Australian Football

Match Report

Geelong did enough to keep a plucky Bulldogs side at bay at Kardinia Park on Sunday, cementing sixth place on the ladder in the process. The Cats were well beaten for clearances and contested possession but were able to overcome those losses by displaying a superior use of the ball by hand and foot. This allowed Geelong to open up a 31-point lead at the main break. The Dogs, however, displayed a resolve not seen in recent second halves, and closed the gap to just 15 points late in the third quarter. Geelong managed to regain the ascendency after that, and cruised to a 34-point win.

Tom Hawkins again proved to be the biggest difference between Geelong and its opponents, the Tomahawk finishing with four goals for the afternoon and his season tally to 55. With leading goal-kicker Matthew Pavlich (60 goals) under an injury cloud, Hawkins is still an outside chance of taking out this year's Coleman medal. Corey Enright had a field day for the Cats, while Tom Longergan and Josh Hunt repelled many Bulldog attacks.

For the Bulldogs, Matthew Boyd was once again brilliant, with 37 of his 46 disposals being effective (the highest number of effective disposals recorded by any player this season). Griffen was excellent with 37 possessions and Mitch Wallis was a fine inside player for the Dogs, as was Lin Jong in just his third AFL game.

Geelong take on second-placed Sydney in the last round, but the result is unlikely to see Geelong move from sixth place, whichever way it goes. The Bulldogs will see out a tough season with a trip to Brisbane to take on the Lions.

GOALS
Geelong: Hawkins 4; Corey, Chapman, Taylor 2; Christensen, Duncan, Podsiadly, West, Stokes, Hunt
Western Bulldogs: Grant 3; Howard 2; Cooney, Giansiracusa, Jong, Griffen, Howard, Higgins

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Geelong: Kelly, Duncan, Mackie, Hunt, Taylor, Enright, Bartel, Chapman
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Griffen, Murphy, Wood, Cooney, Skinner, Djerrkura

BEST - THE AGE
Geelong: Enright, Hunt, Duncan, Mackie, Murdoch, Podsiadly, Hawkins, Chapman, Lonergan
Western Bulldogs: Wallis, Griffen, Boyd, Cooney, Jong, Higgins

COACHES' COMMENTS
Chris Scott (Geel): We were smashed [in contested possessions] but in the end we were in front in inside 50s. I'm not saying it doesn't matter, but the statistics can certainly be a little misleading.

Brendan McCartney (WB): Apart from two ten minute patches [in the first and last quarters] we liked a lot about what we did today.

Umpires: Stewart, H.Ryan, B.Ryan