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The Geelong Cats defeated the Brisbane Lions by 60 points at the Gabba on Sunday.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Brisbane 10.9.69
Geelong 19.15.129
Two teams at the opposite ends of the ladder meet at the Gabba, as the Brisbane Lions host the Geelong Cats. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 3:20pm (AEST).
Let’s be honest. This probably won’t be a particularly close contest.
Geelong are getting to the business end of what has already been a very successful season. They sit in fourth and would expect to win both of their remaining games and ensure a double chance in the finals.
Brisbane on the other hand are only being kept off the bottom of the ladder by the suspension-afflicted Bombers. While they had a narrow win last week, large losses have been the norm this year even against modest opposition.
Putting the young Lions on the same field as the finals-bound Cats seems on the face of it to be a recipe for a somewhat uncompetitive game.
But there’s still genuine reason to be interested in this match.
Geelong would of course expect to win, but the margin of the win might be significant. They sit several percentage points behind each of the other top teams, but the sort of scores the Lions have conceded this year gives them a chance of making up a big chunk of that gap in just one afternoon.
Even if they can’t reach the other contenders on percentage, against an inexperienced backline their forwards will get a chance to run into some form before September.
Brisbane appear to be lurching towards the sad end of a disappointing era. This afternoon will be their last game in Queeensland of the season, and most likely the last home game for coach Justin Leppitsch, who has never really looked like getting the most out of this team.
One man definitely saying goodbye is veteran Daniel Merrett, who announced during the week that he’ll retire at the end of the season.
Mostly the Lions’ interest will be in how their young players fare today. They have blooded many players over the last few years but not many have demonstrated that they really belong at this level.
This afternoon another Lion cub makes his debut, with father-son selection Josh Clayton into the side.
The Lions have also added Tom Bell and Jackson Paine, with Michael Close out injured and Jarrad Jansen and Archie Smith omitted from the squad.
For the Cats, Jimmy Bartel and Josh Caddy have been left at home with minor issues, and Andrew Mackie and Darcy Lang come into the side.
Obviously you can’t go past Geelong for a prediction in this game. The two main questions will be how long the Lions can stay in touch for – about a half has been their maximum in most games this year – and how much of the percentage gap can the Cats make up on the teams around them.
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