GEELONG GET BACK ON TRACK WITH WIN OVER CARLTON
Anthony Jensen 1 June 2008

By Anthony Jensen GEELONG players and fans alike looked keen to scrub last week's monumental loss to Collingwood out of their collective minds, and achieved this on Saturday night in a 56-point win over Carlton. Cats fans saw the long awaited return of 'gutsy' Tom Lonergan [sans one kidney], coming in for Cam Mooney who was a late withdrawal with a suspected shoulder complaint. Brad Ottens also made his first AFL appearance since his stellar performance in the 2007 Grand Final, returning from what turned out to be a severe ankle sprain incurred during the pre-season.

In the opening term Geelong had the majority of the play but was wasteful in front of goal, kicking 2 goals 7 behinds, with Lonergan one of the main culprits and looking nervous. For their part Carlton were lively, with Chris Judd racking up 8 first quarter touches before heading for the bench in the 25th minute; dreaded osteitis pubis clearly still troubling the midfielder once any treatment has ceased to have effect. On more than one occasion Cameron Cloke and Brendan Fevola linked up well, the former leading hard and creating space for the reformed spearhead to run into.

The second quarter was again closely fought in front of 46,231 fans in a chilly Telstra Dome. Fev provided one of the highlights with a one-handed mark 20m from goal in front of Matty Scarlett, and converted easily. Joel Corey's no-look handball over his head gave the Cats one of their 5 goals for the quarter, seeming to prompt the Blues to adopt 'go slow' tactics to stem the tide. Judd held the ball aloft with 7min to go in the half, as if daring the likes of hard man Max Rooke to come and get it, before conceding 30m to find a teammate capable of retaining possession.

After one short pass too many to the fumbling hands of Setanta O'Hailpin, the Cats pounced and Joel Corey waltzed into an open goal, only to find the post and again give the Blues the chance to run down the clock. Geelong took a 13-point lead into the main break that should have been much more.

While still inaccurate in front of the big sticks, Geelong dominated the third quarter, piling on 6 goals and 8 behinds to Carlton's solitary point. The 'home' side dominated all areas of the ground, none more so than Gary Ablett who had 30 touches up to 3 quarter time. Youngster Tom Hawkins proved a strong target up forward but was at times too unselfish, passing to teammates who were 2-on-1 instead of walking back and slotting it. Matthew Stokes up to this point the most dominant forward, snagging 4 majors.

Prized No. 1 draft pick Matthew Kreuzer was used only sparingly in the ruck by coach Brett Ratten, playing instead at centre half back. With Judd's limited mobility Andrew Carrazzo was forced to win a lot of his own ball and was among the best for the Blues.

The last quarter saw what we have come to expect from Steve Johnson; hard running and freakish moments of pure talent. Twice he marked deep in the forward pocket, and kicked a well timed snap off just one step, one of them nearly being marked in the crowd by the author. Darren Milburn made a rare foray into the forward 50 and kicked a solid goal from 49m out, a feat equalled and then some by Fevola who sailed one home from well outside the arc. Carlton had regained some composure and kept even throughout the quarter, but were outclassed by Geelong who came away with the 4 points to keep the Blues winless in the two teams' 7 meetings so far at the Dome.

Next week Geelong again head to Telstra Dome, this time on a Friday night to take on North Melbourne who are fighting for a spot in the top 8. Josh Hunt and Paul Chapman will both be pushing for selection but may be rested for the following week's clash against Port.

GEELONG 2.7 7.10 13.18 19.19 (133) DEFEATED
CARLTON 2.2 6.3 6.4 12.5 (77)

GOALS
GEELONG: S Johnson 5, Stokes 4, Byrnes 3, Lonergan 2, Rooke, Milburn, Mackie, Bartel, Varcoe
CARLTON: Fevola 3, Betts 2, Gibbs 2, Cloke, Judd, Scotland, Stevens, Wiggins

BEST
GEELONG: Ablett, S Johnson, Corey, Milburn, Stokes, Byrnes
CARLTON: Judd, Simpson, Thornton, Armfield

UMPIRES: Ryan, Avon, Farmer

CROWD: 46,231 at Telstra Dome (Docklands), Melbourne