AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
2022
Round 2 - Geelong Cats (77) @ (107) Sydney Swans - On an emotional night at the SCG, Swans forward Lance Franklin kicked 4 goals to become just the sixth player in the history of the VFL/AFL to kick 1000 goals. The Swans won the game in the 2nd quarter, opening up a 28 point lead, and everyone just waited for Franklin to get the record. As the rain poured down in the 4th quarter, Franklin finally got his goal and the crowd rushed the pitch. After a 36 minute break the game resumed and the Swans coasted home to the win. Sydney featured Lance Franklin (4 goals, 7 marks), Isaac Heeney (5 goals, 21 disposals) and Callum Mills (29 disposals, 7 marks, 4 tackles). Geelong featured Brad Close (4 goals, 18 disposals, 5 tackles), Joel Selwood (25 disposals) and Isaac Smith (23 disposals, 9 marks) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Brayshaw/Taylor/Hodge/Davis/Richardson, PAL)
Round 3 - Geelong Cats (104) @ (91) Collingwood Magpies - On an emotional night at the MCG, Cats midfielder Joel Selwood broke Stephen Kernahan's long-standing record for matches as a Captain (227) and also celebrated a big win over the Pies. Collingwood owned the opening 3 quarters and Geelong found themselves down 30 points entering the 4th quarter. But the Cats rallied and scored 7 goals while holding the Pies to a single behind and stole the win. Geelong featured Joel Selwood (21 disposals), Tom Stewart (29 disposals, 5 marks, 3 tackles), Patrick Dangerfield (25 disposals) and Jeremy Cameron (6 goals, 14 disposals, 9 marks). Collingwood featured Taylor Adams (30 disposals), Nick Daicos (26 disposals) and Jamie Elliott (2 goals, 26 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Darcy/Carey/Watson/Holmes, PAL)
Round 4 - Brisbane Lions (70) @ (80) Geelong Cats - In front of a raucous home crowd at the GMHBA Stadium, the Cats held on at the death to beat the Lions. The loss was the Lions 13th straight contest at the venue. The 1st half went back-and-forth, with 13 goals scored, but neither team could pull away for a decisive lead. The 2nd half was a quieter affair but no less tight, and the Cats needed 2 goals in the 4th quarter to pull ahead and take the win. Geelong featured Tom Hawkins (5 goals, 14 disposals), Isaac Smith (29 disposals, 10 marks), Gryan Miers (25 disposals) and Mark Blicavs (22 disposals, 20 tackles). Brisbane featured Dan McStay (3 goals, 11 marks), Joe Daniher (3 goals) and Lachie Neale (30 disposals, 5 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Hodge/Richardson/Johnson, PAL)
Round 12 - Geelong Cats (83) @ (70) Western Bulldogs - Geelong moved up to 4th in the table with a big win against a strong Bulldogs team at Marvel Stadium. The Cats started fast and shot out to a 40-point lead before the 'Dogs fought back over the 2nd and 3rd quarters to close within 5 points. The Cats re-grouped, though, and kicked 3 goals in the 4th quarter to steady the ship and take the win. The star for the Cats was forward Jeremy Cameron (6 goals, 18 disposals). With his 2nd goal he became the 26th player in VFL/AFL history to score 500 goals. Geelong also featured Mitch Duncan (29 disposals), Zach Guthrie (19 disposals, 11 marks), Tom Hawkins (2 goals, 15 disposals, 9 marks) and Joel Selwood (25 disposals, 6 tackles). Western Bulldogs featured Bailey Dale (31 disposals), Jack Macrae (31 disposals, 8 tackles) and Tom Liberatore (2 goals, 30 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Pearce/Hodge/Richardson, PAL)
Round 14 - Geelong Cats (81) @ (63) West Coast Eagles - On a record setting day at Optus Stadium, Geelong climbed back into the top four with an 18 point win over the Eagles. Geelong forward Tom Hawkins (3 goals) kicked his 700th career goal in the 3rd quarter, becoming only the 26th VFL/AFL player to achieve the milestone. The Eagles played the Cats tough for a half, but Geelong scored 5 goals in the 3rd quarter to nose ahead and held off the Eagles for the win. Geelong also featured Cameron Guthrie (25 disposals, 13 tackles), Joel Selwood (24 disposals) and Tyson Stengle (3 goals). West Coast featured Andrew Gaff (27 disposals), Jack Redden (24 disposals, 7 tackles) and Jamie Cripps (2 goals, 16 disposals, 5 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, FOX - Hudson/Papalia/Dunstall/Buckley/Pavlich, PAL)
Round 17 - Melbourne Demons (63) @ (91) Geelong Cats - In a match-up of 2 of the best teams in the comp, Geelong leap-frogged the Dees to the top of the ladder with a big win at GMHBA Stadium. The game was high on physicality and moments of brilliance, with the Cats holding off a 4th quarter rally from the reigning Premiers, and won the game by kicking the final 3 goals of the game. Geelong featured Patrick Dangerfield (32 disposals, 9 clearances, 8 inside 50s, 702 metres gained), Mitch Duncan (32 disposals, 11 marks, 2 goals) and Cameron Guthrie (28 disposals, 7 tackles, 2 goals). Melbourne featured Jack Viney (35 disposals, 7 tackles), Clayton Oliver (34 disposals) and Christian Petracca (3 goals, 21 disposals) (9, Next day re-broadcast - 1 hour 41 minutes, 1 Disc, CH7 - McLachlan/Bennett/Pearce/Carey/Holmes, PAL)
Round 18 - Geelong Cats (85) @ (55) Carlton Blues - The Cats won their 8th game in a row and consildated top spot on the ladder with a big win at the MCG. After a competitive 1st quarter, the Cats clamped down on the Blues and only allowed them 4 more goals in the rest of the game. The Cats offense took over, with Geelong adding 9 more goals to easily win the match. Geelong featured Mitch Duncan (26 disposals), Joel Selwood (25 disposals), Jeremy Cameron (3 goals and 18 disposals) and Tom Hawkins (2 goals, 6 marks). Carlton featured Charlie Curnow (3 goals and 10 disposals), Sam Walsh (33 disposals) and Sam Docherty (29 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Darcy/Carey/Jones/Holmes, PAL)
Round 19 - Geelong Cats (106) @ (94) Port Adelaide Power - Geelong extended their win streak to 9 games with a comeback win at the Adelaide Oval against a strong Power team. Geelong had the better of the 1st half and led by 34 points at the half, but the Power out-scored the Cats 8 goals to 1 in the 3rd quarter to surge ahead. With their win streak and top spot on the ladder on the line, the Cats re-grouped and out-scored the Power 4 goals to 1 to take the win. Geelong featured a huge game from Tom Atkins (24 disposals, 9 marks) and also featured Zac Tuohy (27 disposals), Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 15 disposals) and Jeremy Cameron (3 goals). Port Adelaide featured Karl Amon (25 disposals, 13 marks), Willem Drew (11 disposals, 8 tackles) and Mitch Georgiades (3 goals) (9, 2 Discs, FOX - Russell/Lyon/Buckley/Ricciuto, PAL)
Round 20 - Western Bulldogs (66) @ (94) Geelong Cats - At GMHBA, the home fans celebrated Joel Selwood's 350th game with a big win over the Bulldogs. After an even 1st half, the Cats exploded with 4 goals in just 9 minutes to effectively end the game as a contest, and they costed home. Geelong featured Patrick Dangerfield (26 disposals, 1 goal), Brad Close (19 disposals, 1 goal) and Jeremy Cameron (2 goals, 18 disposals). The Bulldogs featured Tom Liberatore (28 dispsoals, 5 marks, 4 tackles), Cody Weightman (3 goals) and Josh Dunkley (2 goals, 25 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Darcy/Bennett/Watson/Carey/Ling, PAL)
Round 21 - Melbourne Demons (89) @ (96) Collingwood Magpies - In arguably the game of the season, Collingwood beat the reigning Premiers at the MCG to record their 11th straight win. A frenetic 1st half, with the Dees forcing 41 inside 50's to the Pies 18, meant that the Dees held a 17 point lead at the break. But the Pies fought back in the 2nd half, out-scoring Melbourne 4 goals to 2 in the final quarter to snatch the all-important win. Collingwood featured Jamie Elliott (4 goals, 13 disposals), Ash Johnson (4 goals), Nick Daicos (31 disposals) and Jordan De Goey (25 disposals, 1 goal). Melbourne featured Clayton Oliver (42 disposals, 8 tackles), Christian Petracca (36 disposals), Ben Brown (2 goals) and Bayley Fritsch (2 goals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Hodge/Pearce/Richardson, PAL)
Round 21 - St.Kilda Saints (65) @ (110) Geelong Cats - An under-manned Geelong team showed their strength in depth to beat the Saints at GMHBA Stadium and stay top of the table. The Cats were missing Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield, Gary Rohan and Mark Blicavs to injury and rest. Geelong started the better before St.Kilda fought back to go in at the half only 53-43 down. But the Cats ended the game strong, out-scoring the Saints 9 goals to 2 in the 2nd half to take the easy win. Geelong featured Sam Menegola (25 disposals), Brandan Parfitt (25 disposals, 6 tackles), Tom Hawkins (3 goals) and Isaac Smith (3 goals). St.Kilda featured Brad Crouch (28 disposals, 11 tackles), Jack Higgins (2 goals) and Jack Steele (20 disposals, 1 goal) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Watson/Jones/Bennett/Johnson, PAL)
Round 22 - Geelong Cats (59) @ (119) Gold Coast Suns - Geelong secured the Minor Premiership with a blow-out win at the Metricon, and extended their win streak to 12 games. The Cats wasted no time in getting the job done, scoring 7 goals in the 1st quarter to effectively end the game as a contest. The Cats held a 61 point lead at the half and coasted home. Geelong featured Cam Guthrie (30 disposals), Brandan Parfitt (28 disposals), Jeremy Cameron (3 goals, 21 disposals) and Tyson Stengle (3 goals). The Gold Coast featured Touk Miller (36 disposals), Brandon Ellis (32 disposals) and Izak Rankine (2 goals) (9, 2 Discs, FOX - Hudson/Dunstall/Johnson/Russell/Lynch, PAL)
Qualifying Final - Geelong Cats (78) v (72) Collingwood Magpies - The Cats finally ended their "1st Round" jinx with a tight win against the Pies at the MCG. Collingwood led at every change but found scoring opportunities hard to come by as the game went on, and the Cats snatched victory with a big 4th quarter, out-scoring the Pies 4 goals to 2. The heroes for Geelong were captain Joel Selwood (25 disposals, 3 tackles), Tom Atkins (23 disposals, 9 tackles), Jeremy Cameron (3 goals, 17 disposals) and Gary Rohan (2 goals, 14 disposals, 2 tackles). Collingwood featured Scott Pendlebury (34 disposals, 5 tackles), Josh Daicos (29 disposals, 5 tackles) and Jordan De Goey (2 goals, 26 disposals, 9 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Brayshaw/Darcy/Watson/Pearce/Johnson/Holmes, PAL)
Semi-Final - Melbourne Demons (79) v (92) Brisbane Lions - In front of 62,162 fans at the MCG, Brisbane ended the Demons reign as Champions and booked a place in the Preliminary Finals. The Lions rallied from 28 points down late in the second quarter, kicking 11 goals to five after half-time to win the game. The win was the Lions first at the MCG since 2014, ending an 11-match losing streak. The Lions featured Lachie Neale (26 disposals, 7 tackles), Daniel Rich (30 disposals), Eric Hipwood (4 goals) and Charlie Cameron (3 goals). The Demons featured Christian Petracca (27 disposals), Clayton Oliver (21 disposals, 12 tackles) and Bayley Fritsch (2 goals) (9, Slight edited next day re-broadcast, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Hodge/Pearce/Richardson/Johnson, PAL)
Preliminary Final - Geelong Cats (120) v (49) Brisbane Lions - Geelong booked a place in their 2nd Grand Final in 3 years with an impressive win over the Lions at the MCG. The win was the 15th straight for the Cats to end the season. After a tight start, the Cats put a stranglehold on the Lions and ran out to a 30 point lead at the half. A dominant 3rd quarter, where they scored 7 more goals, ended any chance the Lions had of a comeback. Geelong featured Patrick Dangerfield (2 goals, 28 disposals, 9 marks), Mitch Duncan (26 disposals, 4 tackles), Tom Hawkins (4 goals, 5 marks, 4 tackles) and Tyson Stengle (3 goals). Brisbane featured Lachie Neale (20 disposals, 3 tackles), Deven Robertson (17 disposals, 10 tackles) and Eric Hipwood (2 goals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Hodge/Pearce/Richardson/Bartel, PAL)
Preliminary Final - Collingwood Magpies (94) @ (95) Sydney Swans - Sydney ended Collingwood's fairytale season with a nail-biting win at the Sydney Cricket Ground, holding on to book their place in their first Grand Final since 2016. The Swans scored 4 unanswered goals to start the game and dominated the 1st half, taking a 73-43 lead in at the break. Sydney looked to have sealed the win at the start of the 2nd half, building a 36-point lead, but the Pies suddenly found their momentum and fought their way back into the game. In the final quarter, Collingwood out-scored the Swans 4 goals to 1 to pull within a single point but ran out of time to complete the unlikely comeback. Sydney featured Callum Miles (27 disposals), Lance Franklin (2 goals, 11 disposals, 7 marks, 4 tackles) and Isaac Heeney (1 goal, 16 disposals, 7 marks, 6 tackles). Collingwood featured Scott Pendlebury (29 disposals, 6 tackles), Nick Daicos (23 disposals, 5 marks), Jamie Elliott (2 goals) and Will Hoskin-Elliott (2 goals) (9, 2nd half taken from a next-day re-broadcast and is slightly edited, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Darcy/Watson/Hodge/Bolton/Holmes, PAL)
Grand Final - Geelong Cats (133) v (52) Sydney Swans - Geelong won their 10th Premiership with a dominating 81-point victory at the MCG. The victory was the Cats 16th consecutive win to end the season. Geelong started on-fire and ended the game as a contest when they scored 6 goals in 21 minutes to set up a 35-point lead at quarter-time. The Cats then used a dominant 3rd quarter, out-scoring the Swans by 39 points to 1, to wrap up the game and turn the 4th quarter into a victory lap. The 81 point margin of victory was the 5th largest in a Grand Final. Geelong winger Isaac Smith (3 goals, 32 disposals, 12 marks) received the Norm Smith Medal, making him the oldest recipient of the award at 33. Geelong also featured Joel Selwood (1 goal, 27 disposals, 8 marks, 4 tackles), Patrick Dangerfield (27 disposals), Tom Hawkins (3 goals, 14 disposals) and Tyson Stengle (4 goals, 15 disposals). Sydney featured Chad Warner (29 disposals, 6 tackles), Tom Papley (20 disposals), Luke Parker (23 disposals, 14 tackles) and Lance Franklin (1 behind, 5 disposals, 2 marks), who had a quiet game. After the game, Geelong captain Joel Selwood announced his retirement (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Brayshaw/Taylor/Hodge/Pearce/Holmes/Richardson, PAL)