Roar Guru
The Geelong Cats have demolished the Gold Coast Suns by 85 points at Metricon Stadium on Saturday evening.
Final score
Gold Coast Suns 4.12.36
Geelong Cats 17.19.121
The Gold Coast Suns are finally home at Metricon Stadium this Saturday, hosting former teammate Gary Ablett and the Geelong Cats. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 4:35pm AEST.
The Suns have enjoyed a well-needed week off thanks to an early bye following their game against the Power in Shanghai.
Gold Coast return to their official home of Metricon Stadium this round after its transformation for the Commonwealth Games, mentally this will be a huge boost for them.
Meanwhile, Geelong are coming off a win, beating the struggling Carlton Blues by 28 points last Saturday night.
It was a battle for the Cats, but they kicked away in the last quarter to secure their sixth win of the season.
Young forward-ruckman, Esava Ratugolea, looked to be fitting in nicely with Tom Hawkins in the forward line, but a broken ankle against the Blues will see him likely miss the season.
In team news, the Suns have made five changes after their loss to the Power.
Tall forward Tom Lynch headlines the returning players, with Will Brodie, Sam Day, Jesse Joyce and Jack Martin the others coming in.
Matt Rosa is out with injury, while Jarryd Lyons, Jack Leslie, Brad Scheer and Brayden Crossley have all been omitted.
In the Geelong camp, Wylie Buzza, Lachie Fogarty and Lincoln McCarthy have been added to the forward line.
It is small forward McCarthy’s first AFL game since round three last year, only returning from injuries through the VFL in the last month.
Stewart Crameri, Cory Gregson and Esava Ratugolea are the outs for the Cats.
The last time these two teams played was in round seven last year, where the Suns were 25 point victors.
Prediction
The Suns’ big inclusions for this match will boost their team on paper, but then if we’re looking at paper the Cats’ midfield should be more dominant in the centre.
Ablett’s return to the Gold Coast is a major talking point, and while Gold Coast will challenge them, Geelong should take the win.
Geelong by 26.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 4:35pm AEST.