Match

Geelong Cats vs Brisbane Lions

Commentary / 16 Sep 2022

Pre Game

00:00

The Lions average 37.7 points from stoppage clearances in 2022 - ranked first overall in the AFL. Brisbane also ranks first in the league for points from forward 50 stoppages, averaging 10.5 points per game from this source.

Quarter 1

00:00

Q1 is now underway.

00:50

Patrick Dangerfield kicks the first goal of the Preliminary Final for the Cats. In 17 AFL finals since 2016, Dangerfield averages 0.9 goals per game.

00:53

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)

04:03

In the first four minutes, Geelong has already taken five intercept possessions - four of which have come in their defensive midfield zone. Brisbane, meanwhile, has only managed a single intercept possession.

07:57

Brisbane has laid the first four tackles of the match so far. The Lions average two tackles fewer than their opposition through the entirety of 2022.

10:44

Lincoln McCarthy kicks the Lions' first goal of the Preliminary Final. McCarthy averages 1.4 goals per game from his 24 games in 2022 - ranked fifth for Brisbane.

14:29

The Lions have now managed eight of the last 10 inside 50s - with five coming in the last five minutes of play. During this time, the Cats have only managed two disposals inside their forward half.

19:25

Tyson Stengle kicks his first goal of the match, directly from a holding-the-ball free kick. Geelong has laid seven tackles in their forward half so far, while Brisbane has only laid three in the same zone.

22:12

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)

22:25

Patrick Dangerfield gets his second - his second from a Geelong intercept possession. The Cats have now scored 2.0 (12) from intercept possessions, while the Lions are yet to score from the same source.

23:45

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

25:56

Geelong now has the last 10 clearances of the game, however have only scored one goal from a stoppage clearance.

26:35

SCORE GOAL - Lions (Callum Ah Chee)

28:16

Cats Interchange - Tom Atkins off due to an injury.

28:32

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Isaac Smith)

32:10

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Max Holmes)

32:13

Geelong take a two-goal lead into quarter time thanks to a dominant start at ground level. The Cats lead contested possessions by 11 overall, but have gathered 15 more contested possessions in their forward half than the Lions. The Cats also have seven forward half clearances, while the Lions have registered none.

Quarter 2

00:00

Q2 is now underway.

01:56

Despite not registering a touch yet tonight, Oscar McInerney has been strong in the ruck, leading all players with 12 hitouts - with six of them to advantage.

03:07

Sam De Koning has now taken three intercept marks tonight - two of which have come in defensive 50. The Cats have taken eight overall so far, while the Lions have only taken four.

04:20

SCORE GOAL - Lions (Zac Bailey)

04:32

Zac Bailey kicks his first goal of the Preliminary Final, to bring the margin down to eight points. The Lions have now had three disposals in their forward 50 - each of them directly a goal-scoring disposal.

07:03

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)

08:17

After attending 16 centre bounces last round - his second-most for the year - Jarrod Berry has attended seven of the eight centre bounces tonight. Berry leads Brisbane for disposals (eight) and tackles (five) so far tonight.

10:35

Gary Rohan kicks a goal, stemming directly from an Eric Hipwood dropped mark. Rohan has booted multiple goals in five of his last seven games, with a season-high three coming against Collingwood in the Qualifying Final.

12:17

SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Daniel Rich)

13:43

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gryan Miers)

13:57

Geelong has now scored two goals this quarter directly from a Brisbane turnover in the Lions' defensive midfield zone. The Cats now have 4.1 (25) from intercept possessions - while the Lions have not registered a score from this source.

17:23

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

19:37

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

19:57

Tom Hawkins kicks Geelong's fifth goal from a Brisbane turnover this match. Since 2016, Hawkins averages 1.9 goals per game in his last 16 finals.

21:01

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)

21:08

Patrick Dangerfield now has 11 contested possessions - five more than any other player on the ground. This is Dangerfield's highest first-half contested possession count since Round 1.

23:21

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)

24:27

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

25:32

In the last 10 minutes, Brisbane has only managed three forward half disposals. In this time, Geelong has failed to capitalise, kicking 1.4 - with Tom Hawkins kicking two behinds from set shots.

28:01

Geelong's intercept possession dominance grew in the second term, scoring 3.3 (21) from intercept possessions for the quarter. When Geelong did win the ball, they took the game on, registering 36 handballs and 27 handball receives - 17 and 14 more than the Lions respectively.

Quarter 3

00:00

Q3 is now underway.

00:10

In the first half, the Lions did not score a single point from an intercept possession. Since 2010, the Lions' previous lowest score in the first half from turnovers was one point, achieved in Round 12, 2012 and Round 14, 2014.

01:27

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)

02:03

All-Australian Tyson Stengle kicks his second goal of the night, this time from a snap kick. Stengle kicked 22 goals from snap shots during the Home and Away season - three more than any other player in the competition.

03:11

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Max Holmes)

04:55

Lions Interchange - Cam Rayner off due to an injury.

06:19

Charlie Cameron kicks a desperately-needed goal for the Lions. Cameron has kicked two goals in six of his last seven games against Geelong.

09:16

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

09:44

Tom Hawkins continues to dominate in the forward 50. Hawkins has now taken four marks inside forward 50, while the rest of the players on the ground have combined for only five.

12:28

Lachie Neale averages 30.4 disposals in 2022 - ranked sixth in the league. So far tonight, he has only managed 10 disposals - with only two of these disposals coming from uncontested possessions.

13:06

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Isaac Smith)

15:08

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Gary Rohan)

16:40

Lions Interchange - Cam Rayner and is possibly out for the game.

17:27

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)

17:46

Cats Interchange - Max Holmes and is possibly out for the game.

18:04

Oscar McInerney continues to prove extremely effective in stoppages. McInerney has 11 hitouts to advantage - almost double Rhys Stanley's total of six - and also has an equal-game-high total of six clearances.

18:46

SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Zac Bailey)

20:20

Gryan Miers extends Geelong's lead to 50 points as he kicks his second goal of the match. Miers' mark inside 50 was Geelong's ninth for the match. The Lions, meanwhile, have only managed three.

22:09

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Joel Selwood)

22:29

Joel Selwood kicks another Geelong goal, in his record-equalling 39th final, and his record-extending 12th Preliminary final. Selwood has an even spread of nine contested possessions, six clearances, five inside 50s and six tackles for the match.

24:51

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

27:51

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)

28:15

In the last 10 minutes, Geelong has been clinical in their dominance. From 32 disposals, 91% have been effective, and from seven forward 50 entries, the Cats have scored four goals straight.

29:53

Brisbane finally manage a score from an intercept possession as Jarrod Berry kicks truly from close-range. Despite this, the Lions trail in this measure by 53 points - their worst differential of the year so far.

31:58

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)

33:15

Brisbane wilted in the third quarter as they were shut out by a clinical Geelong. Once again, the Lions could not register a clearance in their forward half. When they did have the ball forward-of-centre, their 48% kicking efficiency let them down.

Quarter 4

00:00

Q4 is now underway.

02:01

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)

03:31

Jake Kolodjashnij leads all players on the ground with 12 intercept possessions - double the next highest amount of intercept possessions (Tom Stewart and Jack Payne each have six).

04:46

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

05:12

Despite the rain coming down, Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins continue to add goals to Geelong's total. The Cats have now scored 72 points from intercept possessions - their fifth-highest total of the year.

06:30

SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Charlie Cameron)

07:40

SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Joe Daniher)

08:11

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Brad Close)

08:17

Brad Close kicks Geelong's first goal from a kick-in chain, as Tom Stewart's kick-in starts an end-to-end chain. The Cats average four points per game from this source in 2022, ranked fourth in the competition.

12:24

SCORE GOAL - Lions (Eric Hipwood)

12:57

Brisbane's low score is reflective of Geelong's defensive strengths. Since Round 15, the Cats have conceded just 63.8 points per game - ranked #1 defensively in the league.

14:14

SCORE GOAL - Lions (Eric Hipwood)

15:47

SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Zac Bailey)

17:53

Tom Hawkins leads all players on the ground with 13 score involvements, while Gryan Miers trails close behind with 10. For Brisbane, Lachie Neale leads this statistic, with just five score involvements.

20:40

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)

21:38

In Round 4, the Lions lost the inside 50 count by 18 against Geelong - their second-worst differential of the year. Brisbane currently trails in this statistic by 15 tonight.

24:14

SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Hugh McCluggage)

24:28

Despite Brisbane's stoppage strength throughout the year, Geelong leads in points from stoppages by 13 points. The Cats average five points more than their opposition from this source in 2022, ranked fifth in the league.

25:32

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Zach Guthrie)

27:07

Patrick Dangerfield's 16 contested possessions is his fourth-best total in a final. It is also the 11th time Dangerfield has collected more than 25 possessions in a final.

27:48

SCORE BEHIND - Lions (Eric Hipwood)

30:54

Geelong clinically dismantled Brisbane all over the ground to make another Grand Final. The Cats easily outscored the Lions by 59 points from intercept possessions, continuing a streak that has run since the byes at an average differential of 33.5 points. The Cats have now won 15 straight matches.