Kangaroos dominate Geelong

Kangaroos 13.12 (90) def. Geelong   8.12 (60)

The Kangaroos have dominated a disappointing Geelong line up to run away 30-point winners in front of a small crowd at Manuka Oval.

Both teams had late changes as Saverio Rocca and Callum Urch replaced Leigh Brown and Troy Makepiece for the Kangaroos final ‘home’ game in the nation’s capital. For Geelong, Peter Riccardi came in for Jarrad Rooke.

With Geelong desperate for a win to keep in touch with the top eight, it was the Kangaroos who looked like the team with their season on the line as they started the game in inspiring fashion. Piling on six first quarter goals, four of them before Geelong had even settled into the pace of the game, set the Kangaroos up for a comfortable win.

Drew Petrie (27 possessions and 10 marks) performed an excellent job dropping in front of the leading Geelong forwards, while Corey Jones (36, 14), Andrew Swallow (25, 4), Jess Sinclair (28, 12), Brent Harvey (27, 7) and Shannon Grant (25, 13 and 2 goals) dominated through the middle of the ground. The Kangaroos were too good all over the ground.

Geelong on the other hand did not have many winners for the day, with only David Wojcinski (19 possessions), Corey Enright (22, 10 marks), Paul Chapman (20, 8) and Andrew Mackie (21, 8) providing any drive and Brad Ottens (3 goals) providing a target sporadically it was never going to be easy.

Brady Rawlings started the game with two goals in the first three minutes, one a good roving effort, the other due to three Geelong players all standing under an incoming ball allowing Rawlings to run between them to take an uncontested mark. He then spent the rest of the afternoon ensuring that Joel Corey would not have an easy possession.

Hamish McIntosh and Swallow both slotted through majors for the Kangaroos before Cameron Mooney was able to steady the ship for Geelong as he kicked both of his side’s goals for the quarter.

Geelong suffered two major blows in the first term with both Gary Ablett and Cameron Ling receiving knocks, which saw them, go to the bench, ending their afternoons. Ablett hurt the AC joint on his right shoulder after he was collected by a Sinclair bump whilst Ling was collected by some friendly fire, sending him off to Disneyland.

Mooney, after being the only dangerous forward for Geelong in the opening term, finished on a sour note as he went into the umpires book when he took his eyes off the ball and charged into Daniel Pratt as he was backing back into a pack.

The second term was as far from the free running, highly skilled opening to the match as one could imagine. With both teams struggling to find an effective forward, and missing easy chances on goal when they did, it wasn’t until the seventh minute that the Kangaroos were finally able to extend their lead.

Urch’s goal was followed by Ottens’ first for the day, taking an easy mark in front of David Hale. Once again, however, skill errors started to creep into the game as neither team could capitalise on their possession.

With Jones and Sinclair sharing 37 possessions between them in the first half, the Kangaroos were enjoying plenty of run through the midfield, but Nathan Thompson could not capitalise on his opportunities, dropping a series of marks as Matthew Scarlett paid him some close attention.

Thompson was finally able to take a mark and kicked truly, and after Shannon Grant kicked the Kangaroos ninth goal via a James Bartel indiscretion resulted in a 50 metre penalty, the home side went to the main break with a 33-point advantage.

Geelong came out in the third quarter exactly as they needed, kicking the first two goals through Chapman and Ottens, to reduce the margin to 23 points.

The Kangaroos however, were well on top but they failed to capitalise effectively on Geelong’s lackluster performance. Thompson kicked his second goal for the day after a pin point Rocca pass and Grant could have put the game beyond doubt as he had three shots at goal, but only managed to convert one.

Geelong’s Steve Johnson was one of the main culprits for the Kangaroos dominance as he refused to pay his opponent Jones any attention and allowed him to rack up a ridiculous 14 possessions in the third quarter alone.

Going into the final quarter with a 38-point advantage and with Geelong having only kicked five goals for the day to that stage, something special was going to be needed to drag themselves back into the contest.

As they did in the third quarter, Geelong again kicked the first two goals of the quarter to give them the slightest of chance at an unlikely victory, but when the Kangaroos found Adam Simpson, Grant and then Thompson all on their own to register their 12th goal for the day, the match was seemingly over.

Andrew Mackie bought the margin back to four goals, and when Chapman marked 45 metres out with four minutes remaining, things started to get interesting. Chapman’s shot on goal hit the post however, and the Kangaroos took the ball down the other end where Rocca eased a torpedo 70 metres to Thompson on the goal line who kicked his fourth goal.

Geelong, out of the top eight since Round Five this year, are now facing a huge battle to make the finals as they remain a game behind Fremantle in eighth spot, with the Dockers having a game in hand.

The Kangaroos will return to Melbourne and the Telstra Dome next Sunday as they take on the disappointing Port Adelaide, whilst Geelong travel to the Gabba where Brisbane will be waiting for them, aiming to close the door on Geelong’s 2006 season once and for all.

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