Cats v Bulldogs - snippets
TURNING POINT: It wasn't until early in the third quarter that the Cats were able to string together successive goals, but three in 12 minutes from Mathew Stokes, Ryan Gamble and Steve Johnson, broke the contest open. Gamble followed up with another from a typically strong contested mark later in the term.
CLASSIC (AUDIO) GRAB: The umpires' microphones picked up a nasty exchange between field umpire Michael Vozzo and Paul Chapman in the second quarter. There was genuine anger in Vozzo's voice as he awarded successive 50-metre penalties against Chapman for twice being called a 'cheat.' The run-in was prompted by a free kick awarded against Chapman to Bulldog Farren Ray. Ray was advanced from half-back to 30-metres out from where he goaled.
STAR MAN: It's understood that Darren Milburn's 19-possession first quarter may be some sort of record. The veteran defender dispatched 11 kicks and eight handballs while running Mitch Hahn ragged. Milburn's term included five minutes on the bench. Milburn eased up over the remainder of the match to finish with 32 disposals.
ABSOLUTE SHOCKER: Western Bulldogs president David Smorgon provided a telling insight into the inequities of the stadium deals of the AFL 16 clubs. Quizzed pre-match on Triple-M about whether Saturday's match should have been played at the MCG or Telstra Dome rather than Skilled Stadium, Smorgon pointed out that Geelong could expect to make at least $750,000 from hosting the Dogs. Asked how this compares with the Bulldogs' gate returns for the entire season, he revealed: "We don't make anywhere near that."
WHAT A GOAL! None of Geelong's 17 majors were cheered as enthusiastically by the fiercely parochial crowd of 24,801 as Harry Taylor's in the third quarter. The first-year defender intercepted a handpass from Jarrod Harbrow just outside the attacking 50 and put it through the middle from distance off three steps to restore the Cats' 14-point advantage. It was just the second goal of Taylor's 12-match career.
UNSUNG HERO: There's nothing fashionable about Tom Lonergan, but no-one in the Cats' star-studded forward line works as hard. The 24-year-old only managed the one goal against the Bulldogs from his 15 possessions and eight marks, but presented, presented, and kept presenting. The Cats are not looking for a bag of goals from him each week, just honesty, and that's what they get in spades.