Geelong has taken care of an undermanned Richmond outfit to win by 38 points in front of an empty MCG on Sunday.
The Cats led from effectively start to finish, holding the Tigers at bay across the four quarters.
Ultimately, the result came down to what both sides did when momentum was in their favour.
For Geelong, they put five goals on in the back end of the second-term when they had the run of play, while Richmond weren’t able to capitalise on the control they found in the third quarter.
The Cats’ win came off the back of inside 50 dominance with key talls Tom Hawkins (four goals) and Esava Ratugolea (four goals) combining to dominate in the air against an understrength Richmond backline.
For the Tigers, they’d be happy to see young guns Jack Ross (25 disposals), Daniel Rioli (19 disposals) and Rhyan Mansell (17 disposals) finding plenty of the ball.
Geelong captain Joel Selwood was subbed out of the match in the third quarter with a corked thigh, while Richmond’s injury sub went unused.
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Complete statistical dominance
Geelong won this game pretty comfortably as all aspects of their game clicked reasonably well.
With the scoreboard margin clearly in their favour, looking to key statistics it’s pretty obvious to see why that happened to be the case.
The Cats bettered the Tigers in overall disposals (386 to 332), disposal efficiency (73% to 71%), contested possessions (143 to 116), uncontested possessions (245 to 2012), marks (98 to 79), marks inside 50 (14 to eight), clearances (42 to 34) and shots at goal (20 to 17).
In fact, the only key stats they didn’t win, were tackles and clangers, with Richmond having more in both categories.
This Geelong side is genuinely starting to click all over the park, it’s a frightening sign for opposition clubs.
Chris Scott has a good selection dilemma
Cats forward Esava Ratugolea had easily his best game of the season in this game, kicking four goals in a strong display.
While there’s no way he keeps Jeremy Cameron out of the team once he returns from a hamstring injury, Chris Scott will need to genuinely consider playing a three-pronged tall line-up.
The combination of Hawkins, Cameron and Gary Rohan worked beautifully when all three were fit, but Ratugolea’s recent form suggests he deserves his spot in the side.
Scott will have to decide between structure and picking players based off form alone.
With just four rounds remaining, it’s not a bad issue to have.
What’s next?
Geelong face North Melbourne in Hobart next Saturday while Richmond head west to face Fremantle next Sunday.
FULL SCORE
Geelong: 3.0, 8.3, 10.3, 15.5. (95)
Richmond: 1.2, 1.4, 3.7, 8.9. (57)
GOALS
Geelong: Hawkins 4, Ratugolea 3, Rohan, Close, Dangerfield, Miers, Narkle, Parfitt, Stanley
Richmond: Riewoldt 2, Aarts 2, Castagna, Lynch, Cotchin, Lambert
BEST
Geelong: Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Hawkins, Cam Guthrie, Tom Stewart, Zach Tuohy, Isaac Smith
Richmond : Jayden Short, Jack Ross, Toby Nankervis, Trent Cotchin, Daniel Rioli
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