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Cats obliterate Magpies in bloodbath for the ages

10th October, 2020
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10th October, 2020
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Geelong have reminded the rest of the AFL why they were considered one of the favourites before finals, snuffing out Collingwood’s fairytale in emphatic fashion with an enormous semi-final win.

There were ominous signs for the Magpies as early as the first quarter. The Cats looked on their game and were moving the ball up the middle of the ground with worrying ease. Goals to Zach Tuohy, Rhys Stanley, Gryan Miers and Tom Hawkins – the latter of which came after an excellent reply from Jamie Elliott – gave the Cats a 22-point lead at the first break.

Gary Ablett was winding back the clock with slick delivery inside 50, having a hand in just about everything, while the team stats would’ve made for ugly reading on Nathan Buckley’s whiteboard. The Cats had huge leads in disposals (84-50), marks (29-12), clearances (11-5), inside 50s (13-6) and uncontested possessions (+30).

The second quarter turned out to be even more of a bloodbath, with the Cats piling on five goals to no score to take a scarcely believable 54-point lead into the main break.

Geelong were playing with precision, excellent ball movement and superb defensive structures, while the Magpies couldn’t have looked any flatter, with the wind well and truly out of their sails. The Cats’ last goal of the half was particularly indicting, with Gary Rohan, Mitch Duncan and Cam Guthrie kicking to each other uncontested inside 50 with embarrassing ease before Guthrie finished it off.

The sting evaporated from the game over half time, with the third quarter proving to be a barely watchable slog in which neither side could manage a goal.

Geelong came out clicking in the last, however, with Dangerfield adding two more and Sam Menegola adding another, before the Magpies got a few consolation majors – their first since the first quarter.

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The full time stats made for horrifying reading. The Cats absolutely clobbered their opponents in disposals (+156), inside 50s (+16), clearances (+13), contested possessions (+21), uncontested possessions (+140), marks (+88) and marks inside 50 (+12).

At 68 points, it was the third-biggest win Geelong have enjoyed over Collingwood in a final in VFL/AFL history.

Mitch Duncan was absolutely unstoppable, with 30 disposals, 12 marks, five inside 50s, ten score invovelements and 487 metres gained – 160 more than any other player – shaking off an alleged Levi Greenwood tag with ease.

Tom Stewart had it all his own way off half-back with 26 disposals, 14 marks and eight intercept possessions, Cam Guthrie chipped in with 27 touches and five clearances, while Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Hawkins were unstoppable up forward with four goals each.

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For Collingwood, it just was a pure annihilation. Not a single player reached 20 disposals, with Adam Treloar (18) and Taylor Adams (17) the closest. Scott Pendlebury was held to just 14 touches, Brodie Grundy had just ten and looked slow around the ground, while the forward line was completely ineffective – Darcy Cameron and Mason Cox combined for nine disposals, three marks and no goals.

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The result sets up a mouth-watering preliminary final between Brisbane and Richmond next Saturday night. Had St Kilda won last night, this weekend’s preliminary finals would be an exact replica of 2004’s.

Geelong Cats – 4.4 | 9.6 | 9.8 | 15.10 (100)
Collingwood – 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 5.2 (32)

Goals
Cats: Dangerfield 4, Hawkins 4, Tuohy, Stanley, Miers, Dahlhaus, Guthrie, Menegola, Selwood
Magpies: Mihocek 2, Elliott, Grundy, Stephenson

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