AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
2021
Week 2 - Brisbane Lions (80) @ (81) Geelong Cats - Geelong registered their first win of the season with a nail-biter at GMHBA Stadium. Despite missing star Patrick Dangerfield due to suspension, the Cats had the better of the opening half and held a 25 point lead early in the 3rd quarter. But the Lions responded with 4 goals to took a slim lead as the game entered the final minute before new Cats recruit Isaac Smith sensationally won the game with a snap goal from the goal square after a tap from Tom Hawkins. With the win, the Cats extended the Lions winless streak in Geelong to 18 years. Geelong featured Tom Hawkins (3 goals), Cameron Guthrie (28 disposals, 5 tackles), Joel Selwood (27 disposals, 2 goals) and Isaac Smith (26 disposals, 11 marks, 1 goal). Brisbane featured Eric Hipwood (4 goals), Charlie Cameron (2 goals), Joe Daniher (1 goal, 14 disposals) and Daniel Rich (25 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Carey/Hodge/Holmes, PAL)
Week 3 - Hawthorn Hawks (64) @ (69) Geelong Cats - Geelong continued their good run with a win over the Hawks on Easter Monday at the MCG. The Cats had the better of the 1st half and led 40-23 at the major break. They extended their lead to 5 goals in the 3rd quarter before the Hawks mounted a strong comeback. Geelong finished the game with great Defense, though, and held on for the win. Geelong featured Cameron Guthrie (43 disposals), Mitch Duncan (37 disposals), Tom Hawkins (2 goals) and Mark O'Connor (26 dispoals, 12 marks). Hawthorn featured Jaeger O'Meara (34 disposals), Luke Breust (2 goals, 17 disposals) and Changkuoth Jiath (23 disposals, 10 marks) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Ling/Hodge/Holmes, PAL)
Week 7 - Western Bulldogs (55) @ (77) Richmond Tigers - An under-strength Richmond showed table-topping, and unbeaten, Western Bulldogs that they weren't ready to relinquish their Premiership just yet as they recorded a come-from-behind win at the MCG. The Bulldogs dominated the 1st half but only led by 19 points at the half, 39-20. The 2nd half was all about the Tigers as they scored 5 unanswered goals in the 3rd quarter to wrestle back the game and finished the 2nd half out-scoring the Bulldogs 57 to 16. Richmond featured Trent Cotchin (24 disposals), Bachar Houli (31 disposals, 10 marks, 1 goal), Tom Lynch (3 goals, 12 marks) and Shai Bolton (22 disposals, 3 goals). Western Bulldogs featured Marcus Bontempelli (26 disposals, 4 tackles), Caleb Daniel (34 disposals), Aaron Naughton (3 goals, 8 marks) and Bailey Dale (27 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Brayshaw/Taylor/Carey/Hodge/Holmes, PAL)
Week 8 - Geelong Cats (126) @ (63) Richmond Tigers - In the week that the Cats lost former President Frank Costa to Cancer, they paid their respects with a big win over the Tigers at the MCG. The Tigers started fast and ran out to a 27-7 lead after the 1st quarter, and a 49-40 lead at the half, but the Cats dominated the 2nd half, out-scoring the Tigers 13 goals to 2 to take the win. Geelong featured Jeremy Cameron (6 goals, 22 disposals, 8 marks), Gary Rohan (5 goals, 16 disposals, 6 marks), Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 20 disposals, 7 marks) and Cameron Guthrie (36 disposals, 11 marks, 4 tackles). Richmond featured Shai Bolton (3 goals, 21 disposals), who had the mark-of-the-year in the 1st quarter, Jayden Short (22 disposals) and Jake Aarts (3 goals, 11 disposals) (9, Dur to transmission issues missing 1 Geelong Behind in the 2nd quarter + 1 Geelong goal in the 3rd quarter + 1 Geelong goal in the 4th quarter, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Carey/Hodge/Pearce, PAL)
Week 10 - Melbourne Demons (95) @ (96) Adelaide Crows - In a big upset at the Adelaide Oval, the Crows used a last minute goal to hand the table-topping Demons their first loss of the season. Surprisingly, both teams were evenly matched throughout the game, but when the Demons took a 16-point lead in the 4th quarter, the game seemed theirs. The Crows, urged on by a raucous crowd, surged back into the game though, and took the lead on a set-shot with a minute to play. A furious last-ditch attack by the Demons saw the Crows defend impressively and they held on for the win. Adelaide featurted Rory Laird (35 disposals, 7 tackles), Ben Keays (34 disposals, 2 goals), Paul Seedsman (35 disposals, 1 goal) and Taylor Walker (3 goals, 16 disposals, 9 marks). Melbourne featured Clayton Oliver (38 disposals, 3 goals, 9 tackles), Christian Petracca (32 disposals) and Max Gawn (20 disposals, 1 goal, 32 hit-outs) (9, Next day re-broadcast - Slightly edited, 1 Disc, FOX - Hudson/Dunstall/Lyon, PAL)
Round 13 - Geelong Cats (112) @ (91) Port Adelaide Power - The Cats put on a forwards masterclass at the Adelaide Oval, over-turning a 4th quarter 9-point deficit to beat the Power. The win was Geelong's 5th in a row. The forward trio of Jeremy Cameron (5 goals), Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 8 marks) and Gary Rohan (3 goals, 10 marks) had big nights and wrestled the game away from the Power in the 4th quarter to win the game for the Cats. Geelong also featured Patrick Dangerfield (18 disposals, 2 tackles), back from injury, and Tom Stewart (23 disposals, 5 marks). Port Adelaide featured Ollie Wines (29 disposals, 9 marks, 6 tackles), Travis Boak (27 disposals, 8 tackles) and Connor Rozee (5 goals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Darcy/Bennett/Watson/Soderstrom/Phillips, PAL)
Round 14 - Western Bulldogs (78) @ (83) Geelong Cats - In front of 6,583 fans at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong sensationally won the game at the siren to win the match-up between 2 teams in the top 4. The Bulldogs looked to have won the game with a last minute goal, but the Cats surged upfield and Gary Rohan (2 goals, 11 disposals, 5 marks) marked deep in the left forward pocket to set himself up for a 45m set shot. The siren sounded as he set up, and he coolly kicked the goal to win the game and extend the Cats win streak to 6 games. The Cats also featured Jeremy Cameron (2 goals, 15 disposals), Isaac Smith (30 disposals, 7 marks) and Brandan Parfitt (22 disposals, 9 tackles, 1 goal). The Bulldogs also featured Josh Bruce (3 goals), Jack Macrae (35 disposals), Marcus Bontempelli (30 disposals, 7 tackles) and Tom Liberatore (30 disposals, 8 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Carey/Pearce/Richardson, PAL)
Round 16 - Essendon Bombers (57) @ (98) Geelong Cats - The Cats welcomed the Bombers to GMHBA Stadium for the first time in 28 years and, in rainy conditions, made sure they left with a loss as the Cats win moved them into the top 3 in the table. The Bombers started well but an 8-goal 2nd quarter gave the Cats the lead and they held off Essendon the rest of the way to take the victory. The Cats featured Tom Hawkins (6 goals, 6 marks), Jeremy Cameron (3 goals), Patrick Dangerfield (37 disposals, 11 marks, 4 tackles) and Tom Atkins (29 disposals, 5 marks, 6 tackles). The Bombers featured Jake Stringer (3 goals, 25 disposals, 4 marks, 5 tackles), Darcy Parish (43 disposals), Zach Merrett (36 disposals, 7 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/McLachlan/Carey/Pearce/Bartel, PAL)
Round 18 - Geelong Cats (100) @ (31) Fremantle Dockers - At Optus Stadium on a Thursday night, Geelong moved to top of the table with a dominant win over the Dockers. The Cats kicked 7 unanswered goals either side of quarter-time and finished off the Dockers with 6 more goals in the final quarter. Geelong dominated the stats, winning the clearances (44-35), winning 123 more disposals and taking a massive 72 more marks. The Cats featured Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 6 marks), Patrick Dangerfield (22 disposals, 7 marks, 4 tackles), Cameron Guthrie (35 disposals, 7 marks) and Sam Menegola (30 disposals, 9 marks). The Dockers featured Andrew Brayshaw (1 goal, 21 disposals, 3 marks) and Nat Fyfe (19 disposals, 5 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Bennett/Watson/Leppitsch/Ellis, PAL)
Round 19 - Richmond Tigers (57) v (95) Geelong Cats - At the MCG, Geelong put a big dent in Richmond's chances of post-season play with a huge win. The Tigers were short-handed due to injury, but the Cats showed no mercy, opening up a 41-point lead at half-time and then piling on the 2nd half to thwart any chance of a Tigers comeback. The Cats featured Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 6 marks), Esava Ratugolea (4 goals), Cameron Guthrie (34 disposals) and Patrick Dangerfield (28 disposals, 7 tackles). The Tigers featured Jack Riewoldt (2 goals), Jayden Short (26 disposals) and Jack Ross (25 disposals) but were missing Dustin Martin (9, 2 Discs, FOX - Hudson/Lyon/Riewoldt, PAL)
Round 22 - St.Kilda Saints (71) @ (85) Geelong Cats - Geelong confirmed a top-4 spot with a big comeback win at GMHBA Stadium. The Saints started fast, and led 31-0 in the 1st quarter, but Geelong fought their way back into the game, and trailed only 38-44 at the half. The Cats took control in the 2nd half, out-scoring the Saints by 7 goals to 4 and used great Defense late in the game to see out the result. The Cats featured big games from Tom Hawkins (3 goals, 14 disposals) and Jeremy Cameron (4 goals, 7 marks) and also featured Cameron Guthrie (36 disposals, 3 tackles, 9 marks) and Sam Menegola (35 disposals, 9 marks). The Saints featured Jack Steele (30 disposals, 5 tackles, 5 marks), Tim Membrey (3 goals, 3 marks) and Brad Crouch (2 goals, 24 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, FOX - Howard/Lyon/Dunstall, PAL)
Round 23 - Melbourne Demons (81) @ (77) Geelong Cats - The big end-of-season clash at GMHBA Stadium didn't disappoint as #1 Melbourne sensationally kicked a goal after the siren against #3 Geelong to win their 1st flag since 1964. Geelong had the better of the opening 2.5 quarters and held a 44-point lead but the Demons' started an incredible comeback that saw them kick 6 unanswered goals in the last quarter, including the game-winning goal after the siren from captain Max Gawn. Melbourne featured Max Gawn (25 disposals, 39 hitouts, 1 goal) who had a huge game, Clayton Oliver (39 disposals, 9 clearances, 2 goals) and Kysaiah Pickett (3 goals, 14 disposals). Geelong featured Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 5 marks), Cameron Guthrie (30 disposals, 8 marks) and Brandan Parfitt (22 disposals, 8 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Darcy/Richardson/Holmes, PAL)
Semi-Final - Geelong Cats (103) v (68) GWS Giants - The Cats booked a place in their 5th preliminary final in 6 years, overpowering a strong GWS team at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Cats forward Tom Hawkins had a huge game, helping Geelong break open the game with 5 unanswered goals in the 3rd quarter. The Giants staged a small fightback in the 4th quarter but Hawkins kicked 3 more goals to steady the ship and Geelong held on for the win. The match also saw the Cats Joel Selwood (14 disposals) set the club record for appearances, playing in his 333rd game. Geelong featured Tom Hawkins (5 goals, 8 marks), Zach Tuohy (31 disposals) and Sam Menegola (29 disposals, 8 marks, 5 tackles). GWS featured Harry Himmelberg (2 goals, 4 tackles), Lachie Whitfield (34 disposals, 5 marks, 4 tackles) and Shane Mumford (1 goal, 10 disposals, 35 hit-outs) in his final game (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Carey/Pearce/Ellis, PAL)
Grand Final - Melbourne Demons (140) v (66) Western Bulldogs - At the Optus Stadium in Perth, Melbourne finally won a Premiership, their first in 57 years, ending the longest active drought of any team in the AFL. The game featured scoring runs from both teams, with the Demons owning the 1st quarter and the Bulldogs the 2nd quarter and the start of the 3rd. The Bulldogs held a 19 point lead in the 3rd before the Demons took control of the game for good, scoring 9 unanswered goals bridging the 3rd and 4th quarters to take an unassailable lead and the emotional victory. The Demons featured Christian Petracca (39 disposals, 2 goals, 4 tackles) who won the Norm Smith Medal with a Grand Final-record-equaling 39 disposals, Bayley Fritsch (6 goals), Ben Brown (3 goals) and Clayton Oliver (33 disposals, 1 goal, 10 tackles). The Bulldogs featured Marcus Bontempelli (25 disposals, 3 goals, 6 tackles), Adam Treloar (27 disposals, 3 goals) and Caleb Daniel (37 disposals, 6 marks) (9, No Half-Time, 2 Discs, CH7 - Brayshaw/Taylor/Hodge/Pearce/Holmes, PAL)