Geelong v St Kilda - snippets
Star Man: Jimmy Bartel (Geelong) - In any other team this man would be regarded as the number one midfielder but the classy Bartel is unlikely to live in the shadow of Gary Ablett for much longer. Bartel not only upstaged Ablett to win the Brownlow Medal last season, and indeed could do the same thing this season, but just like the son of Geelong's greatest ever player he continues to perform time and time again on the big stage. He was at again on Sunday, particularly when the game had to be won in the first half, as he wracked up 20 possession by half-time alone. But Bartel is far more than just an accumulator of possessions, he also one of the best marks for his size in the history of the game and a goalkicker as he again showed on Sunday.
What a Goal! It just wouldn't be a Geelong victory without the little master Gary Ablett providing at least one moment of brilliance to add to his ever-growing highlights reel. This time it came early in the third term when Ablett found himself in space on the wing. After receiving the ball, he handpassed to Travis Varcoe, who then handballed to Mackie as Ablett kept running. The champion midfielder then got the ball back and off two steps to balance himself kicked a great goal on the run from 40 metres despite having St Kilda players right on his tail.
Classic Grab: Brendon Goddard provided a rare highlight for Saints' fans when he took a fine floating mark, across the front of the pack, early in the third term. There appeared little danger for the Cats when Adam Schneider booted the ball long into the forward line but Goddard came from nowhere to pull in a strong grab in front of Cats' skipper Tom Harley to bring up the Saints' first goal of the third term.
Turning Point: The Saints were in the contest when Stephen Milne goaled to cut the margin to just 17 points at the eight minute mark of the second term but really it had only been the Cats' bad kicking to that point that had prevented the reigning premier from already building a match-winning lead. But the Saints' hopes of scoring an upset win were quickly snuffed out when Cameron Ling, Cam Mooney and Brad Ottens booted the next three goals of the game to give the Cats a 38 point lead going into time-on of the second term.
Absolute Shocker: It made no difference to the result and indeed the Cats already had the game well under control when it occurred but the double free-kick goals that the reigning premiers received - courtesy of field umpire Shane McInerney - midway through the third term on Sunday was a real lowlight and indeed probably the worst decision of a season littered with them. The Cats led by six goals when Brad Ottens was paid a free kick for a pushing infringement against Max Hudghton. Ottens goaled but then McInerney paid a free - without the ball returning to the centre - to Steve Johnson, after he went down as if shot after the slightest of pushes from Stephen Milne. As a result the Cats goaled again and the match was all over and all McInerney achieved by paying such a free kick was ensuring that more players will stage for free-kicks in the future as the AFL umpires continue to "reward" play-acting by players on an all too regular basis, much to the frustration of all football fans.
Unsung Hero: Harry Taylor (Geelong) - The first year defender was supposed to be the weak link in the Cats' otherwise impregnable defence and his match-up against St Kilda's superstar captain Nick Riewoldt appeared to be the Saints' best hope of causing an upset win on Sunday. But instead Taylor, in his first final, rose to the occasion and completely eclipsed Riewoldt to such an extent that the competition's hottest player over the second half of the season could manage just four possessions and two marks in the first half when the game was there to be won.