AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
2010
2010
Round 1 - Essendon Bombers (94) @ (125) Geelong Cats - The Cats started the defense of their Championship with a hard-fought win over a young Bombers team. Essendon dominated the 2nd and 3rd periods and opened up an 18 point lead, thanks mainly to Adam Davey (2 goals, 13 points) and David Zaharakis (2 goals, 14 points). But the Cats showed their Premiership pedigree and fought back to dominate the final period, kicking six straight goals and eight in total with Cam Mooney (3 goals, 19 points) and Shannon Byrnes (3 goals, 22 pts) accounting for two each. The Cats also featured Gary Ablett Jr (2 goals, 14 points) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Harley, PAL)
Round 4 - Port Adelaide Power (64) @ (159) Geelong Cats - A re-match of the 2007 final produced the same result as the Cats used a big 3rd quarter to win. The Power were close at the break, down only by 10 points, but the Cats scored 11 goals to 1 in the 3rd quarter and coasted the rest of the way. The win was the 24th straight home win for the Cats, tieing a AFL/VFL record. The top scorers for the Cats were Steve Johnson (6 goals, 38 points) and James Podsiadly (5 goals, 31 points) while Gary Ablett Jr chipped in with 37 possessions, 3 goals and 21 points (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Harley, PAL)
Round 8 - Geelong Cats (155) @ (74) Brisbane Lions - The visiting Cats dominated the injury-hit Lions and extended the Lions losing streak to 4 games. The Cats started fast but a sloppy 2nd quarter kept the Lions in with a chance. The 2nd half belonged to the Cats though, as Steve Johnson (6 goals, 38 points) and Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 24 points) gave the Cats the edge. The Defenders also played their part as Matthew Scarlett shut-down Lions star Brendan Fevola (1 goal, 2 behinds) and held Jonathan Brown to only 3 goals. The Cats midfield of Gary Ablett Jr, Joel Selwood, Paul Chapman and Jimmy Bartel all had 30 touches each (10, 2 Discs, CH10 - Quartermain/Hudson, PAL)
Round 9 - Geelong Cats (86) @ (50) Collingwood Magpies - The much-anticipated match-up of the #1 and #2 teams lived up to the billing and it was Geelong that took the win with a strong 2nd half. The Magpies played the Cats even in the 1st half, and led by 11 points in the 3rd quarter, before the Cats took control and scored 5 unanswered goals, with 2 from Cameron Mooney who was playing his 200th game. Mooney top-scored for his team with 20 points but the real stars were the defenders, led by Matthew Scarlett, Harry Taylor, Josh Hunt and Andrew Mackie (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Harley, PAL)
Round 11 - Geelong Cats (122) @ (98) West Coast Eagles - Top-of-the-Table Geelong withstood a strong challenge from the Eagles, but used a strong 2nd half to take the win. The Cats were missing captain Cameron Ling and star defender Matthew Scarlett and the Eagles took advantage, holding the Cats to a 51-51 tie at the half. But bad shooting from the Eagles gave the Cats a chance to build a lead which they held to the end. Shannon Byrnes (four goals) and Paul Chapman (36 disposals) led the Cats. Gary Ablett Jr (13 points) had a quiet game for the Cats (10, 2 Discs, CH10 - Quartermain/Hudson, PAL)
Round 12 - Geelong Cats (154) @ (83) Essendon Bombers - Geelong extended their win streak to 7 games with a dominating win at Etihad Stadium. A fast-flowing, frenetic 1st half ended 72-54 to Geelong and they ended the game as a contest with a stunning 3rd quarter where they scored 33 points to only 1 in reply in the opening 20 minutes. The stars for Geelong were Travis Varcoe (5 goals) and James Podsiadly (5 goals), with support from Gary Ablett Jr (34 disposals) (10, 2 Discs, CH10 - Quartermain/Hudson, PAL)
Round 13 - Geelong Cats (46) @ (70) St.Kilda Saints - In the 3rd #1 v #2 match-up of the season, the Saints enacted a measure of revenge on the Cats for the Grand Final loss in 2009 with a physical win at the MCG. The Cats led 43-27 at the end of the 1st half but the Saints amazingly held the Cats to only 3 behinds in the 2nd half while kicking 37 points, led by Adam Schneider (25 points) and Jack Steven (19 points). Geelong also featured Gary Ablett Jr (13 points, 32 touches) and Steve Johnson (6 points), whose running battle with Steven Baker led to a broken hand and also a report for elbowing Baker in the face. The loss ended Geelong's 8 game win streak (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Harley, PAL)
Round 15 - Hawthorn Hawks (83) @ (85) Geelong Cats - Geelong regained the top spot in the league with a comeback win against the Hawks at the MCG. Hawthorn led at every interchange but the Cats out-scored the Hawks in the final quarter to take the win. The stars for the Cats were Matthew Stokes (26 points, 4 goals) and the midfield quarter of Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett Jr (32 possessions) and Paul Chapman (12 points, 2 goals). The Hawks were led by Cyril Rioli (25 touches), Jordan Lewis, Jarryd Roughead and Lance Franklin (21 points, 3 goals), who had a chance to steal the win with the last kick of the game but his 65 yarder failed (10, 2 Discs, CH10 - Quartermain/Hudson, PAL)
Round 16 - Geelong Cats (63) @ (74) Adelaide Crows - Adelaide continued their march towards an unlikely post-season with a big upset of the reigning champions and league leaders. The Cats led 33-27 at the half but scored 5 unanswered goals in the 3rd quarter gave the Crows the lead that they kept until the end. The Crows were led by Taylor Walker (4 goals, 25 points) and also featured Simon Goodwin (29 disposals) and Bernie Vince (32 touches). The Cats were led by Cameron Mooney (2 goals, 13 points) and Matthew Stokes (2 goals, 12 points) and also featured Gary Ablett Jr (19 possessions, 1 goal, 7 points) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Harley, PAL)
Round 19 - Collingwood Magpies (107) @ (85) Geelong Cats - #1 Collingwood showed their Premiership credentials by out-muscling #2 Geelong at the MCG. The Pies started fast and dominated early but couldn't pull away until the 2nd half where goals from Dayne Beams (3) and Sharrod Wellingham (2) finally ended the Cats chances. The stars for the Pies were Alan Didak (35 touches) and Scott Pendlebury (24 touches) who out-played the Cats star Gary Ablett Jr (26 possessions) (10, 2 Discs, CH10 - Quartermain/Hudson, PAL)
Round 20 - Geelong Cats (161) @ (60) Western Bulldogs - #2 Geelong showed that reports of their demise were premature with an impressive win over the #4 Bulldogs. Early pressure from the Dogs was soon quashed by a 10 goal 2nd quarter and the Cats coasted home in the 2nd half, finally breaching the 100 point margin of victory in the final seconds. Top scorers for the Cats were Steve Johnson (5) and James Podsiadly (3) while Gary Ablett Jr (39 possessions, 3 goals) ran the show from Midfield (10, 2 Discs, CH10 - Quartermain/Hudson, PAL)
Round 21 - Carlton Blues (79) @ (121) Geelong Cats - #2 Geelong continued their good form with a big win over a Blues side that had beaten them the last 2 times they had met. Geelong, led by James Podsiadly (4 goals) and Gary Ablett Jr. (4 goals) in attack and by Paul Chapman (33 possessions) and Joel Selwood (27 possessions) in midfield, kept the Cats in front at the end of every quarter and saw out the win. Gary Ablett Jr. led Geelong as captain for the first time (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Harley, PAL)
Qualifying Final - St.Kilda Saints (83) v (79) Geelong Cats - In a rainy MCG, St.Kilda upset the reigning champions Geelong and booked their place in the Preliminary Final. The Saints started fast and led by as many as 33 points in the 3rd quarter before the Cats turned it on and pulled to within 4 points with 1 minute to go. Cameron Ling then scored the go-ahead goal but it was controversially disallowed by the umpire and the Saints held on to win. St.Kilda were led by Captain Nick Riewoldt (3 goals, 11 marks), Brendon Goddard (26 disposals) and Nick Dal Santo (29 disposals). The Cats were led by Cameron Mooney (3 goals) and Matthew Stokes (2 goals) but Gary Ablett Jr (21 disposals) had a quiet game (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - Cometti/Matthews/Harley, PAL)
Semi-Final - Geelong Cats (135) v (66) Fremantle Dockers - The under-fire Cats showed their Premiership credentials with a big win over the Dockers. The Cats started fast, out-scoring Fremantle 49-7 in the 1st quarter, and never looked in trouble the rest of the way. The stars for the Cats were James Podsiadly, Matthew Stokes and Steve Johnson who all scored 3 goals and they were ably supported by Gary Ablett Jr (36 disposals) and Jimmy Bartel (35 disposals). The main threat for Fremantle came from captain Matthew Pavlic (4 goals, 26 points) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - Cometti/McAvaney/Harley, PAL)
Preliminary Final - Collingwood Magpies (120) v (79) Geelong Cats - The Magpies finally got revenge for 2 previous losses to the Cats in Preliminary Finals with a huge win aginst the reigning Premiers. Collingwood jumped out to a big lead early on, leading 44-7 after the 1st quarter and 85-23 at the half, and coasted home despite a brief fightback by Geelong in the 4th quarter. The stars for the Pies were Travis Cloke (21 points, 3 goals), Steele Sidebottom (13 points) and Dane Swan (33 touches, 2 goals). The Cats featured Gary Ablett Jr (40 touches) and Matthew Stokes (2 goals) but were let down by star forwards James Podsiadly and Cameron Mooney who couldn't kick the goals when they needed to (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - Cometti/McAvaney/Harley, PAL)
Grand Final - Collingwood Magpies (68) v (68) St.Kilda Saints - In a highly-anticipated final, both teams played out a classic draw, the 1st tied final since 1977. The Pies set the early tone, with Dane Swan and Nick Maxwell keeping the Saints at bay, while building a 50-26 lead at the half. But the 2nd half saw the Saints comeback, with Nick Riewoldt leading the way, and they tied the game with 1:31 left. Neither team could find the winning points and the game ended a draw. The Norm Smith Medal went to the Saints Lenny Hayes (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - Cometti/McAvaney/Matthews, PAL)
Grand Final Replay - Collingwood Magpies (108) v (52) St.Kilda Saints - The Magpies claimed their 1st title since 1990 with a dominating win over the Saints. As in the 1st game, the Pies raced out to an early 20-2 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, but this time the Saints had no reply. The Pies increased their lead to 41-14 at the half and coasted home. Scott Pendlebury won the Norm Smith medal for best-on-field (29 disposals, 11 tackles) (10, Next day re-broadcast with no Pre-Game or half-time, 2 Discs, CH7 - Cometti/McAvaney/Matthews, PAL)