15/06/2008 4:47 PM
Paul Gough at Skilled Stadium
Geelong has made light of the absence of its champion defender Matthew Scarlett to wreak yet more humiliation on Port Adelaide on Sunday.
On a day when Port seemed happier 'head-hunting' than playing football, the Cats all but ended the Power's finals hopes with a 15.18 (108) to 7.7 (49) victory at Skilled Stadium.
Port might have been the last team to beat the all-conquering reigning premiers on their home turf - in Round 21 last year - but this match was far more reminiscent of last year's lop-sided grand final when the Cats handed Port a record 119-point hiding.
Indeed if not for the efforts of Daniel Motlop - who kicked three goals - and some rare inaccuracy from star Cats stars Gary Ablett and Cameron Mooney, who kicked 1.6 between them, the Cats' winning margin on Sunday would have been more like that last Saturday in September last year.
The chasm between these two sides is as wide as ever and while the Cats - who again join Hawthorn on top of the ladder with 11 wins from 12 games after this win - can look forward to another finals campaign with confidence, Port is a team heading nowhere.
The Power's approach on Sunday seemed all wrong from the outset as they seemed more intent on decking Geelong players after they had disposed of the ball than on winning the hard ball themselves, with Ablett in particular coming in for heavy treatment.
Yet it was Geelong's reigning Norm Smith Medalist Steve Johnson who got himself reported for making contact with his head to the face of Port's Troy Chaplin in the second quarter.
But it was certainly no 'Liverpool kiss' and it would be a major surprise if the AFL match review panel took more than 10 seconds to throw out the charge on Monday.
But Motlop, who was the only shining light on a dismal day for the Power, could find himself in trouble for an off-the-ball tangle with Geelong defender Harry Taylor just before three-quarter-time.
The game was marred by off-the-ball scuffles all day but after a competitive opening term Port offered little and barely even tested a Cats' defence that should have been vulnerable without both Scarlett and long-term casualty Matthew Egan.
But Port's tally of 49 points for the game was only just above what they kicked in last year's grand final (44 points) and represented the least number of points the Cats have conceded in a game this season.
And with the Cats dominating the midfield through their usual suspects in the inspirational Joel Selwood plus consistent trio Ablett, Cameron Ling and Joel Corey - it was only a matter of time before the Cats' attack broke the shackles with Paul Chapman starring with four goals - including two in the second term when the Cats broke the game open - as Port's big name players such as Warren Tredrea, the Cornes brothers and the Burgoyne boys were hardly sighted.
GEELONG: 3.5, 7.9, 13.14, 15.18 (108)
PORT ADELAIDE: 2.2, 3.6, 4.6, 7.7 (49)
GOALS: Geelong: Chapman 4, Johnson 2, Mackie, Varcoe, Lonergan, Stokes, Ablett, Prismall, Rooke, Ling, Blake
Port Adelaide: Motlop 3, Rodan 2, Tredrea, S Burgoyne
BEST: Geelong: Selwood, Ablett, Mackie, Chapman, Prismall, Ling, Corey, Harley, Taylor, Milburn
Port Adelaide: Motlop, Salopek, Carlile, Rodan, Cassisi
INJURIES: Geelong: Milburn