Match

Brisbane Lions vs Geelong Cats

Commentary / 17 Oct 2020

Pre Game

00:00
Brisbane and Geelong have only met once in a final and that was in 2004 when the Lions last played in a Preliminary Final. The Cats have played nine Preliminary Finals in between that encounter and tonight.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
01:19
A number of early stoppages in the forward 50 of the Cats to start the game. Tom Hawkins is the No.1 player in the AFL for clearances in the forward 50 this season and is again winning these ruck contests.
03:29
Lions Interchange - Mitch Robinson off due to an injury.
03:34
Geelong has won four of the first five clearances to start the game and this stoppage ascendancy has helped the Cats to the first three inside 50 entries of the match.
04:05
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
05:29
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Charlie Cameron)
05:34
The opening goal of the game goes to Charlie Cameron and the Lions. Brisbane has been fast starters this season and is the No.1 ranked team in the opening ten minutes of games in 2020.
06:24
Charlie Cameron kicked only one goal when these teams met in Round 6 but kicked five goals in each of his two previous games against the Cats, including the 2017 Preliminary Final when he was playing for Adelaide.
07:40
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
08:04
Geelong scored 1.8 from set shots in its final against Port Adelaide before scoring 12.2 from set shots last week against Collingwood. The Cats have missed both of their set shots at goal to start the game tonight.
11:27
Geelong has an early 4-0 lead in forward half intercepts with the goal to Brandan Parfitt coming from this source. Parfitt has contributed both offensively and defensively this year for the Cats averaging 5.8 tackles, which is ranked fourth in the AFL.
16:16
An accurate set shot at goal from Tom Hawkins capped a slick passage of play from the Cats starting with a clearance in the defensive 50. Since Round 12, the Cats have averaged 30 points per game from chains started in their defensive half (ranked No.1).
18:15
The Cats now have a 10-4 edge in clearances with the Mitch Duncan contributing two of these. Duncan has been used in a central midfield role again tonight with Patrick Dangerfield playing as a forward.
20:58
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Gary Ablett)
21:09
The Cats now lead 8-0 in clearances from boundary throw-ins with two of their early scores coming from this source.
22:26
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rhys Stanley)
22:38
Geelong has a massive 27-10 advantage in groundballs which is very similar to how it dismantled Brisbane in Q3 of Round 6 when these teams last met.
24:41
A crucial goal for the Lions through Charlie Cameron after the Cats had dominated much of this opening quarter. Both of the goals to Brisbane have been launched by intercepts in the defensive half. The Lions average 15 points per game from this source.
26:12
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
26:27
A strong first quarter from the Cats, with a pair of crafty goals from Charlie Cameron keeping the Lions in touch. Geelong was dominant at stoppages, winning clearances 15-4 and converted this into a 15-5 inside 50 count.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:12
Joel Selwood is playing in his tenth Preliminary Final tonight which is the most of any player in V/AFL history. The Cat captain did not have a disposal in the opening quarter, which is the first time in his career that this has happened.
02:48
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
03:08
The Cats continue to dominate early in the second quarter, with Gary Ablett providing the assist on the Hawkins goal. Ablett has already had five disposals in the forward 50 and four score involvements in an ominous start to the game.
06:16
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gary Rohan)
06:23
Geelong is now converting its stoppage dominance on to the scoreboard. The Cats lead the clearances 18-7 and more importantly points scored from stoppages 21-0.
08:00
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Eric Hipwood)
08:08
An important goal to the Lions against the flow of play and it came following a centre bounce clearance. Geelong has conceded 11 points per game from centre bounce clearances across the season (ranked last).
11:22
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Dayne Zorko)
11:32
Dayne Zorko has recorded a career-low shot at goal accuracy of only 30 percent this season and has missed his first shot at goal tonight.
13:28
An excellent rundown tackle from Brandan Parfitt who is having another strong game for the Cats thwarted a Brisbane surge. Parfitt currently leads all Cats for both disposals (9) and tackles (4).
15:15
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Daniel Rich)
15:52
In the second quarter, the Lions lead the contested possession count 26-16 and clearances 9-3 in a major improvement on their first-quarter output.
17:45
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Sam Menegola)
18:19
The Cats lead 14-5 in midfield intercepts, but the Lions have a 13-9 edge in points scored from these intercepts.
18:38
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
21:16
Brisbane has a 5-0 edge in contested marks tonight. Geelong is ranked second in contested mark differential this season.
22:13
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Gryan Miers)
23:43
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Lachie Neale)
24:04
An excellent long-range goal from Lachie Neale who has been prolific this quarter. Neale has won seven contested possessions and four clearances tonight (all in this quarter).
25:31
Lions Interchange - Daniel McStay off due to the blood rule.
27:12
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Zac Bailey)
27:17
Geelong would be frustrated that it has not been able to convert a 26-15 lead in inside 50 entries into a significant lead. The Cats have recorded a goal from 25 percent of their inside 50 entries this season (ranked No.1).

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:23
Geelong lost the Preliminary Final last year after leading at half time by 21 points. Prior to that game, the Cats had won their previous 12 finals when leading at half time.
01:48
When these teams met earlier in the season, it was Brisbane who had scored a wasteful 4.8.(32) to half time before Geelong kicked seven unanswered goals in the third quarter.
02:29
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jack Henry)
02:40
Another score from a stoppage for the Cats to start the third quarter. Geelong leads 28-7 in points scored from stoppages, despite clearances now being more even (22-18).
04:35
The Cats recorded 17 marks in the forward 50 last week against the Magpies, which is their second-most in any game this season. Geelong has a 7-1 lead in forward 50 marks tonight, with three of these marks taken by Tom Hawkins.
04:54
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Daniel McStay)
06:35
Geelong has allowed its opposition to score from only four percent of defensive 50 chains this season (ranked No.1). Tonight the Lions have only the one score from 23 defensive 50 chains, increasing the importance of winning clearances around the ground.
09:38
The Lions have recorded 25 points per game from forward half intercept possessions this season (ranked No.1). Tonight Brisbane has scored only two points from this source with the Cats able to play the game predominantly in their forward half.
11:51
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gary Ablett)
14:45
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Cam Rayner)
15:01
The last two goals in the game have both come following intercepts in the defensive midfield. Brisbane has now scored 3.1.(19) from seven such intercepts and average ten points per game from this source.
16:12
A brilliant long-range goal from Gary Ablett who has been dangerous all night. This was the first centre bounce clearance goal of the night for Geelong and extends its lead in scores from stoppages to 34-7.
18:37
When these teams last met in a Preliminary Final in 2004, Gary Ablett had 13 disposals and kicked two goals. Ablett has contributed 11 disposals and two goals tonight.
19:30
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Eric Hipwood)
21:47
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Gary Ablett)
24:05
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
25:46
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Mark Blicavs)
25:55
Geelong has won nine clearances in its forward 50 tonight, which is a season-high for the Cats, and has scored 1.4.(10) from these opportunities. The Cats average three such clearances per game.
27:32
A strong third quarter from the Cats who again edged the Lions in contested possessions (28-22) and recorded kicking efficiency of 70 percent compared to their opponents 49 percent.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:20
The last time that the Lions came from 18 points or more behind at three-quarter time to win at the Gabba was in 2013, also against Geelong, when trailing by 38 points.
01:19
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gryan Miers)
01:58
A crucial early goal to the Cats and it came following a forward half intercept. Geelong leads 14-7 in forward half intercepts and 13-3 in points scored from this source. Brisbane is the No.1 ranked team at scoring from forward half intercepts.
03:16
SCORE GOAL - Lions (Lachie Neale)
03:43
A second long-range goal for Lachie Neale and a second goal of the night to the Lions to come from a centre bounce clearance. Neale is the top-ranked player on the ground for contested possessions, clearances and disposals.
08:57
SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Ryan Lester)
09:20
Brisbane has scored 1.3 and not scored with another attempt from shots 15-30 metres from goal.
10:34
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Zach Tuohy)
10:44
The missed set shot from Ryan Lester has been compounded with the Cats taking the ball the length of the ground from the kick-in to score a goal. This was the first score of the night to either team to come from a chain started with a kick-in.
13:47
Sam Simpson has again impressed for the Cats. Simpson has won a team-high six clearances despite not attending one centre bounce. He has also won a team-high eight contested possessions and contributed five score involvements.
16:02
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
16:19
All ten disposals for Tom Hawkins tonight have been in the forward 50. Hawkins has been involved in seven scores, taken four forward 50 marks, and won two clearances in another strong performance against a top-quality opponent.
16:39
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Sam Menegola)
17:53
Lions Interchange - Grant Birchall and is possibly out for the game.
18:39
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
18:48
While Geelong leads the inside 50 count 44-32, it has major advantages in forward 50 marks (13-4) and forward 50 disposals (48-28).
20:41
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gary Rohan)
21:39
Gary Ablett will get to play his final game in a Grand Final. Ablett is the No.1 ranked player this century for all of total disposals, contested possessions, hard ball gets, handballs, inside 50s, score assists, score involvements along with AFLCA and Brownlow medal votes.
22:59
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Gary Rohan)
23:37
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
24:28
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gary Rohan)
24:34
An emphatic win by the Cats who progress to the Grand Final. Geelong won both contested possession (118-102) and uncontested possession (177-112), and was more effective at scoring from stoppages (38-13).