AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
2016
2016
Pre-Season NAB Challenge - Collingwood Magpies (131) @ (123) Geelong Cats - Collingwood overcame a big half-time deficit to beat the Cats in Simonds Stadium and ruined the home-coming for new Cats recruit, Patrick Dangerfield. Geelong dominated the 2nd quarter and held a 27 point advantage at half-time. But the Pies turned around the game with 11 goals in the 3rd quarter and then held off a spirited comeback by the Cats in the 4th quarter to take the win. Collingwood featured Alex Fasalo (5 goals), Steele Sidebottom and Dane Swan (3 goals) but were missing Scott Pendlebury, Travis Cloke and Jamie Elliott. Geelong featured Dangerfield (3 goals, 28 Disposals), Nathan Vardy (2 goals), Zac Smith and Daniel Menzel (1 goal) but were missing Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel (10, Final 2:26 of the game taken from an internet source and is quality 8, 2 Discs, FOX - Russell/Dunstall/Healy, PAL)
Pre-Season NAB Challenge - Essendon Bombers (24) v (111) Geelong Cats - On the same day that Geelong lost former player Paul Couch to a heart attack, a near full strength Geelong team dominated the Bombers in their 2nd Pre-Season game in Shepparton. The Cats midfield overwhelmed the Bombers and led 63-1 at the half before cruising home in the 2nd half. Geelong featured Patrick Dangerfield (24 Disposals, 7 tackles), Mitch Duncan (15 Disposals), Cameron Guthrie (18 Disposals), Nathan Vardy (4 goals) and Tom Hawkins (2 goals, 8 marks). Essendon featured Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Jayden Laverde (10, 2 Discs, FOX - Roberts/Dunstall/Brown, PAL)
Round 1 - Geelong Cats (116) v (86) Hawthorn Hawks - Geelong opened their season with a huge win over the reigning champions at the MCG. The Cats dominated the 1st half and led by 30 points. But the Hawks stormed back in the 3rd quarter, out-scoring the Cats 5-5 to 0-3 and looked to have seized the initiative. But the Cats halted the momentum and out-scored the Hawks 7-4 to 2-2 in the 4th quarter to take the win. The Cats featured Patrick Dangerfield (43 disposals, 5 tackles), who had a huge game, Joel Selwood (23 disposals), Zac Smith (14 disposals, 16 hit-outs, 3 goals), Josh Caddy (21 disposals, 3 goals) and Darcy Lang (14 disposals, 3 goals). Hawthorn featured Sam Mitchell (36 disposals), Jack Gunston (15 disposals, 3 goals) and Paul Puopolo (11 disposals, 3 goals) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Cometti/Matthews/Darcy, PAL)
Round 5 - Geelong Cats (107) @ (59) Port Adelaide - Geelong overcame a ferocious 1st quarter from Port Adelaide to run out easy winners at the Adelaide Oval. Port hassled and harried the Cats in the 1st quarter, outscoring them 34-10. But the game turned on the siren at the end of the quarter when Port's Tom Jonas launched himself into a pack marking contest and collected the Cats Patrick Dangerfield with a knee to the back. A huge fight ensued, involving all the players. The fight galvanised the Cats and they turned the game around with 15 of the next 18 goals scored in the match and used great Defense to hold Port to only 3.5 in the 2nd half. Geelong featured Joel Selwood (28 disposals, 1 goal, 8 marks), Patrick Dangerfield (29 disposals, 2 goals) and Daniel Menzel (3 goals, 18 disposals). Port Adelaide featured Darcy Byrne-Jones (26 disposals), Travis Boak (26 disposals) and Ollie Wines (2 goals, 2 behinds, 24 disposals) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Darcy/Richardson/Ling, PAL)
Round 6 - Gold Coast Suns (48) @ (168) Geelong Cats - In a Saturday night game at Simonds Stadium, Geelong dominated an injury-hit Gold Coast team to put up the first win of the season by more than 100 points. The Cats took a 14 point lead into the 2nd quarter then went on a run of scoring 68 unanswered points upto 11 minutes left in the game to take the win. With the win Geelong moved up to 2nd in the table. Geelong featured Shane Kersten (4 goals, 7 marks), Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 24 disposals, 11 marks), Joel Selwood (32 disposals, 1 goal) and Patrick Dangerfield (30 disposals, 2 goals). Gold Coast featured Gary Abeltt Jr (26 disposals, 5 tackles), Tom Lynch (2 goals, 4 marks) and Aaron Hall (28 disposals) (8, Downloaded from the internet - Slight pixellation, 1 Disc, CH7 - Taylor/Darcy/Richardson/Ling, PAL)
Round 7 - West Coast Eagles (79) @ (123) Geelong Cats - Geelong cemented their 2nd place position with a big home win against the West Coast Eagles. After a tight 1st quarter, the Cats scored 7 goals in the 2nd quarter to take a 35 point lead into half-time. The Eagles fought back in the 3rd quarter to close the gap to 19 points but the Cats responded with 6 goals in the final term to take the win. Geelong featured Steven Motlop (4 goals, 25 disposals), Joel Selwood (35 disposals), Patrick Dangerfield (26 disposals, 9 marks) and Tom Hawkins (3 goals, 2 behinds, 4 marks). West Coast featured Nic Naitanui (16 disposals), Andrew Gaff (36 disposals) and Josh Kennedy (3 goals, 4 marks) (10, 2 Discs, FOX - Russell/Healy/Ricciuto, PAL)
Round 8 - Geelong Cats (98) @ (72) Adelaide Crows - The 2nd largest crowd ever at the Adelaide Oval turned up to give former Crows star and current Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield a hot reception, and the Cats responded with a strong win to move to 7-1 on the season. The Cats had the better of the 1st half but poor shooting only left them with a 12 point lead at the break. The Crows responded with a strong 2nd half but the Cats closed out the game with 4 unanswered goals in the 4th quarter to take the win. Geelong featured Cameron Guthrie (36 disposals, 10 tackles), Patrick Dangerfield (33 disposals, 11 tackles), Steven Motlop (4 goals) and Shane Kersten (3 goals, 6 marks). Adelaide featured Rory Sloane (28 disposals, 11 tackles, 1 goal), Ricky Henderson (25 disposals, 11 marks), Josh Jenkins (2 goals, 2 behinds) and Taylor Walker (2 goals, 2 behinds) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Cometti/Carey, PAL)
Round 9 - Geelong Cats (80) @ (104) Collingwood Magpies - Collingwood kept their winning streak going with a big win against the #2 Cats. The 'Pies dominated the opening quarter, scoring 7 goals to take a 44 point lead into the 2nd quarter. The Cats did claw their way back into the game and pulled within 8 points with 14 minutes left in the game, but the 'Pies held on to record the win. Collingwood featured Steele Sidebottom (31 disposals, 9 marks), Adam Treloar (29 disposals, 1 goal), Scott Pendlebury (26 disposals, 3 goals) and Mason Cox (2 goals). Geelong featured Mitch Duncan (25 disposals, 8 tackles), Jimmy Bartel (23 disposals), Patrick Dangerfield (21 disposals, 9 marks) and Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 5 marks) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Zempilas/Watson/Sewell, PAL)
Round 13 - Geelong Cats (100) @ (43) Western Bulldogs - Geelong took top spot on the ladder with a huge win over the Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium. The Cats dominated the 1st half and out-shot the Bulldogs by 10 goals to 1, and held the Bulldogs to their lowest half-time score since 2013 (1.9). The Bulldogs tried to mount a comeback in the 3rd quarter but Geelong kicked 5 unanswered goals in the 4th quarter to finish the game off. The stars for Geelong were Patrick Dangerfield (37 disposals, 2 goals), Joel Selwood (28 disposals, 2 goals), Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 10 marks), Daniel Menzel (4 goals, 10 marks) and Mark Blicavs (16 disposals, 11 tackles). Western Bulldogs featured Jack Macrae (31 disposals, 7 tackles), Matthew Boyd (28 disposals) and Liam Picken (18 disposals, 1 goal) (10, Next-day re-broadcast with no pre-game, half-time of post game, 1 Disc, CH7 - Taylor/Darcy/Richardson/Ling, PAL)
Round 14 - Geelong Cats (90) @ (93) St.Kilda Saints - St.Kilda overcame a 4th quarter deficit to upset the league-leading Cats at Etihad Stadium. The Saints dominated the 1st half and led 26-10 after the 1st quarter and 54-30 at the half, but Geelong responded with 6 unanswered goals in the 3rd quarter to hit the front. The 4th quarter proved a back-and-forth affair with the Saints kicking the winning goal with 5 minutes left. Intense late pressure from the Cats couldn't find a breakthrough an St.Kilda held on for the win. St.Kilda featured Sebastian Ross (33 disposals), Nick Riewoldt (26 disposals, 10 marks), Jack Steven (25 disposals, 1 goal) and Darren Minchington (3 goals). Geelong featured Patrick Dangerfield (29 disposals, 1 goal), Joel Selwood (29 disposals), Tom Hawkins (3 goals) and Lincoln McCarthy (18 disposals, 3 goals) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Darcy/Richardson/Ling, PAL)
Round 18 - Adelaide Crows (55) @ (85) Geelong Cats - On a wet and windy night at Simonds Stadium, Geelong moved up into the top 4 with a big win over the Crows. Adelaide had their 8 game unbeaten streak ended by a big 2nd half from the Cats. Both teams were even in the 1st half with the Cats holding a slim 1 point lead at the major break, but the Cats turned the game on its head with 5 unanswered goals in the 3rd quarter that effectively ended the game as a contest. Geelong were led by a big game from Corey Enright (31 disposals) who was playing his 325th game for the club, equaling the club record. Geelong also featured Tom Hawkins (12 disposals, 5 marks, 4 goals), Daniel Menzel (17 disposals, 5 marks, 4 goals), Patrick Dangerfield (36 disposals, 6 tackles), Jimmy Bartel (34 disposals, 5 tackles) and Sam Menegola (26 disposals, 5 marks) who was making his debut. Adelaide featured Matt Crouch (31 disposals, 8 tackles), Josh Jenkins (8 disposals, 3 goals) and Eddie Betts (11 disposals, 1 goal) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Darcy/Richardson/Ling, PAL)
Round 19 - Western Bulldogs (78) @ (103) Geelong Cats - On a record-setting night in Geelong, the Cats beat the Bulldogs to solidify their post-season aspirations. A tight 1st half ended with the Cats in front 58-50 but the game turned on an injury to the Bulldogs Tom Liberatore (17 disposals) late in the half that allowed the Cats more freedom in the centre of the park in the 2nd half and they used the space to overwhelm the 'Dogs and run out easy winners. Geelong held the Bulldogs to only 28 points in the 2nd half. The night belonged to 2 stars for the Cats : Corey Enright (27 disposals), who set a team record for appearances with 326, and Jimmy Bartel (25 disposals, 1 goal) who played game number 300 for the Cats. Geelong also featured Patrick Dangerfield (33 disposals, 3 goals), Rhys Stanley (7 marks, 5 goals) and Steven Motlop (21 disposals, 3 goals). The Western Bulldogs featured Liam Picken (26 disposals, 4 tackles), Luke Dalhaus (26 disposals, 5 tackles) and Tom Boyd (18 disposals, 3 goals) (10, Next-day re-broadcast with no pre-game, half-time of post game, 1 Disc, CH7 - Cometti/Taylor/Carey/Ling/Richardson, PAL)
Round 19 - St.Kilda Saints (62) @ (85) North Melbourne Kangaroos - On record-setting night at the Etihad Stadium, the Kangaroos kept alive their chances of a post-season berth with a tough win against the high-flying Saints. North Melbourne's Brent Harvey (24 disposals, 1 goal) set the VFL/AFL record for matches played with 427, beating the record held by Hawthorn's Michael Tuck. The Kangaroos never trailed in the game but poor goal-kicking kept the Saints in touch and the 'Roos had to wait until the 4th quarter to finally pull away and take the win. North Melbourne also featured Jamie Macmillan (31 disposals, 1 goal), Sam Gibson (28 disposals) and Ben Brown (4 marks, 3 goals). St.Kilda featured Sebastian Ross (25 disposals, 7 tackles), Leigh Montagna (22 disposals, 1 goal) Josh Bruce (2 goals, 2 behinds) and Nick Riewoldt (16 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals) (10, Post-match chair-off of Harvey taken from an internet source, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Darcy/Richardson/Ling, PAL)
Round 23 - Melbourne Demons (44) @ (155) Geelong Cats - In their final home game of the season, Geelong sealed 2nd place in the table with a comfortable win over the Demons. The Cats dominated the 1st quarter, kicking 8 goals to 2, and held the Demons to only 20 points in the 1st half. Geelong kept the pressure on in the 2nd half and cruised home, outscoring Melbourne 13 goals to 3 to win the game. Geelong featured Joel Selwood (36 disposals, 4 tackles, 1 goal), Patrick Dangerfield (32 disposals, 4 tackles), Tom Hawkins (6 goals, 9 marks) and Daniel Menzel (22 disposals, 4 goals, 7 marks). Melbourne were led by coach Paul Roos, in his final game before retirement, and also featured Christian Salem (27 disposals), Nathan Jones (25 disposals, 5 marks) and Jeff Garlett (10 disposals, 2 goals) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Zempilas/Watson/Sewell/Pierce, PAL)
Qualifying Final - Geelong Cats (85) v (83) Hawthorn Hawks - In a back-and-forth game at the MCG, Geelong survived a last-play goal attempt to knock off the reigning Premiers. Both teams Defenses dominated the 1st half and Hawthorn held a 42-35 lead at the major break. The Hawks then extended their lead to 17 points in the 3rd quarter before the Cats mounted a comeback and took the lead for good with 3 minutes remaining. The Hawks had 1 last chance to win as the final siren sounded, but a 40m kick from Issac Smith missed and the Cats celebrated the win. Geelong featured Patrick Dangerfield (35 disposals), Joel Selwood (27 disposals, 4 tackles), Lincoln McCarthy (12 disposals, 2 goals) and Tom Hawkins (2 goals). Hawthorn featured Jordan Lewis (36 disposals, 5 tackles), Luke Hodge (29 disposals, 4 tackles) and Luke Breust (3 goals, 4 marks) (9, 1st half taken from an internet source, 2 Discs, CH7 - Cometti/Taylor/Carey/Ling/Richardson, PAL)
Semi-Final - Geelong Cats (60) v (97) Sydney Swans - The Swans booked their place in their 3rd Grand Final in 5 years with a dominating win over the Cats at the MCG. Sydney flew out of the blocks, scoring 7 goals in the 1st quarter to lead by 39 points entering the 1st break. Geelong steadied the ship some-what in the 2nd quarter but still trailed 69-20 at the half and never threatend to close the gap the rest of the way as the Swans ran out easy winners. Amazingly, the Cats dominated the Inside 50 stats holding a 72-40 advantage but they struggled to take marks or convert the chances they had. Sydney featured Isaac Heeney (28 disposals, 1 goal), Kieren Jack (20 disposals, 13 tackles), Tom Papley (3 goals) and Lance Franklin (2 goals, 8 marks). Geelong featured Patrick Dangerfield (39 disposals, 1 goal), Joel Selwood (39 disposals, 13 tackles, 1 goal) and Harry Taylor (5 marks, 2 goals) despite playing with a broken hand he got in the 2nd quarter (10, No Post-Game, 2 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Cometti/Carey/Ling/Watson/Richardson, PAL)
Semi-Final - GWS Giants (83) v (89) Western Bulldogs - In arguably the game of the season, the Western Bulldogs fought back from a 14 point deficit in the 4th quarter to reach their 1st Grand Final since 1954. The game went back-and-forth throughout with the Bulldogs holding the early lead before the Giants fought back to close the gap to 9 points at the half. The Giants took a 1 point lead into the final quarter before the Dogs mounted a late surge to take the win. The Western Bulldogs featured Luke Dahlhaus (32 disposals, 9 marks), Clay Smith (26 disposals, 8 marks, 4 goals), Tory Dickson (4 goals, 6 marks) and Marcus Bontempelli (23 disposals, 4 tackles). The Giants featured Tom Scully (30 disposals, 5 tackles), Josh Kelly (29 disposals, 5 tackles), Jonathan Patton (4 goals, 5 marks), Toby Greene (18 disposals, 3 goals) and Heath Shaw (15 disposals, 1 goal) (10, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Darcy/Ling/Richardson, PAL)
Grand Final - Sydney Swans (67) v (89) Western Bulldogs - In one of the greatest finals ever, the Western Bulldogs broke the AFL's longest existing premiership drought (62 years) to win their 2nd Premiership title with a 22 point win over the Swans. A tight back-and-forth game was won in the 4th quarter as the 'Dogs kicked the final 3 goals of the game to win the cup. The Bulldogs featured Norm Smith Medal winner Jason Johannisen (33 disposals, 7 marks), Jack Macrae (33 disposals), Tory Dickson (5 goals, 3 behinds) and Tom Boyd (14 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals). Sydney featured Josh Kennedy (34 disposals, 3 goals), Tom Mitchell (26 disposals, 13 tackles, 2 goals) and Lance Franklin (16 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal). Disc 1 is the Pre-Game. Discs 2 and 3 are the game (10, 3 Discs, CH7 - McAvaney/Cometti/Carey/Ling/Richardson, PAL)