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The Geelong Cats have won a shootout at the Etihad against North Melbourne, overcoming a 31-point deficit to pinch the win in the last minute.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Geelong Cats 17.10.112
North Melbourne Kangaroos 17.9.111
The Geelong Cats host the North Melbourne Kangaroos at the Roos’ home ground (figure that out) of Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog starting from 1:10pm AEST.
The closed roof will ensure that Melbourne’s cold snap will not impact the conditions and having seen the Saints and Dees live at this venue last week, games here will be played at warp speed early in the season.
The Cats made Freo’s preseason hype look very misguided last week with a comfortable 42-point win at Domain Stadium. Their often maligned second tier mids had a big impact all night; Mitch Duncan was the standout, but Mark Blicavs, Steven Motlop and Rhys Stanley were all solid. They were so good in fact that Patrick Dangerfield could spend more time out of the goal square.
North took the fight to the Eagles in all aspects of the game, but a general lack of class let them down. They matched West Coast in the centre and got enough of a look at it to steal the win, but suffered from execution inside 50. The biggest culprit was the incredible return of 1.7 from Jarrad Waite, how deflating must that have been for the workhorse midfield? Still, the signs were good.
Geelong has lost Nakia Cockatoo for a month with a thumb injury. It’s a shame for the kid who looks as though he starting to cement a spot. Otherwise the Cats should be unchanged. The Roos will welcome back Ben Cunnington for his first game of the season, and will probably recall Majak Daw to cover the untimely loss of Waite to a shoulder injury.
Big game for
Ben Brown – With Waite now joining Mason Wood on the sidelines, much will be expected of Brown. He has shown in the past he is capable of soaking up pressure, but he needs a big one for the Roos to win.
Tom Hawkins – On paper it was a pretty standard Hawkins game last Sunday, but he looked sharp and seemed to move as well as he has in years. With assistance now from Harry Taylor and resting Dangerfield, he is closing in on a day out.
Prediction
I see this game playing out similarly to the North Melbourne West Coast game last week; just a little too much outside run and polish in Geelong’s line-up for the Kangaroos to cover.
North will have to take their chances, and maximise the impact of Goldstein’s ruck advantage. The Cats should have too many match winners though and have the added flexibility of playing Dangerfield where he can do the most damage.
Geelong by 30
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