed great understanding between teammates, as Kosi Pickett was in good position to jump up and take the mark, but he was called off it by Petty.
It’s smart play from both of them, as Kosi was flat-footed, and could have taken a big hit, which in all honestly might have actually come from Petty as he barrelled in. Cutting off the lead of a big Key Forward is always a bit of a risk, and Pickett was smart enough to know when he’s out of his weight division.
Pickett showed that he does understand the role of a lightweight though, when he collected a bobbled ball in the forward line to weave around some defenders and snap a goal to give Melbourne a four-point lead that they’d hold until quarter time.
Pressure footy
Looking at the scoreline for the second quarter, you might be tempted to think you’d want to skip forward when watching the replay, but there was plenty to enjoy if you like to see players gut-running to contests to put pressure on the person with the ball.
Tom Stewart especially was able to keep his opponents honest as he hassled and harassed everyone around him, while also popping up for timely intercept marks that set up rebounding attacks.
That’s the good part. The bad part is that there probably should have been more goals, if not for some inaccuracy from players who should be much more efficient with their kicking. Hawkins in particular missed some shots that should have been bread and butter for him, but Melbourne were even worse, spraying twelve scoring shots and getting only nine behinds between Pickett’s goal in the first and Chandler’s goal in the third.
I don’t mind a tight contest, but poor shooting for goal is poor footy.
The Finish
Geelong started the final term with a two-point lead before a long 60 metre bomb from Gawn and a clean kick from an overlap rebound that ended in Fritsch’s hands saw the Dees enjoy a ten-point buffer. Shortly after Stengle found Ollie Henry 20 out, which he converted.
The centre bounce saw Melbourne surge forward, but Geelong’s defence rebounded along the wing where Jezza Cameron’s inside 50 dart found Close for an easy 20 metre conversion.
The back and forth had the crowd in full voice as each team tried to put the game beyond the other’s reach in a see-saw battle that had a bit of everything—some great contested marks, some run and carry, and some last-minute heroics from both teams.
Pickett showed some class when he kicked inside 50 trying to find Petty on a lead only for the ball to come to ground, but Kosi had kept his foot on the gas to find himself in perfect position to gather from his own kick, do a little side-step and put through a goal to wrest the lead back in favour of the Dees.
Clean possession was hard to find as both teams hunted in packs to try and get the match-winner. Melbourne’s midline managed to guard the corridor to push Geelong to the wings as they transitioned into offence, which allowed Lever and May to take multiple intercept marks, while Stewart returned the favour for the Cats with some savvy understanding of when to fly for a pack mark, and when to leave his man to put pressure on the ball.
It wasn’t always an easy rebound though, as Tom Atkins can attest to when he tried to weave out of danger, only to get caught holding the ball from a Caleb Windsor tackle 30 metres from Goal. Windsor kicked true, and it seemed like Melbourne might have had the game sewn up with a ten-point margin with only seven minutes to go.
But, Geelong were not giving up yet, forcing the contest right from the bounce, and managing to surge forward through Mitch Duncan which resulted in a scramble that ended up in the hands of Tom Hawkins. It wasn’t his night, but this might have been his moment as he spotted an open Jeremy Cameron thirty metres from goal. Cameron took his time, but his usual smooth action seemed to abandon him as he hooked the ball savagely to his right.
Despite this, Geelong kept the work rate up and were rewarded when Tom Atkins caught Clayton Oliver holding the ball at the defensive edge of the centre-square to set up a vital forward surge that ended up with Jeremy Cameron giving a silver-service pass to an open Tom Hawkins. Unfortunately, Hawkins’ ordinary night continued as he put down a mark that he’d have been expected to take cleanly, but the Cats wouldn’t be denied as Zac Guthrie crumbed the ball and kicked a team-lifting goal on the run with his left.
With three minutes to go, the three-point margin had the supporters of both sides in full voice. Geelong showed courage with some long-kicking and daring attempts to switch the ball, but came unstuck when a looping kick from Jack Henry attempting to find Tom Stewart in the middle, but he’d put just a little too much air on it and it was swatted down by Harrison Petty to the waiting arms of Petracca. ‘Trac put a clever pass to the goalside of a running Bayley Fritch as the ball dribbled towards the boundary with Henry and Guthrie hot on his tail.
The ball should have gone over the line and out of bounds to set up a boundary throw in, but Fritsch managed to tap the ball along the line, and rather than fully gather the ball, kind of cradled it in one hand as he took a single step, guided it to his boot and dribbled the ball goalwards with the sort of curving shot you’d rarely see outside of a high-level lawn bowls tournament. Despite being off-balance, under pressure and hard up against the boundary line 20 metres out, it went through perfectly, giving Melbourne a nine-point margin with three minutes on the clock.
It’s an amazing goal, and everyone should check it out (though Cats fans may need to take a few days to let themselves calm down).
Geelong refused to give up though, and pushed forward again and again. Every single player wanted to impact the ball as they leapt into tackles, took hard contact in marking contests and put in gut-running sprints with every last erg of energy they had. They were rewarded with a shot on goal from 35 to Jeremy Cameron that came less from a solid build up than it was simply a result of constant effort and pressure when the game was on the line.
Jezza however wasn’t wearing his kicking boots, and in an opposite reaction from an earlier shot, sprayed the ball to the left off the side of his boot. It was lucky to scrape through for a point.
Melbourne pushed to take ground and soak up the remaining minute and a half, but couldn’t quite manage to get a solid shot on goal, but a desperate rebound from Geelong saw a long kick to the wing end up in Max Gawn’s hands as the big man took a pack mark that proved the old adage that all players get tired at the end of the match, but a big bloke is still a big bloke right to the final siren.
Geelong kept the pressure on, but Melbourne were able to stymie their efforts and ice the game to run out winners by eight points.
Ruck battle
Plenty of pundits rate Rhys Stanley as a big man, but few would argue that Gawn is the class of the comp. His ability to tap to his mids as well as get his own ball puts him in a rare group of Ruckmen that can have an enormous impact on the game, especially when he almost plays like an extra midfielder at times.
But, as a pure ruckman, the story isn’t so cut-and-dry.
Both Gawn and Stanley attended 48 ruck contests, which is a pretty low number in the modern game. There were fewer stoppages and you’d usually see, which was testament to how effective both sides were in finding ways to turn a contested possession into chains of handballs.
Stanley had more hitouts to advantage, winning that stat nine to five, but Gawn managed to get five clearances on his own to Stanley’s one, as well as eclipse Rhys’ two marks with seven of his own.
It was around the ground though where Max was so damaging. He had sixteen touches to Stanley’s six, gaining 231 metres to 14, as well as kicking a timely goal at the start of the last quarter to give Melbourne the lead.
Solely judging on ruck responsibilities, it’s hard to know who to give the nod to here. Gawn was more impactful when he got the ball, but Stanley managed to give more use to his mids—which is no small task when Oliver, Petracca and Viney are trying to shark any taps that come near them.
So with that in mind, I’m giving Stanley the chocolates over Gawn as a pure ruckman. People can easily make a case that Gawn’s work around the ground should be considered because a modern ruck needs to have this sort of impact, and that’d be a fair point. Maybe I’m just a little old school, but to my mind, there is nothing more important in a ruckman than whether they can get the ball cleanly to their mids.
Plus, it’s my completely arbitrary criteria, so I’m running with it.
Blicavs and Van Rooyen took up secondary ruck duties, but they were really only used to spell the primary big men. Out of the two of them though, Blicavs easily accounted for the younger JVR, getting more taps and clearances in the contest.
Next up
Melbourne will play Carlton on Thursday night in a match that will test their endurance a little. They looked rightly spent in their victory, however Carlton likewise had to push right to the final siren in an unsuccessful effort to wrest the game from Collingwood.
Both sides can look like premiership contenders on their day, but I’d have to go with Melbourne here, solely due to their shorter injury list and greater consistency.
Melbourne by 9.
Geelong will host the enigmatic Port Adelaide as they try to return to the winner’s circle and take back top spot from the Swans. Port have had some good wins this season, but looked very average in the showdown match against their cross-town rivals this week. How they respond will let everyone know whether the loss was a temporary issue caused by some mistakes at the selection table, or indicative of something that needs a lot more work to fix.
I expect Geelong to come out firing as well though. At home they’re hard to beat, and coming off a tough loss, they’ll be desperate not to make it two in a row.
If Jezza and Hawkins can return to form, the Cats should win, and win comfortably.
Geelong by 23.
