WHERE & WHEN: Saturday, September 11, MCG, 7.30pm
TV & RADIO: Melbourne 7.30pm, Sydney 9.30pm, Brisbane 9.30pm, Adelaide 6.30pm, Perth 5.30pm
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 199. Geelong 83, Essendon 111, 5 drawn.
FINALS HEAD TO HEAD: Played 12. Geelong 4, Essendon 8.
HEAD TO HEAD AT THIS VENUE: Played 22. Geelong 9, Essendon 13.
THIS YEAR: Geelong 18.12 (120) d Essendon 14.13 (97) in round nine at Telstra Dome. Geelong led at every change before winning its fourth straight victory, which also ended Essendon's six-match winning streak. The Cats 23-point win was helped by a seven-goal performance from Kent Kingsley, who will miss the upcoming match through suspension, while Matthew Scarlett held goalkicking ace Matthew Lloyd to just two goals. Mark Johnson was among the Bombers' best.
LAST FINAL: Geelong 24.20 (164) d Essendon 10.10 (70) in the 1989 preliminary final at Waverley Park. After being thrashed by 76 points in the qualifying final by Essendon, Geelong achieved a remarkable 170-point turnaround against the Bombers, belting them to the tune of 94 points. The Cats booted 18 goals to six after quarter-time, to book their first grand final since 1967. The mercurial Gary Ablett booted eight goals, while Billy Brownless (four) and Barry Stoneham (three) were also among the goalkickers. Garry Hocking was also an outstanding performer for the Cats. Terry Daniher was among the best for the Dons.
FORM: Like St Kilda a couple of days earlier, Geelong was welcomed to finals football in no uncertain terms by a rampant Port Adelaide side desperate to atone for past September failures. The Cats did fight on in the second half, but it was all too little, too late, after they had fallen eight goals behind by half-time. Essendon meanwhile won an absolute arm wrestle against Melbourne, to keep its own dreams alive. The Bombers looked to have opened up a match-winning lead when they were ahead by more than five goals at half-time, but had to withstand a big third term from the Demons in order to sneak home by five points.
MEDICAL ROOM: Geelong announced on Thursday that vice-captain Brenton Sanderson's season is over because of a heart complaint, and he joins the suspended Kent Kingsley on the sidelines, the full-forward needing his team to win this week if he is to play again in 2004. Gary Ablett (ankle) is also no certainty to play, and will be tested along with Jarad Rooke (thigh) but David Johnson (soreness) should be right. Essendon is expected to name All-Australian Adam McPhee (hamstring), but a final decision on whether he plays is unlikely to be made until Saturday afternoon. Dean Rioli (hamstring) is another player under a cloud, but Mark Bolton (buttocks) and Joe Misiti (knee) are both available for selection.
THE WHITEBOARD: Stopping skipper James Hird remains one of the keys to stopping the Bombers, so Cameron Ling will have to be at his best in his efforts to not only negate Hird, but also win plenty of the ball himself. Damien Peverill will look to perform a similar job for Essendon, probably on Joel Corey, while the ruck battle between Steven King and David Hille will also be critical. Bombers key forward Matthew Lloyd will be matched up by All-Australian full-back Matthew Scarlett, while at the other end, Ben Graham will need to step up in Kingsley's absence, and can expect Bolton to start on him, with Scott Lucas or even Dustin Fletcher kept in reserve if needed.
THE VERDICT: The Cats have one of the worst travelling records in the competition, and did go up against a fired-up Power, so last week's effort can be excused. But on a ground they have seen just once this year, they run into a Bombers side that would have been buoyed by last week's tight win and will be keen to make the most of the fact they each final they win earns them another in Melbourne. The loss of Kingsley is arguably not as big a blow as it might be, and certainly will not be felt as much as Ablett's possible absence. But the Cats dominated the Bombers earlier this year, will relish the return to play in front of their own fans, and have an even spread of goal-kickers, having not relied on a key forward as much as some other sides this year. Added to that is the fact that more than half the team played terribly last week and should bounce back. Essendon by 17 points.
