Match

Geelong Cats vs St Kilda

Commentary / 20 Jul 2025

Pre Game

00:00
The Cats have won their last 12 matches against St Kilda at this venue, dating back to Round 2, 2000, with an average winning margin of 45 points.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
01:45
St Kilda is ranked last for intercept mark differential this season and has conceded two early such marks to Geelong. The Saints have taken more intercept marks than their opposition in only two games this year.
03:37
Geelong has won eight of the nine games this season when it has taken more marks than its opposition. The Cats have an early 7-1 lead in this measure.
06:11
The Saints have won the first five clearances of the game, with two of these won by Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who has started in the midfield today for St Kilda.
07:12
The first goal of the game for Geelong came from a chain started with a defensive half intercept. The Cats average 36.5 points per game from defensive half chains (ranked fourth).
09:35
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jack Martin)
09:47
The second goal for the Cats followed a forward half intercept. Geelong now leads intercept marks 5-1 and averages 30.6 points per game from forward half intercepts (ranked third).
13:13
The Saints have an early 9-1 lead in hard ball gets which is driving their edge in contested possessions (19-11). Geelong leads 9-5 in loose ball gets and these are the top-two ranked teams for this measure.
14:17
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Shaun Mannagh)
14:28
A crafty snap from Shaun Mannagh has given the Cats the first three goals of the game and their first from a stoppage. Mannagh is rated elite this season for contested possessions, pressure and score involvements.
19:53
A pair of early goals now for Shaun Mannagh, with Jack Martin providing the score assist. Martin has made an eye-catching start to this game with three marks in the forward 50, two goal assists and one goal.
22:03
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera)
23:07
Gryan Miers has attended four centre bounces for the Cats today. Miers had not attended a centre bounce this season before this game.
23:33
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)
24:11
Saints Interchange - Bradley Hill off due to the blood rule.
24:23
Geelong is controlling the ball with uncontested marks (29-13) and has now kicked the first five goals. St Kilda kicked six of the first seven goals when these teams met earlier in the season.
26:37
Geelong has an early 12-3 lead in forward 50 tackles, but the first goal of the game for St Kilda has come from this source. The Cats are the No.1 ranked team in this measure, averaging 14.2 per game.
29:28
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
30:46
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
31:04
Five of the six goals for the Cats have come from defensive half chains. Geelong averages 21 points per game from defensive midfield chains and has already scored four goals from this source.
32:37
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mitch Owens)
32:59
St Kilda leads forward half intercepts 9-3 and has kicked both of its goals from this source. The Saints are ranked in the bottom-4 at generating such intercepts this season.
35:13
Geelong conceded the clearances to St Kilda (6-16) in the opening quarter but displayed superior ball movement with 77 per cent kicking efficiency (compared to 55 per cent for the Saints). This is the highest kicking efficiency the Cats have recorded this season in an opening quarter.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:14
Shaun Mannagh was the No.1 rated player in the opening quarter. Mannagh contributed six disposals at 100 per cent efficiency, and his three score involvements included a pair of goals.
01:54
Ross Lyon-coached teams have never won when trailing by 22 points or more at the first break. Today is only the second time this season that the Cats have kicked six goals in an opening quarter.
02:08
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Max Heath)
04:14
Max Holmes has already recorded 442 metres gained for the Cats. No other player on the ground has more than 200 metres gained.
05:31
A brilliant dribble goal from Mason Wood makes it three of the last four goals to the Saints. Despite dominating the clearances, the entire score for St Kilda has come from turnovers.
06:56
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
07:14
A typically classy goal from Jeremy Cameron has answered the goal from Mason Wood. Despite trailing 10-16 in clearances, Geelong has kicked the only three goals to come from stoppages.
08:53
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mitch Owens)
09:24
Mitch Owens now has two goals among his four score involvements and is again providing an option in the forward 50 for the Saints. His last goal was the first of the game for the Saints to come from a stoppage.
11:07
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jack Martin)
11:34
A second goal following a fourth mark in the forward 50 from Jack Martin. The last time that Martin kicked multiple goals and contributed multiple goal assists was Round 5, 2022.
13:13
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
13:30
While Geelong has been the more accurate team, all of its goals have come from shots within 40 metres from goal. St Kilda has had four scores that have come from further than 40 metres from goal.
13:55
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
15:03
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has already recorded a career-high six clearances for the Saints, with three of these coming from centre bounce. The versatile Saint has attended 12 centre bounces today.
16:09
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
17:06
Geelong now holds a 42-9 lead in points scored from defensive half chains following the third goal from Jeremy Cameron. The former Giant is averaging more than three goals per game this season for the first time as a Cat.
19:07
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)
23:14
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
23:35
St Kilda leads 4-1 for crumbs won in its forward 50, and the last of these by Jack Higgins resulted in his second goal of the game. The two teams have now kicked a combined 6.0 from snaps.
25:27
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Brad Close)
26:54
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Liam Henry)
27:31
Geelong lost the clearances by 12 last week against the Giants, which is its worst differential this year. It was also outscored by 18 points from clearances (its worst result in 2025). The Saints lead the clearances 20-15 today, but the Cats are ahead 25-7 in points scored from stoppages.
29:31
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mason Wood)
29:55
St Kilda has kicked seven of the last 11 goals following the accurate set shot from Mason Wood. The Saints now lead 33-8 in points scored from forward half chains.
33:00
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
33:46
Jeremy Cameron had kicked nine goals in his last six games against the Saints before today. Cameron has kicked four goals in the first half today, and is now the No.1 rated player on the ground.
34:04
St Kilda was able to control the ball better in the second quarter with 28-15 uncontested marks, but conceded another three goals from defensive half chains by the Cats. This is only the second time in the last ten years that Geelong has kicked eight goals to the main break from defensive half chains.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:07
Geelong is the No.1 ranked team during the time-on period of quarters this season. However, in the first half today, St Kilda won this period 28-19.
01:31
Geelong now has an 11-4 lead in intercept marks, and Tom Stewart has taken four of these. The Cats have launched a number of counterattacks from these marks and average 16.2 such marks per game.
02:12
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
03:26
Geelong now leads forward 50 tackles 16-5, with the last of these resulting in a goal from Tyson Stengle.
03:50
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
05:19
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Shaun Mannagh)
05:58
Since quarter time, the Saints have recorded a pressure rating of 200 and partly due to this have restricted the uncontested marks of the Cats (St Kilda leads 34-16 in this measure since the first break).
06:43
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Mitch Owens)
08:27
Tom Stewart is averaging 21.7 disposals, 9.5 marks, and a career-high kicking efficiency of 86.2 per cent at this venue in 2025. Stewart has 100 per cent efficiency from his ten disposals today and has won a game-high seven intercepts.
09:39
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
09:47
Since Round 15, the Cats have lost the forward 50 groundball gets by eight per game (ranked last). Today, Geelong trails 9-14 for groundballs in its forward 50.
10:57
Since Round 15, the Saints have recorded a tackle efficiency of 71.4 per cent (ranked No.1). St Kilda has again stuck 71 per cent of its tackle attempts today, compared to 67 per cent for Geelong.
12:07
The Saints have scored 24.1 points per game from defensive midfield chains this season (ranked last). Geelong leads 36-7 in points scored from this zone today.
12:11
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Oliver Dempsey)
12:47
Geelong has finally kicked a goal from a forward half stoppage. There have been 28 such stoppages today, and Ollie Dempsey has converted the first of these into a goal. St Kilda has kicked two goals today from 12 such stoppages.
14:34
Geelong has dominated uncontested possession 35-16 this quarter and also has a major 10-4 advantage in inside 50 entries.
16:36
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera)
17:59
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)
18:22
Geelong has won more forward half intercepts this quarter (7-2) and converted two of these into goals. The Cats now hold a game-high 33-point lead.
19:13
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Brad Close)
19:53
Brad Close has been involved in an efficient six scores from eight disposals today, including the last goal following a forward 50 crumb. The Cats have taken a mark from 29 per cent of kicks inside 50 by Brad Close this season (ranked No.1 of the top-10 at the club for such kicks).
21:41
Cats Interchange - Tom Stewart off due to an injury.
23:55
Jack Steele has again worked hard defensively for the Saints with a game-high 12 tackles. This is the 44th time that Steele has had at least ten tackles in a game, which is the most times of any player this century.
24:27
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Liam Henry)
26:15
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Shaun Mannagh)
27:53
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Mark Blicavs)
28:41
Oliver Dempsey, playing game No.50 today, is averaging 16.4 disposals and an equal career-high 1.4 goals, with 18 of his 24 goals coming from within 30 metres. Dempsey is currently the second-highest rated player today behind only Jeremy Cameron.
29:55
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Shannon Neale)
31:17
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Shaun Mannagh)
31:22
The Cats took control in the third quarter, winning both possession (disposals 99-71) and position (inside 50 entries 18-7). Geelong generated 11 shots at goal from a 21-4 advantage in forward 50 disposals.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:10
Geelong is the No.1 ranked team in final quarters this season. The Cats have won this period by an average of 15.4 points, and have only been outscored four times during a final quarter.
01:47
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera)
01:56
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has posted team-highs for disposals (30), score involvements (8), score assists (3), clearances (7), pressure acts (23) and metres gained (500).
05:12
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Brad Close)
06:06
Geelong has had seven shots at goal in the 40-50 metres from goal range and converted only one of these. St Kilda has had 11 such shots at goal and converted four.
07:37
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Rowan Marshall)
07:56
St Kilda has kicked the last three goals in the game, and both of its goals this quarter have come from defensive half chains. Geelong still leads 54-33 in points scored from these chains.
10:01
St Kilda has won contested possession 13-6 in the final quarter, including 3-1 contested marks. Overall, the Saints are ahead 113-101 in contested possessions.
14:39
Geelong holds a 42-23 advantage in forward half tackles, which includes 22-5 in forward 50 tackles (Geelong is ranked No.1 in this measure).
15:29
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jack Bowes)
20:12
St Kilda has won first possessions at stoppages 48-28, but only converted this into 35-31 clearances and trails 26-53 in points scored from stoppages.
22:27
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
22:40
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has today become the first Saint this century to have a game with 35 disposals, ten clearances, along with multiple goals and score assists.
23:55
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
26:06
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
27:13
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
27:23
The last goal from Jeremy Cameron was the first score of the game to come from a kick-in chain. Geelong now leads 60-33 in points scored from defensive half chains.
29:34
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Max Hall)
30:37
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
32:32
A comfortable 31-point win for the Cats, with the first five goals to Geelong proving the difference. The Cats finished with superior kicking efficiency (75 per cent to 63 per cent) and displayed better ball movement throughout the day, resulting in ten goals from defensive half chains.