Geelong has lost just one game this season, when Collingwood tackled and pressured them into a massive loss, and the game plan from the Dogs was clearly built around the same concept.
But the Bulldogs will be blaming themselves for the loss rather than accepting they were beaten by the better team, as they wasted any number of chances in the second half before going down 12.11 (83) to 7.12 (54).
It was a night where the intense pressure meant that no single player really stood out – both teams played tough, tight football all match.
The Dogs led for a fair bit of the first term, but then the Cats got out to a three-goal buffer, and try as the Dogs might, they simply couldn't get the margin back inside a couple of goals, despite numerous opportunities born of sheer desperation and effort.
For the Dogs, Daniel Cross again topped the possession sheet, using the ball well, while Daniel Giansiracusa did a stellar job shutting down Geelong star Gary Ablett and Dale Morris did likewise on Cameron Mooney.
Matthew Boyd and Lindsay Gilbee worked hard through the midfield, and Jarrod Harbrow was a good target up forward and finished with two goals, as did Shaun Higgins.
For the Cats, the midfield was again excellent, with Andrew Mackie, Joel Corey, Jimmy Bartel, Cameron Ling and Joel Selwood all working hard.
Both teams started as you would expect in a cut-throat final – hard and desperate, but it was the Cats through Cameron Stokes who got the first major.
Higgins kicked two behinds before nailing his first major, which was answered by Bartel. The Dogs re-took the lead with a major from veteran Brad Johnson after a superb tackle from big Will Minson, then extended it when Higgins kicked his second.
When Jason Akermanis kicked a ripper from an acute angle in the left pocket, the Dogs led by 11 points. But then the Cats fought back, kicking three in five minutes to lead by a goal at the first break.
The Dogs had the ball forward to start the second term, but could only manage two behinds as the game fell into an arm wrestle which saw no goals until nearly 13 minutes had passed. Three majors to the Cats – the second a result of a foolish 50m penalty against Ryan Hargrave – took them to a then game-high 27-point lead before a major to Nathan Eagleton finished the term.
The third term was a mirror-image of the first, with Geelong having most of the play early before the Dogs took over. Varcoe kicked a goal inside the first two minutes, but the Dogs then kicked a couple through Harbrow, but just couldn't capitalise on their tremendous pressure – three behinds and one that dropped short meant the Dogs got to 12 points down before Mooney goaled.
The last term was as desperate as you could wish to see, but again the Dogs wasted it and in the end, the only two goals of the term went to the Cats.
Next Saturday afternoon, Geelong plays the winner of Hawthorn/St Kilda for the big prize.
Geelong 5.3 8.8 10.9 12.11 (83)
Western Bulldogs 4.3 5.5 7.9 7.12 (54)
GOALS
Geelong: Rooke 2, Johnson 2, Bartel, Lonergan, Stokes, Wojcinski, Ottens, Harley, Varcoe, Mooney
Western Bulldogs: Higgins 2, Harbrow 2, Akermanis, Johnson, Eagleton
BEST
Geelong: Mackie, Corey, Bartel, Ling, Scarlett, Varcoe
Western Bulldogs: Cross, Morris, Lake, Harbrow, Giansiracusa, Hargrave
INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Johnson (corked thigh)
Reports: Josh Hill (Bulldogs) reported for making high contact with Andrew Mackie (Geelong) in the third quarter
Umpires: Ryan, Vozzo, McBurney
Official crowd: 70,140 at the MCG
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
