No heavens opened to dump water on the front row of the Reg Hickey stand at Skilled Stadium last Saturday. It drizzled at half-time as the Victorian opposition leader Ted Baillieu munched on hot chips and the former Premier Steve Bracks joined the suits congregating on the level above.
No-one cared what was falling from the sky. Heaven was the green patch in front of the admiring hordes, a place where their beloved Cats were establishing the only reign that matters: one of on-field success.
No-one cared what was falling from the sky. Heaven was the green patch in front of the admiring hordes, a place where their beloved Cats were establishing the only reign that matters: one of on-field success.
When the afternoon was done, the Cats had raised their consecutive home winning streak to 20, the seventh time a club has had a winning run at home extend to 20. It's the second time Geelong has done it. The Cats also set a new mark for most quarters 'won' in a row - 20. The previous record was 17 (held by Geelong and St Kilda).
They're getting used to such records down at Geelong, so only one achievement matters nowadays. That's why the new grandstand is called The Premiership Stand, a space within it displaying the club’s eight premiership cups.
The juggernaut just rolls on. This game was over within five minutes of the first bounce when Geelong kicked the first three goals and Melbourne could hardly lay a mitt either on the ball, or its opponents. At such moments, the coach's only worry comes when his players start splashing their cache around, as though the bounty is endless: "Sometimes that's a danger when you have so much of the ball [early], you forget about what you should be doing and just start putting on a show," said Mark Thompson. "Putting on a show really doesn't interest us that much."
However, it’s hard to stop the show once the opening song has had such an impact. A 28-year-old recruit in his first season, James Podsiadly, is thrilling without even meaning to be. As it stands, when Podsaidly plays at Skilled, he snags five. It's happened each of the four times he's played there so far. There's something Cliff Young-esque about the Podsiadly phenomenon. Even the coach admits his form is a surprise. "I didn't think he would be as good when we got him," said Thompson.
Then there is the likely hero, 26-year-old superstar Gary Ablett, coming out of contract and not yet being clear about his long-term future, but still receiving 'Oohs' and 'Aahs' and screams every time he gains possession. At one stage, he picked up the ball in heavy traffic like he was grabbing a cushion off a couch, protecting the ball while he was attacked from all corners. Eventually the bald champ found enough breathing space to fire off a handball. It was stunning to watch.
Read the full story in the round 11 edition of the AFL Record, available at all venues.
