Match

Geelong Cats vs St Kilda

Commentary / 05 Aug 2022

Pre Game

00:00
The Saints have lost their last 10 games at GMHBA Stadium, failing to reach 50 points in any of their last three games.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
02:13
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Sinclair)
02:27
Jack Sinclair has snuck forward early from his starting half-back position to kick the opening goal of the game. Sinclair has won 46 groundballs in defensive 50 this season - the second-most of any player in the competition.
05:03
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Zach Tuohy)
05:32
Geelong's first goal of the match has been sourced from a boundary throw-in clearance inside their forward 50. The Cats have won four of the first six clearances of the game.
07:12
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
09:32
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Zach Tuohy)
11:27
Geelong's small forwards have been damaging early, with the Cats leading forward half groundballs eight to two currently. The Cats equaled the Bulldogs in groundballs won in this zone last round and trailed Port Adelaide by 16 in round 19.
12:32
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Brad Close)
15:10
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
16:21
Geelong has dominated territory, generating the last nine inside 50s. 86% of the play in the last 10 minutes has been played in Geelong's forward half.
18:25
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
20:05
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
20:37
Geelong's contested work has been on display in this first term with the Cats winning 12 more contested possessions than the Saints in the opening 20 minutes of the match. St Kilda has won the contested possession count in their four previous matches before tonight.
22:44
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
23:15
Geelong has taken seven marks inside 50 compared to just the one for the Saints. St Kilda has only conceded more than five marks inside 50 to their opposition in a quarter once this season.
24:32
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
26:22
Zach Tuohy has had a major impact on the scoreboard this quarter for the Cats, recording five score involvements from his six disposals. Tuohy's season-high score involvements this year is nine.
26:28
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jack Henry)
28:42
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mason Wood)
31:07
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Mitch Duncan)
31:11
Geelong's 40 points at quarter-time is their highest-scoring first quarter at GMHBA Stadium in their last 25 matches at this venue (Round 6, 2019 v West Coast).

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
05:19
St Kilda is the No. 1 marking team this season, averaging 102 marks per season - the only team with an average over 100. They were unable to get their marking game going in the first quarter taking just the 14 for the term. They have already taken eight in the first five minutes of this second term, playing with more control when in possession of the ball.
08:41
A strong start to the quarter for the Saints, generating the first six inside 50s for the term and leading clearances five to one. St Kilda had the ball in their forward half for seven and a half minutes in the opening term, but are already up to six minutes this quarter.
12:30
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Max King)
13:15
St Kilda's work at stoppages has been noticeable in the second quarter. They have won seven of the first 10 clearances in the quarter, and they have now scored three goals from this source. The Saints scored three goals for the entire match from stoppages last round against the Hawks.
13:58
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Brad Close)
16:11
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Isaac Smith)
17:47
Following the late out of Jon Ceglar pre-match, Rhys Stanley has played an important role for the Cats against his former side. Stanley has won a game-high four clearances and has laid an equal game-high four tackles.
18:22
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Steele)
21:31
St Kilda has been very accurate with their set shots tonight, scoring 6.0 (36) from these shot types. Conversely, Geelong has scored a wasteful 6.5 (41) from their respective set shots.
22:41
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Mason Wood)
24:24
Max King entered round 21 as the most targeted player inside 50. King has been targeted inside 50 just once tonight by the Saints from their 19 kicks inside 50.
27:30
St Kilda has all the momentum late in the second quarter, scoring four goals to one for the term. They have got their marking game up and going after a quiet first quarter, currently having taken the last 17 marks in the game.
29:23
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
30:25
Geelong was restricted to just five inside 50s in the second quarter after recording 16 in the first term. The Saints generated 10 more inside 50s in the second quarter, and enjoyed 60% of the play being held in their forward half for the term.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
02:05
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
02:42
Geelong has scored six goals sourced from intercepts, leading the Saints by 26 points from this source. Geelong has outscored its opponents from intercept possessions in all seven games at GMHBA Stadium this season by 29.2 points per game.
03:56
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Ben Long)
06:05
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
06:17
Following a team-high 32 pressure acts last round against the Bulldogs, Tom Atkins again leads this stat for the Cats tonight with 19. He has laid an equal team-high five tackles at 100% efficiency.
09:03
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Isaac Smith)
10:10
Geelong has converted 46.6% of their inside 50s into scores this season, the highest efficiency in the league. They have been on fire tonight, generating a score from 62% of their entries. Their best result in any game this season was back in Round 1 vs Essendon with a conversion of 60%.
14:31
St Kilda is controlling the stoppages in this quarter, but has been unable to capitalise on this dominance on the scoreboard. The Saints lead clearances six to one, including all four centre clearances this term. Jack Steele leads the way for his side with five clearances.
15:41
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Max Holmes)
17:41
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Max Holmes)
18:00
Geelong scored eight unanswered goals in their third quarter last round against the Bulldogs from 18 inside 50s. They have currently scored four unanswered goals from nine inside 50s this quarter.
18:10
Saints Interchange - Dan Hannebery off due to an injury.
20:12
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Gryan Miers)
22:32
Jake Kolodjashnij has won a game-high 10 intercept possessions which equals his career-best result for this stat. He has also been involved in six unique scoring chains, currently two off his career-best of eight.
24:05
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
25:50
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
28:05
Geelong has now taken 15 marks inside 50, matching their season average where they rank No. 1. Tom Hawkins has now taken 77 marks inside 50 this season, 13 more than any other player.
29:19
Brandon Parfitt was one of Geelong's best performers in the third quarter, winning an equal-team high eight disposals at 63% efficiency. Parfitt won four of Geelong's seven clearances in the quarter, and also won more contested possessions than any other player with six.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:27
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Isaac Smith)
00:40
An early goal for the Cats sourced from a centre bounce clearance, their first centre clearance won in the second half. The Cats trail centre clearances 13 to eight tonight, however, have scored three goals from their eight clearances whilst holding the Saints goalless from their 13.
03:43
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Sam Menegola)
05:06
Geelong has been a strong fourth-quarter team this season, only losing four of these terms in 2022. Only Sydney has lost fewer fourth quarters this season.
07:35
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
08:00
The Cats have scored their first goal of the match from a scoring chain originating in their defensive 50. The Cats have been the fourth-highest scoring team from defensive 50 launches this season, averaging over 15 points per match from this zone.
09:50
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Brad Close)
10:30
Brad Close has kicked his first goal of the match from his third shot at goal for the night. Close has been Geelong's best tackler inside forward 50, laying 26 for the season - six more than any other Geelong player.
14:07
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Sam Menegola)
14:30
Since halftime, Geelong has scored eight unanswered goals from 14 more inside 50s, and has amassed 40 more uncontested possessions.
16:46
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
17:25
Jack Higgins has finally scored the first goal of the second half for St Kilda, just their third goal of the match sourced from an intercept. The Saints have currently scored 20 points from turnovers, their equal-lowest result of the season.
19:22
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Marcus Windhager)
20:53
Brad Crouch has been a positive for the Saints tonight, leading his team in disposals (25) and tackles (nine) to go with his 10 contested possessions. Crouch finished with a team-high 36 disposals, 18 contested possessions and 10 score involvements against the Cats in Round 9 this season.
20:57
Saints Interchange - Josh Battle and is possibly out for the game.
27:38
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Tim Membrey)
27:56
A concern for the Saints is their inability to score enough against the best sides this season, scoring just 59 points tonight. The Saints are averaging 68.4 points against top-eight teams – ranked 15th and the fewest of any current top-eight side.
30:38
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Ben Long)
30:48
Geelong has extended their winning streak at GMHBA Stadium against St Kilda to 11 wins. The Cats dominated off turnover, outscoring the Saints by 50 points from this source.