The Geelong Cats sit in second place on the Peter Jackson VFL ladder after a big Round 6 win over Bendigo Gold at the Queen Elizabeth Oval on Friday night as Peter Shanahan reports.
A large crowd witnessed a disappointing display by the local side as Geelong built on an explosive start to run away with an 86-point win.
Mitch Brown was the name on everybody’s lips following his nine goal haul but several other Cats also made statements in the cool, still conditions.
Jonathan Simpkin was the dominant midfielder on the ground, with 15 hard-ball-getsamong his 36 possessions, while Orren Stephenson accumulated 55 hit outs and kicked two goals.
Simpkin attacked the stoppages from the first bounce and emerged with the ball more often than not.
After the game Geelong Coach Matthew Knights applauded Simpkin’s all-round performance.
‘His ball-winning on the inside and then when it was his turn to run and carry on the outside he was really dynamic. Also he was closing space well with tackles.
“It’s probably the most pleased I’ve been with Simpkin over the last three or four weeks,’ Knights said.
Stephenson controlled the air and Simpkin, Troy Selwood and Shannon Byrnes led the midfield supremacy over their Bendigo Gold counterparts.
Bendigo’s Rick Ladson and Jacob Thompson (4 goals) showed some resistance but Geelong had winners all over the ground and the result was never in question.
Brown’s performance gave him the record for the most goals in a Peter Jackson VFL game by a Geelong player.
The record was previously shared by Ben Johnson, Scott Simpson and Jason Davenport. The Bendigo defenders were powerless to stop Brown as he kicked goals from contested marks, on the lead, from snapshots and one miraculous kick off the ground from the boundary line.
Geelong’s kicking for goal was a feature of their performance, with Brown, Josh Walker (4 goals) and Shane Kersten (3) all booting long goals from various angles.
Geelong Coach Matthew Knights and Captain Troy Selwood accepted the Bendigo Bank Cup after the victory.
Geelong hosts fourth-placed Casey Scorpions in an AFL curtain-raiser next Saturday at Simonds Stadium at 10am, while Bendigo plays Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday at 2pm.
Photo: Arj Giese
Last Modified on 01/05/2012 17:54