21/06/2008 11:32 PM
pressure every time they went forward.
By half-time, West Coast had amassed 22 inside 50s to 26, but the Cats defence, led by skipper Tom Harley, rebounded it 19 times, laying the foundation for wave after wave of attacks.
The pressure was so intense that 10 of the Cats' 13 goals came from turnovers as Geelong made the Eagles pay through some ruthless efficiency.
After the main break, the Eagles effectively capitulated. Geelong slammed on seven goals within the first 15 minutes to extend the lead to 106 points, the Eagles deficiencies encapsulated by Darren Glass and Brad Jones coughing up the ball in defence, allowing Ablett to take possession, shrug another tackle and handpass to Travis Varcoe for the forward's second goal of the term.
Adam Hunter goaled in the 19th minute for West Coast - the Eagles first major in over a quarter - as the Subiaco crowd offered bronx cheers, but the Cats simply added another three goals to take a 116-point lead into the final change.
Geelong coach Mark Thompson, in his 400th game as player and coach, was spotted lazily chomping on a pie in the coach's box but there was no drop in intensity from his charges, with Darren Millburn giving Andrew Mackie a roast for an innocuous mistake with the Cats already a hundred points ahead.
The final term seemed something of an anti-climax as Geelong added a further five majors to two, finishing the game with the highest score by any team this season, eclipsing Collingwood's 173 against the Eagles, as the Cats sent out their most ominous warning to the other 2008 premiership contenders.
WEST COAST: 1.5, 2.9, 3.14, 5.7 (47)
GEELONG: 7.3, 13.6, 23.10, 28.14 (182)
GOALS: West Coast: LeCras 3, Hunter, Cox
Geelong: Mooney 5, Chapman 5, Kelly 4, Johnson 2, Rooke 2, Lonergan 2, Varcoe 2, Ablett 2, Taylor, Mackie, Prismall, Bartel
BEST: West Coast: LeCras, Embley, Cox, Schofield
Geelong: Ablett, Chapman, Mooney, Harley, Wojcinski, Ling, Mackie, Bartel
INJURIES: West Coast: Adam Selwood (throat)
Geelong: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: David Wojcinski replaced Matthew Stokes (knee) in the Geelong selected side
UMPIRES: Donlon, Rosebury, Kamolins
CROWD: 38,414 at Subiaco Oval
Sportal AFL Player of the Year votes:
3. Gary Ablett
2. Paul Chapman
1. Cameron Ling