St Kilda may have faded and faded fast in the final quarter against Geelong at Etihad Stadium, but the downhill spiral began in the third quarter, just not on the scoreboard.

After the Saints comfortably won the contested ball count in the first half + 12, the Cats got on top in the third term, smashing the Saints around the ball to gain the midfield ascendancy by the final change.

By the final siren, Chris Scott’s side reeled in a five-point deficit at three-quarter time and converted it into a 38-point win on the back of an eight-goal to one fourth quarter.

A closer inspection of the numbers highlighted how the Cats got the job done in the second half, built firmly off their ability to win the ball.

Across the final two quarters of Sunday’s loss, Geelong destroyed the Saints in contested ball, winning 36 more contested possessions in the second half alone to flip the tide in their favour and eventually win the count by + 24 across the four quarters.

Aside from returning star Jack Steven, who amassed 16 contested possessions in his first game back from a puncture lung, Geelong captain Joel Selwood (22 contested possessions) – most of any player in Round 5 – George Horlin-Smith (15 contested) and Patrick Dangerfield (14 contested) helped lead the Cats’ charge at the coal face.

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