Geelong has continued its undefeated start to the season with a hard fought 32-point win over Sandringham. It was a big day for Cats fans with Daniel Menzel returning to the field for the first time since suffering his second ACL injury in June last year. The acknowledgement of his struggle and the admiration of his return were made obvious by the large crowd at Simonds Stadium as Jane Cherry reports.
The Zebras dominated early with Tom Curren scoring the first goal of the match. Geelong struggled to find a target up forward and despite keeping the ball trapped up forward in the second half of the term, they wasted opportunities in front of goal scoring three behinds in a row. Sandringham, kicking with perfect accuracy, scored another just before the quarter time break making it five straight and giving them a 13-point lead.
The second term saw Sandringham’s defense working overtime as the majority of play was in Geelong’s forward half. The Cats, unable to capitalize on their control of the play, scored 3.8 for the quarter but still managed to get within a point before half time.
The pressure mounted in the third term with Sandringham starting strongly. Trent Dennis-Lane, a stand out for the Zebras, scored his third early in the quarter. Menzel’s first shot on goal scored only a point but he still received cheers from the Cats fans. The Zebras third goal for the term came from Hamish Shepheard running from half back to extend their lead to 20. A big leaping mark from Adam Cockie (pictured) had even the Cats fans applauding.
The Zebras defense successfully intercepted the majority of the incoming kicks until a strong mark by Piers Flanagan, who handballed off to the returning Josh Hunt, kicked his first for Geelong. This was quickly followed by a running goal to Menzel which put the Cats in front. A 50 metre penalty awarded to Geelong right on the siren had them leading by 11 points at the final change.
Joel Hamling kicked the first of the final term for Geelong but with a quick reply by Kenny Ong on debut the margin was brought back to 10 points. Two free kicks and two misses in front of goal cost the Cats the opportunity to put the game out of reach for the Zebras early in the term. Hamling’s fifth came from a strong mark at the top of the goal square. A goal for the Zebras by Tom Curren brought the margin back to 23 but the reply from George Horlin-Smith put the game out of reach for the Zebras.
The Cats, victors by 32 points, were led from the ground by Daniel Menzel to a great cheer from the crowd. Geelong 15.21.111 defeated Sandringham 12.7.79.
Photos: Dave Savell & Arj Giese
Last Modified on 17/04/2013 15:39