AFL ROUND 3: GEELONG V HAWTHORN; BYRNES, KELLY RETURN; SCARLETT SUSPENDED; MATCH PREVIEW AND TEAM LIST
Ben Jensen 13 April 2006

By Ben Jensen GEELONG, minus suspended two time AFL All Australian full back Matthew Scarlett take on an improved Hawthorn side at Skilled Stadium on Easter Saturday. The Cats are looking to cement their top top on the ladder, while the Hawks are looking to regain respectability after having a few shocking seasons.

Matthew Scarlett was suspended after pleading guilty to striking the Kangaroos' Leigh Harding in the first quarter on Saturday. The Cattery has learned that the attack was an ill-disguised, premeditated attack, on a player Scarlett reportedly has a long-standing grudge against.

In more positive news, injured midfielders James Kelly, who broke a shoulder bone in the NAB Cup Final win and Shannon Byrnes return to the side. Forward Charlie Gardiner misses out, while Byrnes' replacement last weekend, Andrew Mackie, retains his place in the side.

David Wojcinski remains in the VFL side, as does Nathan Ablett, who had a quiet week in the heavy loss to North Ballarat last weekend. The Bendigo Bank Cats host Richmond affiliate, the Coburg Tigers.

TIP? GEELONG BY 35 POINTS

GEELONG

IN: Byrnes, Kelly
OUT: Scarlett (suspended), Gardiner

B: Milburn, Mooney, D.Johnson
HB: Rooke, Egan, Hunt
C: Enright, Bartel, Tenace
HF: G.Ablett, Ottens, Kelly
F: Byrnes, Kingsley, Chapman
FOLL: King, Corey, Ling
INT: Blake, S.Johnson, Mackie, Slade
EM: Gardiner, Prismall, Lonergan

HAWTHORN

IN: Brown
OUT: Birchall (Damn him! He's in my dream team!)

B: Guerra, Dawson, Sewell
HB: Ladson, Jacobs, Smith
C: Young, Vandenberg, Crawford
HF: Williams, Croad, Bateman
F: Dixon, Everitt, Roughead
FOLL: Campbell, Hodge, Mitchell
INT: Clarke, Lewis, Osborne, Brown
EM: Birchall, Ries, Murphy

LAST TIME

ROUND 14 2005

Geelong cruised to a comfortable fifty-five point win over Hawthorn at Telstra Dome, returning them to the winners' list and the top three. Boosted by the return of captain Steven King and the inclusion of Paul Kouloriotis, the Cats never looked troubled by the Hawks.

Highlights from the match included a Paul Chambers goal (x2), a boundary umpire's 'mutton chops', a Steven King contested mark, and Trent "The Athlete" Croad's shorter than short shorts. But once more the win came at a cost; in just his first game of the season, forward Matthew McCarthy re-injured the same shoulder that plagued his 2004 season, while David Johnson re-injured his troublesome hamstring.

GEELONG: 5.3, 8.7, 13.12, 16.17 (113) DEFEATED
HAWTHORN: 1.4, 4.6, 5.9, 8.10 (58)

GOALS – GEELONG: Kingsley 4, Chapman 4, Chambers 2, Gardiner 2, McCarthy, Byrnes, Milburn, King
HAWTHORN: Lekkas 3, Williams 2, Mitchell, Lonie, Osbourne
BEST – GEELONG: Ling, Corey, Milburn, Kingsley, Mooney, Sanderson, Bartel, Scarlett
HAWTHORN: Lekkas, Crawford, Everitt, Greene, Brennan, Croad

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VFL

ROUND 2 - SATURDAY 15 APRIL 10:30AM
GEELONG V COBURG TIGERS
SKILLED STADIUM

(GEELONG) BENDIGO BANK CATS

B Callan S. Hunt Sheringham
HB Trenfield Spencer Gamble
C Davenport Byrne Wojcinski
HF Clarke Lonergan Gardiner
F Grima N. Ablett Stokes
R West Rudd Prismall
Int N. Butler Torney Hillier Cook Cheep Thompson R. Butler Broom

COBURG TIGERS

B Foley Silvester Oakley-Nicholls
HB Kuret Jorgensen Randello
C King Neville Meyer
HF Howat Hughes Chaffey
F Polo Pattison Limbach
R Ronaldson Krakouer Rodan
Int Stafford Carnell White Rimington Robertson Shelton Young