1. Tuohy's goal after the siren and Hawkins' inspired final quarter
Trailing by 23 points at three-quarter time and seemingly dead and buried, Geelong sprang to life in the final term. Tom Hawkins (on his 30th birthday) brought a raucous crowd to its feet with an inspired final term, in which the big man booted four of his seven goals. The Cats twice trailed by two points before Melbourne kicked a settling goal (once through Jake Melksham and then Tom McDonald) while Jay Kennedy Harris' behind put the Dees up by three points with just over four minutes remaining. Enter Zach Tuohy, who took a mark with just five seconds left in the game. Tuohy's set-shot after the siren delivered Geelong an amazing come-from-behind victory and left Melbourne in a world of heartache. The 30,125 fans then sang Happy Birthday to Hawkins after the game in what was arguably the match of the season.
ZACH TUOHY KICKS THE MATCH WINNER AFTER THE SIREN!#AFLCatsDees pic.twitter.com/0xknyuwHTL
— AFL (@AFL) July 21, 2018
CATS CLING ON Full match coverage and stats
2. Dangerfield's ruck nomination in the spirit of the game?
The ambiguity of the ruck nomination rule was again brought into focus when Patrick Dangerfield earned a controversial free kick in the second quarter of Saturday night's game. Dangerfield nominated for the ruck contest and the umpire pointed out that the Geelong superstar and Max Gawn were the eligible players. Angus Brayshaw didn't hear the call and attempted to block Dangerfield's run at the footy, thinking he was a ground-level midfielder. After Dangerfield slotted his set-shot goal, he turned and gestured to teammate Joel Selwood that it was an intelligent play to make. Swans champion Jude Bolton was quick to question the action and tweeted that it was a "terrible look for the game".
Paddy Dangerfield nominated himself as the ruckman and kicked a goal from a free kick. #AFLCatsDees pic.twitter.com/cqzEzBAbcj
— AFL (@AFL) July 21, 2018
3. Harmes puts the clamps on Selwood
Melbourne's midfield has adapted well to losing co-captain Jack Viney to a foot injury and a major reason as to why against the Cats was the defensive role James Harmes performed on Geelong skipper Joel Selwood. Thrown into a run-with role on Bulldogs midfielder Jack Macrae last week, Harmes continued where he left off by keeping Selwood to just eight disposals to half-time and 16 for the game. While Harmes' shutdown job was pivotal, and he was moved onto Dangerfield late in the game, so too was the influence that Clayton Oliver (40 disposals) exuded through the midfield. Oliver's clean hands in traffic and in a high-pressure game were something to behold and there's little doubt of his ranking as one of the AFL's top-flight midfielders nowadays.
4. Déjà vu for Gawn as this time he converts truly
Max Gawn missed a sitter in front of goal and the chance to clinch victory when these teams met in round one. The big ruckman was keen to redeem himself and did so in the third term when he received a dubious free kick for a block off the ball on Tom Stewart. Lining up for goal from 45m out straight in front, the Geelong players were quick to remind him of his wayward kick in the opening round with Tom Hawkins letting him have it. Gawn converted and raised his arms above his head, clearly aware of the importance of kicking the goal. Gawn was by no means dominant, as Geelong ruckman Rhys Stanley broke even in the match-up and continued the best patch of form of his career.
Clayton Oliver shared a laugh with a Cats fan as he backed himself from distance.
— AFL (@AFL) July 21, 2018
Gold #AFLCatsDees pic.twitter.com/aEcIq6rwoS
5. Scott the GIF that keeps on giving
Chris Scott doesn't mind reacting with intense passion – either angrily or positively – in the Geelong coaches box. The Cats coach added to his reputation further on Saturday night with a reaction that instantly can be filed under 'Chris Scott hall of fame GIFS'. Scott was irate when umpire Brett Rosebury gave Melbourne forward Alex Neal-Bullen the benefit of the doubt on a deliberate out-of-bounds call that looked very deliberate indeed. When Rosebury signalled a throw-in, Scott's reaction was priceless.
And here's one for all the gif fans...#AFLCatsDees pic.twitter.com/56e4DaaS2i
— AFL (@AFL) July 21, 2018