The Cats showed that they are far from a spent force in season 2010 with an upset victory over the reigning back to back premiers North Ballarat at a wintry Eureka Stadium. After getting out to a lead of 27 points early in the last quarter the Cats held off a fast finishing Roosters team to win 12-10-(82) to 10-13-(73) with first year rookie Ben Johnson kicking 4 goals.

The day was to be highlighted by the return to football of talented youngster Mitch Brown who was sidelined for 18 months after breaking his leg in a VFL practice match. While the 2009 first round draft pick was making his VFL debut, skipper and 2007 premiership player Matthew Firman became only the 5th VFL listed player after James Byrne (94), Adam Cook (63), Jay Cheep (55) and Corey Bauer (51) to play 50 games in the blue and white hoops.

The result itself overshadowed such acknowledgments as the Cats delivered one of the major upsets of the season.

The match up saw the team placed 12th on the ladder take on the team on top with only one loss for the season. The label of ‘underdog’ for the Cats has never been used in a more appropriate context. For the past three seasons the North Ballarat side has been the dominant force in the VFL landscape winning both the 2008 and 2009 VFL premierships. On Sunday they fielded a side that included AFL regulars Corey Jones, Leigh Harding, Gavin Urquhart and Aaron Edwards as well as dual VFL premiership players Shaune Moloney, Marc Greig, Orren Stephenson and Matthew Sharkey.

None of this seemed to phase the new breed of Cat.

Ruckman Trent West (21 disposals, six marks, 27 hitouts) did his chances of a senior call up no harm as he dominated against the competition’s number one big man Orren Stephenson. West’s ability to constantly get on his hand to the ball and give his midfielders first use of the ball day was crucial in a game that was going to be decided through the middle. West showed his versatility late in the game when he went forward in the last quarter and kicked a crucial 50 metre goal the seemed to breathe life into a Cats team that was tiring quickly.

The highly rated North Ballarat came out firing in the opening term, with experienced North Melbourne forward Corey Jones kicking one goal, three behinds for the quarter as they dominated the contest for little result. Despite having the majority of the play and winning most of the indicators the Roosters went into the first change a point behind.

In the second term the Cats showed they had come to play as they ran hard, tackled hard and looked a far more polished unit early in the second quarter, They converted three goals to nothing for the term with Mitch Duncan (18 disposals, four clearances, four tackles), Trent West and Ben Raidme (30 disposals, four tackles) all making a significant contribution for the quarter. Mitch Brown signaled his return to senior football with two majors and an Allen Christensen free kick and conversion gave the Cats a 13 point half time lead - a position they have become familiar with in recent times.

Last week the Cats went in at half time holding a 20 point lead only to come out and be beaten into submission by a powerful Port Melbourne who ran out 39 point winners. So this was a golden opportunity for the group to show what the have learnt and how far they have come.

Dale Amos called on his young charges to keep up their work rate and not let the Roosters back into the game. A brilliant team goal finished off by the promising Jackson Bright gave the Cats a crucial 19 point buffer early in the 2nd quarter while the continued dominance of Trent West and key forward Ben Johnson (14 disposals, eight marks, four goals). At stages the young Cats unit looked like carbon copies of the all conquering AFL side as they outnumbered their opponents all over the ground and run the ball from coast to coast with slick ball use.

The momentum shifted to North Ballarat late in the quarter after a couple of undisciplined acts by the Cats saw the Roosters gifted three 50 metre penalties and two goals which kept them well within reach of the Cats who held a 19 point three quarter time lead.

Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood and Dawson Simpson were amongst the small crowd of Cats supporters who braved the icing conditions, found voice and tried to get their team up for what would be a monumental victory against the VFL benchmark team.

The first goal of the final quarter was going to be crucial in the context of the match and it was first year big man Nathan Vardy who delivered what many thought would be the knock out blow for the Cats.

The defensive combination of Jeremy Laidler (16 disposals, five marks), Ryan Gamble (29 disposals, five marks) and Tom Gillies (16 disposals, three marks) - who had been fantastic all day in comfortably beating their opponents and providing run from defence - held firm in a tense last quarter to deny the dangerous North Ballarat forwards on a number of occasions.

The constant pressure that the defenders were under eventually took its toll with North Ballarat booting four goals in seven minutes to get within 10 points of the Cats with just minutes remaining.

Enter Daniel Menzel who showed maturity beyond his years, in marking the ball on the lead and going back to kick a set shot from 40 metres to give the Cats some much needed breathing space. Another goal to the Roosters before the final siren sounded to signify the Cats second win of the season in what will go down as one of the more famous Geelong VFL victories in recent times.

The club song was sung with great gusto by a packed victorious change room. When asked about his late sealer Daniel Menzel recalled that “a million things were running through my mind in those seconds, so I am just glad that it went through and we have won. We have set ourselves a new standard now and we must now work hard to not drop below that level”.

With their second win for the year in the bag, the Cats will now look forward to taking on their arch rivals - the Werribee Tigers. The two sides will play off for the ‘K-Rock Cup’ at Skilled Stadium, next Saturday afternoon at 1.00pm.

Geelong members get free entry and the club is hoping that many supporters will stop in at Skilled on their way to the AFL clash that night.

VFL coach Dale Amos issued some of a call to arms to all Geelong supporters stating “After a difficult start to the season it really would be great to see a lot of Geelong supporters come out and support the young guys next week before they head up the highway. It is a huge match for us in terms of our season and supporters should be excited about the prospect of seeing some of the club’s young talent on show - Mitchell Brown, Daniel Menzel, Allen Christensen and Nathan Vardy. As a team we would really appreciate the support”.

Geelong Cats 12-10-(82)
North Ballarat 10-13-(73)
Goals: B.Johnson 4, Brown 2, Menzel, West, Christensen, Vardy, Bright 1
Best: West, Raidme, Laidler, Gamble, B.Johnson, Christensen
Injuries: Nil.
Reports: Nil.