The Cats overcame a slow start to outscore the Tigers in each quarter, cruising to a 20.14 (134) to 10.11 (71) win that cements their place at the top of the premiership ladder.
Jimmy Bartel (32 disposals), Joel Selwood (32) and Joel Corey (31) were the prime movers through the middle for Geelong with the forward line typically selfless in spreading the scoring between 12 players, with Ryan Gamble and Tom Lonergan each booting three.
Cameron Ling was matched up on Nathan Foley in his first match back from a fractured cheekbone and he didn’t miss a beat, keeping the prolific ball winner to 17 possessions while gathering 22 of his own.
Matthew Scarlett didn’t have much asked of him in his 200th AFL match and was chaired from the ground after having gathered 15 possessions in a solid performance at full back.
Shane Tuck was the chief ball-getter for Richmond with 31, while Matthew Richardson booted three goals.
The Cats certainly weren’t firing on all cylinders early as Richmond bounced out of the blocks to establish a surprise 13-point lead 15 minutes into the first term, thanks to goals to Jack Riewoldt and Mitch Morton.
Geelong struggled to implement its usual silky smooth transition from defence to attack and when the ball was taken inside forward 50 it was not used well, with six behinds being registered before James Kelly broke the drought with a lovely snapped goal from a stoppage 21 minutes in.
Despite the rusty start the Cats still managed a four-point lead at quarter time after Lonergan’s long-range effort split the middle as the siren sounded.
Mathew Stokes continued his lively start in the second quarter with two goals inside the first three minutes to kick start the Cats' term. Seemingly in the blink of an eye, the Tigers found themselves four goals down, with prospects of a comeback dimmed by the sight of Richardson limping off the ground with a knee injury.
Richmond fans’ fears were allayed on both counts when their favourite son returned to the field late in the term and goals to Matthew White and Joel Bowden helped slice the deficit to 11 points.
But the Tigers were unable to maintain their momentum as the Cats finished the half full of running, with Bartel getting away from minder Daniel Jackson to boot two goals that gave his side the largest lead of the night of 26 points at the main break.
Richmond began the second half as it did the first, with White’s second capping some bright early play, but as they’ve done so often in the past 18 months, the Cats kicked it up a gear and made the game their own.
Three goals in five minutes blew the margin out to 43 points, with a classic Richardson mark and goal proving to be just a speed bump in the road as Geelong accelerated away.
Young Tiger Shane Edwards went to the bench in a sorry state after his head hit the turf hard in a Darren Milburn tackle, and his teammates were equally dazed by the onslaught that saw the Cats up by 58 points at the last change.
With the contest effectively over, Geelong took the foot off the pedal early in the final term, allowing Richmond to kick four of the first five goals of the quarter before icing the game with the last four majors.
Geelong 2.6 8.8 15.13 20.14 (134)
Richmond 2.2 4.6 6.9 10.11 (71)
GOALS
Geelong: Lonergan 3, Gamble 3, Bartel 2, Mackie 2, Mooney 2, Stokes 2, Johnson, Milburn, Selwood, Rooke, Ling, Kelly. Richmond: Richardson 3, White 2, Bowden 2, Morton, Schulz, Riewoldt.
BEST
Geelong: Bartel, Corey, Selwood, Milburn, Ling, Stokes, Harley. Richmond: Tuck, Deledio, Newman, Tambling, Bowden, Richardson
INJURIES
Geelong: None. Richmond: Edwards (head knock)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Stewart, Wenn
Official crowd: 42,238 at Telstra Dome
