‘Dangerwood’ flex their muscles in second half blitz
After an opening half Alan Richardson indicated was as good as his side has played this year, Geelong’s elite fleet took control of the midfield and took control of the game in the second half. Cats skipper Joel Selwood dominated the second half, collecting 16 touches in the third quarter and then 14 in the all important last term. It was a brilliant performance from the triple premiership champion and one that will almost certainly attract 10 votes from the coaches. Reigning Brownlow medallist, Patrick Dangerfield, roared home in the fourth quarter blitz, kicking two goals in the last term to go with 11 disposals, as he and Selwood led Geelong to a six-goal win at Etihad Stadium. By the final siren, Geelong easily accounted for St Kilda in all the key indicators, winning contested ball (+24), tackles (+15) and inside 50s (+13), among a host of other metrics to move to 5-0.
Final term fadeout draws Richardson’s ire
At three-quarter time St Kilda led by five-points and appeared in the game up to their necks. Geelong were coming and coming hard in the third quarter, but the game looked like it could follow the recent pattern between the two sides and go down to the wire. But from there, things went south for Alan Richardson’s side. Geelong dominated the last 30 minutes, kicking eight goals to one on the back of an annihilation around the ball. Richardson expressed his disappointment in his post-mortem: “One team really took a hold of it from a midfield perspective; we didn’t go there”. After an even spread of contribution on Easter Sunday, the job was left to too few at Etihad Stadium on Sunday night. Could the match committee spring some selection changes ahead of the trip to Tasmania next weekend?
Minchington snatches his opportunity
For the third time from three appearances against Geelong, Darren Minchington booted three goals and had an impact in the forward half. Given that he’s never kicked more than two against any other opposition it’s one of those quirks, but it was an important performance nonetheless from the dynamic forward. After playing 13 games in 2017, the 23-year-old has been the victim of the improved depth at Linen House Centre, having been forced to bide his time at Sandringham. After forcing his way in on Sunday, Minchington demonstrate his class around goal, making the most of limited chances in front of goal to kick more goals than any other player on the ground. Now that he is in, the challenge for Minchington will be to remain there in 2017.
Steven and Ross shining lights in midfield loss
While Geelong won the midfield battle and won the game, St Kilda weren’t completely touched up around the ball. Three-time Trevor Barker Award winner Jack Steven burst back onto the scene after a two-week absence with a punctured lung. The speedster was arguably the best player on the ground in the opening half, winning 22 of his 30 disposals by the main break. His high octane pace from stoppages concerned the Cats so much they put Mark Blicavs on him in the second half to curtail his influence. Seb Ross was the other St Kilda midfielder to steer the ship in the middle of the ground. The 23-year-old continued his exceptional start to 2017, following up his 36 disposal haul against Collingwood last week with another large helping, this time collecting 33 touches, six inside 50s and 615 metres gained – the fifth most of any player for Round 5.
Brown demonstrates once again why St Kilda came calling
Geelong powerhouse forward Tom Hawkins may have kicked two goals on Sunday, but they came in the 22nd minute and 29th minute of the last quarter, and from general play in the goal square, when the game was well and truly done. Up until that point, Nathan Brown had restricted the two-time premiership Cat to one mark and next to no impact on the game, despite Geelong’s midfield dominance. Brown’s performance came a month after his eye-catching effort on West Coast Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy, and after an impressive fortnight on two of the games up and coming young spearheads in Brisbane’s Josh Schache and Collingwood’s Darcy Moore. While the game slipped away from St Kilda on Sunday, the former Magpies premiership full back demonstrated exactly why the Saints recruited him to the club last October.
