Australian Football

Match Report

A highly entertaining Saturday night encounter at the MCG in front of 63,152 fans has seen Geelong hold off an impressive Collingwood outfit to record its third win of the season and take a stranglehold on a top four place. The Cats led for almost the entire match but the Magpies were never out of the hunt, and at times looked as though they might overrun the star-studded Geelong team.

The Cats made the early running as Collingwood struggled to find a goal in the first term. Geelong kicked three of its own to establish a comfortable 19-point lead at the first change. But a towering mark over Jimmy Bartel by Jamie Elliott, touted as an early nomination for Mark of the Year and subsequent goal at the five-minute mark of the second quarter sparked the Magpies into action. They kicked the next two to draw within a point and match became an even affair from that moment. By half time, scores were level at 43 apiece.

Andrew Mackie and Tom Hawkins kicked the first two majors of the second half and the Cats were able to more or less manage that buffer for the remainder of the match. The rest of the second half was a very even affair, with Collingwood kicking five goals to Geelong's four, with the Cats eventually holding on for a nine point win.

Though the Magpies are sitting in 13th place on the ladder, they look a clearly better side than that. Their tough opening three matches have seen them lose badly to Fremantle, defeat the highly rated Sydney and push the undefeated Geelong to the limit. Notwithstanding that, the Pies will need to put some wins on the board over the next month as they take on Richmond, North Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton.

Third on the ladder and undefeated, Geelong will face some tough tests of its ow in the same period. The Cats will take on top side West Coast at home next Saturday night before meeting Hawthorn at the MCG, Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval and Richmond back at the MCG.

GOALS
Collingwood: Elliott 5, White 2, Blair, Toovey, Goldsack, Sidebottom
Geelong: Hawkins 4, Varcoe, Horlin-Smith, Murdoch, Johnson, Guthrie, Stokes, Mackie, McIntosh

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Collingwood: Elliott, Beams, Sidebottom, Macaffer, Maxwell, Lumumba
Geelong: Selwood, Kelly, Lonergan, Hawkins, Guthrie, Stokes

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Collingwood: Elliott, Sidebottom, Beams, Pendlebury, Macaffer, Young, Lumamba
Geelong: Selwood, Hawkins, Lonergan, Bartel, Stokes, Duncan, Kelly

INJURIES
Collingwood: Dwyer (lower leg)
Geelong: Enright (ankle) and McCarthy (team balance) replaced in selected side by Sheringham and Simpson; Varcoe (head)

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Taylor Adams replaced Sam Dwyer in the third quarter
Geelong: Mark Blicavs replaced Mitch Brown in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Donlon, Hay, McInerney

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Brian Taylor, Luke Darcy, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling