Troy Selwood paced the three quarter-time huddle, pondered his thoughts then simply, yet poignantly, said to the rest of the playing group "thrive on this."
Geelong's win over preseason premiership favourites Williamstown on Easter Sunday marks itself as one of the first major statements of the 2012 Peter Jackson VFL season as Kane Hunkin reports.
In its own assertive and affirming way, the Cats’ ability to knock off last year's grand finalists is significant. It wasn't a matter of luck, nor was it a question of sheer good fortune, Geelong beat Williamstown with a structure and dare that is going to worry more than just the Seagulls in 2012.
For the second consecutive year the two sides squared off at Torquay's Spring Creek Reserve over the Easter Weekend. Typical of the Peninsula surroundings, the wind and changing conditions proved decisive. Despite leading by as many as eight goals, Geelong would have to survive a fight-back from last year's runners-up to eventually post a seven point win and maintain their unblemished start to the year.
George Horlin-Smith continued his run of good form for the victors, playing in the midfield, with the second year player lively through the middle and when pushing forward. Returning from suspension, Josh Walker's (two goals) strong contested marks imposed in the absence of fellow key-position team mate Mitch Brown.
After the game, Matthew Knights touched on Horlin-Smith's productive start to the season, noting his influence around the ground.
"George has started the season really well. He had a really good all round game last week [against Collingwood] and again I thought he was really clean around the stoppages and his disposal was great again [too]," Knights said.
Arguably though, the most striking aspect of Geelong's current VFL make-up, evident in the first two rounds, is the run and carry generated from the half-back line. Jed Bews, Tom Maas and Jordan Murdoch all provided speed through the lines over the afternoon.
Additionally, Knights in his second game as Geelong's VFL coach, was again buoyed by the endeavour of his side, noting their ability to start the game off well.
"The first half was really pleasing. I thought we attacked really well and put the ball into nice spots in our forward line. And [I] thought our defenders were really proactive in their starting points and gave us great rebound off half back," he said.
Geelong, with an imposing 23 scoring shots to seven, led by an almost modest 45 points at the main change. However, an experienced Seagulls side, with the agency of a strong breeze bridged the gap to just five points courtesy of a seven goal to one third term.
"We were just a bit untidy in a couple of contests and we didn't really man the mark as diligently as we could. They were playing on at all costs [and] we didn't slow their ball movement. That's probably the fundamental thing in the third quarter, we couldn't curtail their running or ball movement," Knights said.
Perhaps though, the symbolism of the day was reserved and best summed up in the individual milestone of Geelong midfielder Ben Raidme, celebrating his 50th game. On a day which showcased Peter Jackson VFL football at its best, Raidme, a product of both Torquay and the Geelong region led the victorious team off the ground.
Last Modified on 12/04/2012 16:45