Kingsley nine steals the show

Geelong   98 defeated Carlton   70

Kent Kingsley produced a stunning kicking display as his nine goal haul led Geelong to a 28 point win over a tenacious Carlton side at Telstra Dome tonight.

Carlton entered the match with the squad only missing new boy Jason Saddington to a knee problem while Geelong were without the services of King, Johnson, Harley, Riccardi, Ottens, Playfair and Wojcinski.

The Blues started the game brightly and had little trouble cruising to an 18 point lead through goals to young Marc Murphy and promising Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin.

But as quickly as the Blues had established their lead, the curtain came up for the Kingsley show.

Not known for kicking big bags, Kingsley calmly kicked five unanswered majors to lead the Cats down the race 11 points to the good.

Denis Pagan rotated defenders but none could find the solution to quell Kingsley. Brett Thornton and Lance Whitnall both tried valiantly but failed.

After a cracking first quarter which produced eight goals, the second term left fans somewhat subdued.

In a tedious quarter, Charlie Gardiner kicked the Cats' sixth and only goal for the term while rookie Dylan McClaren booted his first after the half time siren.

Geelong led by eight points at half time but the Blues midfield was winning more of the ball. Lappin and Whitnall had nearly 30 touches between them while Darren Milburn was playing his Mr Reliable role with a dozen disposals for the Cats.

Gary Ablett bobbed up early in the third quarter for his first competitive goal of the season in a period where both clubs were scratching around for goals.

Carlton's forays into its 50 metre arc where numerous but lacked execution of the final movement as they added six blemishes to the scoreboard.

The Blues forward determination eventually paid off as Nick Stevens slammed home the only super goal of the night with ten minutes left in the quarter.

The Cats hit back immediately through rookie Tom Lonergan's quick snap before Brendan Fevola, otherwise quiet on the night, kicked his second to have Cats fans on tenterhooks with an 8 point lead to defend in the last term.

Those nerves were realised in the final quarter as Brad Fisher kicked two goals in quick succession to give the Blues some hope of victory.

After a long interval in the second and third quarters, the Kingsley show's second act hit top gear as he banged home four of the Cats' six last term goals to seal a win to erase the pre-season cup disappointment of recent years.

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