The tone was set early and was certainly aided by Geelong’s first-quarter inaccuracy, but it was clear right from the outset that the Tigers had come to play.
And Geelong knew they were in for a dogfight at the MCG.
Prior to their Round Nine clash, it would have been easy to write the Tigers off. With just two wins from their first eight rounds (and a draw, yes), they hardly had any form to hang their hats on. A win last week over the lowly West Coast Eagles was handy, but hardly the type of win to inspire the masses.
Conversely, Geelong were looking like a million bucks. Even with several injuries, the Cats still possessed a one-two punch that is unrivalled in the last decade, and with wins over Sydney, Essendon, and Adelaide in the last three weeks, were rightful favourites heading in.
Hawkins v Balta, Ratugolea v Riewoldt, Dusty, Cotchin, Bolton, Cameron, Stewart, Smith… there was plenty to look forward to in this one, and the Mongrel covers it all as part of our Big Questions.
Let’s jump on in…
Oh, what the hell? A Mongrel paywall? Yep, I own this site and believe my work is worth twenty cents per day. If you don’t, that’s fine. Sometimes, I open the reviews up for all after a while and sometimes I don’t. It’s potluck, really. You could join us and access the members’ game reviews, as well as columns like the Wingman of the Year, Recruit of the Year, and other nonsensical stuff HB comes up with each week?
