Geelong was staring at the real prospect of straight sets elimination at half time of its AFL semi final against Port Adelaide at the MCG tonight, before producing a second half salvo to run out 16-point winners.
The Cats were like chalk and cheese over the two halves. They were careless with the football, second to it and totally lacking in pressure in an un-Cats like first half, but atoned after the main break with one of their best halves of the year, coming from 23 points down at half time to record a memorable come-from-behind victory.
The Cats are just one win away from another grand final, setting up a glamour preliminary final date with Hawthorn at the MCG on Friday night.
But if the Cats turn up on the penultimate weekend with the same attitude they had in the early exchanges of their clash with the surprise packet Power, they might as well not bother crossing the West Gate Bridge.
The Cats are usually meticulous in their discipline and attentive to the minor details, but against Fremantle in week one of the finals and in the first half against the Power, they were sadly lacking in both areas.
While Chris Scott’s team did miss a number of gettable chances in the first half, they got their right whack in delivering their lowest half time score of the season due to their style-over-substance play.
The Power are the fairytale story of an otherwise difficult AFL season that has seen off-field dramas stalk the league for most of the home-and-away rounds.
The majority of tipsters had the Power finishing in the bottom four of the ladder at the start of the season, but under a new president David Koch, a new senior coach Ken Hinkley and a young and vibrant team, they defied the odds to reach the finals.
Not content with making up the numbers in September, the Power turned the lights out on Collingwood in week one of the finals and an upset was well and truly on the cards against the Cats at the main break.
A number of factors contributed to the Power’s hot start, including their insatiable appetite for the hard ball, a well structured line-up that forced the Cats into errors, a game plan that promoted sling shot football out of defence and ensured one of their best assets – foot speed – would thrive.
So many Power players can run through the midfield – all of Travis Boak, Brad Ebert, Kane Cornes, Oliver Wines, Chad Wingard, Matthew Broadbent and Hamish Hartlett were prominent early.
The sheer hard work of forwards Angus Monfries and Robbie Gray to keep presenting made life hard for the flakey Cats defence and they eventually cracked with the Power slamming on seven of the last eight goals of the first half to counter the Cats first two of the match.
You could have sworn the two sides had changed jumpers at half time, such was the swing in momentum in a desperately one-sided third quarter.
At one point, Geelong led the inside-50 count for the quarter 17 to one, and they turned those entries into scores, amassing 5.6 to 1.0 for the quarter to go into three quarter time with the lead.
The Cats do not win the game without the influence of veteran Paul Chapman. ‘Chappy’ was at his vintage best, booting four goals and inflicting one of the lasting memories of the match, a run down tackle on Cornes at the 10-minute mark of the last quarter. He goaled from the resulting free kick to extend the lead to 15.
With the Power reeling, Allen Christensen extended the Cats lead 23 points nearing time-on.
The sides then exchanged goals. The first came through Power full forward Jay Schulz, before Joel Selwood, wrapped up like a mummy after a couple of head knocks brought about by his ferocious attack on the contest, pulled one back for the Cats.
Just when the Cats fans thought it was time to start lining up for preliminary finals tickets, the Power gave them one last shock with majors to Justin Westhoff, a goal-of-the-year nomination where he screwed the ball between the big sticks from a tight angle on the boundary, and Hartlett.
The Power had 2:23 left on the clock to find two goals, but it would be Cats speedster Steven Motlop who would have the final say with the game-sealing goal.
James Kelly was the best four quarter performer for the Cats, getting the job done on the inside and spreading from the packs with 28 disposals, seven marks and seven tackles.
Chapman propped up in the key moments, putting the finishing touches on plays with some nifty round-the-corner goals.
Unfortunately for Chapman, a nervous week awaits with the match review panel to assess his bump on Gray, which was a similar motion to the one that saw Hawthorn star Lance Franklin rubbed out of Hawthorn’s first final.
Selwood and Joel Corey in the middle, and Andrew Mackie in defence, were solid four quarter performers for the Cats, while Christensen, Steve Johnson, Matthew Stokes, Travis Varcoe and Jimmy Bartel lit it up in the second half.
AFL semi final wash up
QT: Geelong 2.2 (14) Port Adelaide 3.2 (20)
HT: Geelong 3.6 (24) Port Adelaide 7.5 (47)
3QT: Geelong 8.12 (60) Port Adelaide 8.5 (53)
FINAL: Geelong 13.18 (96) Port Adelaide 12.8 (80)
Crowd: 52,744
Weekly’s best
Geelong
James Kelly – When the Cats were reeling in the second quarter, Kelly was able to maintain his high standard of play and help stem the flow of play somewhat. It was a typical Kelly game, tough in the clinches, but able to locate the ball on the spread with his gut busting running. Seven tackles and seven marks to go with his mountain of possessions told of a player who was willing to work his butt off.
Paul Chapman – Involved in all of the big moments in the game, including a crucial chase down tackle of Kane Cornes in the last quarter. Finished with four goals, which was so important with the Cats tall forwards having an off night.
Joel Selwood – Took a physical battering at every contest and got up, dusted himself off and just kept going. If the television producers wondering why the telecast went longer than usual, you could trace it back to two Selwood blood rules, which saw him play in a head bandage, but still maintain his first class work at the stoppages.
Port Adelaide
Travis Boak – There’s no wonder why he was so highly sought after at trade table last year. The captain is an out-and-out work horse. Not only did he have an uncanny knack of winning the hard ball against one of the most brutal midfields in the game, he realised that his job was not complete once he has registered the stat, always working hard for teammates further afield, presenting to provide an option or doing simple things like laying a shepherd.
Matthew Lobbe – Competed on his own in the ruck for the majority of the game, racking up 28 hit outs and keeping up with Cats duo Nathan Vardy and Mark Blicavs, which is no mean feat. To underline his desire for the second effort, Lobbe layed a game-high nine tackles.
Justin Westhoff – Slow to get into the game, but one of the Power’s best against the tide in the second half. A swingman in every sense of the word, bobbed up for marks in defence and attack, and capped his game with the goal of the night and possibly goal of the year when his banana shot from tight up on the boundary sailed over the goal umpires hat.
