AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
2023
Round 4 - Hawthorn Hawks (45) @ (127) Geelong Cats - In front of a stunned 65,335 crowd at the MCG, Geelong spectacularly ended their 3-game losing streak to start the season with a beat-down of the Hawks. The Hawks kicked the first three goals of the game, and led by 9 points at half-time, but the Cats sensationally turned the game around in the 2nd half. Geelong kicked 10 goals unanswered goals in the 3rd quarter and ended up kicking 16 of the final 17 goals of the game to take the win. Geelong featured Jeremy Cameron (7 goals, 22 disposals), Tom Hawkins (2 goals, 10 marks), Mitch Duncan (31 disposals, 14 marks), Isaac Smith (27 disposals) and Patrick Dangerfield (27 disposals). Hawthorn featured Luke Breust (3 goals, 16 marks), Jarman Impey (24 disposals) and Josh Ward (23 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Brayshaw/Hodge/Ling/Holmes, PAL)
Round 6 - Sydney Swans (37) @ (130) Geelong Cats - A re-match of the 2022 Grand Final turned into a replay, as Geelong used a strong 2nd half to beat Sydney at GMHBA Stadium. Geelong were never in trouble in the game, holding a 39-12 lead after the 1st quarter and a 69-34 lead at the half. In the 2nd half the Cats dominated so completely they held the Swans to only 3 behinds. Geelong featured Patrick Dangerfield (27 disposals, 1 goal), Cameron Guthrie (24 disposals), Tom Hawkins (5 goals) and Jeremy Cameron (5 goals, 17 disposals). Sydney featured Will Hayward (2 goals), Luke Parker (21 disposals) and Chad Warner (19 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Darcy/Watson/Ling, PAL)
Round 7 - Geelong Cats (132) @ (104) Essendon Bombers - In a shootout at the MCG, Geelong forward Tom Hawkins kicked a career-high 8 goals to help the Cats beat the Bombers. Geelong were never in trouble in the game, and after taking an 88-44 lead in at the half, they coasted home to the win. Geelong also featured Jeremy Cameron (3 goals, 20 disposals), Patrick Dangerfield (28 disposals) and Tom Stewart (26 disposals, 12 marks). Essendon featured Sam Weideman (5 goals), Darcy Parish (38 disposals) and Jake Stringer (4 goals, 26 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, FOX - Russell/Healy/King/Jones, PAL)
Round 12 - Geelong Cats (97) @ (75) Western Bulldogs - An under-strength Geelong ended a 3-game losing streak with a hard-fought win at Marvel Stadium. The Cats were missing Patrick Dangerfield, Cam Guthrie, Mitch Duncan, Esava Ratugolea, Rhys Stanley and Max Holmes. Both teams were evenly matched and the game was only settled in Geelong's favour when they kicked the final 6 goals of the game to take the win. With the victory, Geelong moved back into the top-8. Geelong featured Tom Stewart (27 disposals, 10 marks, 1 goal), Jeremy Cameron (2 goals, 21 disposals, 7 marks) and Isaac Smith (22 disposals). The Bulldogs featured Caleb Daniel (35 disposals), Adam Treloar (31 disposals, 1 goal, 11 tackles) and Tom Liberatore (30 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Nicholson/Watson/Ling, PAL)
Round 15 - Melbourne Demons (63) @ (78) Geelong Cats - Geelong celebrated coach Chris Scott's 300th game in charge with a big win in the rain at GMHBA Stadium. Both teams were evenly matched, especially when Cats star forward Jeremy Cameron went off with concussion in the 1st quarter, but the game was decided by the Dees inability to kick goals. They finished with 15 behinds. Conversely the Cats won the game by scoring 6 goals in the 4th quarter to finally finish off Melbourne. Geelong featured Gary Rohan (3 goals, 16 disposals), Brad Close (24 disposals, 13 hit-outs) and Tom Stewart (22 disposals, 9 marks). Melbourne featured Joel Smith (2 goals, 5 tackles), Kysaiah Pickett (2 goals) and Christian Petracca (33 disposals, 6 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Nicholson/Watson/Holmes, PAL)
Round 16 - Geelong Cats (54) @ (54) Sydney Swans - Sydney gained a measure of revenge for their 2022 Grand Final beat-down, holding the Cats to a draw at the SCG. In a game of 2 halves, the Swans owned the 1st half but couldn't convert their chances into goals and had to settle for behinds. The 2nd half belonged to the Cats, as they tightened up defensively, and they went ahead by 8 points with 10 minutes to go. But the Swans saved the game with a behind with 30 seconds to play and the game ended with the points shared. Geelong featured Oliver Henry (2 goals), Tom Hawkins (2 goals), Gryan Miers (27 disposals) and Zach Tuohy (28 disposals)) who equalled Melbourne great Jim Stynes' games record for an Irish player in the AFL (264). Sydney featured Logan McDonald (2 goals), Braeden Campbell (2 goals), Nick Blakey (29 disposals) and Luke Parker (27 disposals, 8 marks) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Taylor/Nicholson/Richardson/Hodge/Holmes, PAL)
Round 18 - Essendon Bombers (45) @ (122) Geelong Cats - #8 Geelong moved up to 5th in the table with a dominating win over Essendon at GMHBA Stadium. The Cats jumped on the Bombers early, scoring 7 goals en-route to a 47-1 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and they coasted home the rest of the way. The Cats had a 64-28 edge on inside 50s and an 18-5 edge on marks inside the 50 for the game. Geelong featured Tom Hawkins (5 goals, 16 disposals), Tyson Stengle (3 goals, 15 disposals), Max Holmes (33 disposals) and Tom Atkins (28 disposals, 12 tackles). Essendon featured Dyson Heppell (25 disposals, 7 marks), Darcy Parish (24 disposals, 9 tackles) and Zach Merrett (18 disposals, 5 tackles) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - McLachlan/Darcy/Watson/Ling, PAL)
Round 20 - Melbourne Demons (130) @ (98) Richmond Tigers - In front of 52,294 fans at the MCG, the #4 Demons took a big step towards the post-season with a shoot-out win. Twice the Demons came back from 20-point deficits in the 2nd half, and only held a slim 90-86 lead at the start of the 4th quarter. But the Demons owned the final term, kicking the last 6 goals of the game to take the win. Melbourne featured Harrison Petty (6 goals), Jacob van Rooyen (4 goals), Jack Viney (32 disposals, 7 clearances) and Max Gawn (28 disposals, 40 hit-outs). Richmond featured Tim Taranto (24 disposals), Jacob Hopper (23 disposals), Shai Bolton (25 disposals) and Dustin Martin (3 goals, 21 disposals) (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Darcy/Bennett/Jones/Dangerfield/Ling, PAL)
Round 21 - Port Adelaide (85) @ (97) Geelong Cats - At GMHBA Stadium, Geelong moved back into the top-8 and kept their post-season hopes alive with a tight win over the Power. The game ebbed-and-flowed into the 4th quarter, but Geelong scored 4 of the final 5 goals to hold off the Power and take the win. Geelong featured Gryan Miers (24 disposals, 2 goals, 10 marks), Tom Stewart (23 disposals), Oliver Henry (4 goals) and Jeremy Cameron (2 goals, 15 disposals). Port Adelaide featured Zak Butters (30 disposals, 6 marks), Connor Rozee (27 disposals, 8 marks), Willie Rioli (4 goals) and Sam Powell-Pepper (3 goals) (9, 1 hour 38 minutes hi-lites, 1 Disc, CH7 - McLachlan/Darcy/Watson/Ling, PAL)
Grand Final - Collingwood Magpies (90) v (86) Brisbane Lions - After a 13-year wait, and in front 100,024 people at the MCG, Collingwood won their 16th Premiership with a tight win over the Lions. Both teams were evenly matched throughout and the game came down to the final 5.5 minutes. The Lions scored to go up by 4 points, but the Pies replied with 14 unanswered points to re-take the lead. The Lions goaled again to get within 4 points with 1.5 minutes to play, but the Pies held out to the end, and claimed the title. Collingwood featured Bobby Hill (4 goals, 18 disposals) whose performance earned him the Norm Smith Medal, Nick Daicos (29 disposals, 1 goal), Jack Crisp (25 disposals, 2 goals), Scott Pendlebury (24 disposals) and Tom Mitchell (24 disposals, 13 tackles). Brisbane featured Keidean Coleman (25 disposals, 8 tackles), Lachie Neale (21 disposals), Hugh McCluggage (21 disposals, 2 goals) Joe Daniher (3 goals, 16 dispsoals, 7 marks) and Charlie Cameron (3 goals). Includes the Pre-match concert from KISS (9, 2 Discs, CH7 - Brayshaw/Taylor/Hodge/Richardson/Holmes/Dangerfield, PAL)