Editor
A seven-goals-to-none first term from the Collingwood Magpies has set up one of the biggest upset wins of the year as the Pies ran out four-goal winners over the Geelong Cats.
REPORT: FAST-STARTING MAGPIES UPSET CATS
Final score
Collingwood Magpies 16.8 (104)
Geelong Cats 11.14 (80)
The MCG takes centre stage once more, as the Collingwood Magpies and Geelong Cats resume hostilities on a Saturday afternoon. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:45pm (AEST).
Patrick Dangerfield mania is absolutely raging right now in Geelong, with the Cats sitting second on the ladder at 7-1 and with a league-best percentage of 167.
The excitement created by their first-up win over Hawthorn was tempered after a loss to GWS and ho-hum wins over Brisbane and Essendon, but since then the Cats have been on an absolute tear.
Port Adelaide, Gold Coast and West Coast all copped hidings at the hands of Geelong, and last week’s spirited 16-point win over the Crows in Adelaide could have been a lot bigger if not for some wayward kicking in front of goal.
However, Geelong’s season could not contrast any starker with that of their opponents this week in Collingwood.
The acquisition of Adam Treloar looked to be the catalyst for a surge up the ladder for the Magpies, but an almighty shellacking at the hands of Sydney in Round 1 had them reeling.
A one-point win the next week over Richmond did very little for the Pies. They lost their next five games convincingly, with three of those losses coming against bottom six teams from 2015.
Last week they flicked the switch and blew away the hapless Brisbane Lions, but there’s plenty more to do in 2016.
These teams have made a point of ruining each other’s seasons recently.
The Cats were the only team to defeat Collingwood in 2011, and they did it three times – twice in the home-and-away season and once more in the grand final.
Last time these two teams played, however, it was a blistering performance from the Pies that saw Geelong eliminated from the finals for the first time since 2006.
Prediction
Many predicted the Cats to rise again this season, although their quick ascension to a genuine contender has been ahead of schedule. They should have more than enough class to dismiss a team that’s been by far and away 2016’s biggest disappointment.
Cats by 31 points.
Be sure to join The Roar from 1:45pm (AEST) to keep up with all the action as the Cats look to continue their strong season against the Magpies.