A week after being shown up against Collingwood - a match which left some questioning the Cats’ capacity to be a legitimate contender in September - the Cats erased many of those doubts by demolishing the Dogs 25.11 (161) to 9.6 (60).
The final margin was a record for Geelong over the Western Bulldogs, with Shannon Byrnes bringing up the triple-figure gap when he slammed through a goal with just seven seconds left in the match.
The real damage was done in the second term.
The Cats led by just six points at quarter time but booted 10 goals in the second quarter while keeping the Bulldogs goalless, the onslaught setting up a 68-point lead at the main break.
The Bulldogs, perhaps sapped of energy after a virus had swept through the Whitten Oval in the past fortnight, had no answers but battled manfully after the main break to trade goals in the third term.
However Geelong fired home another eight majors in the last quarter to send a warning to anyone who might have been prematurely writing them off.
Defenders Corey Enright (34 possessions) and Darren Milburn (20) were superb while in the middle Gary Ablett (39 disposals, three goals) and Joel Selwood (35 disposals, two goals) kick-started the Cats.
James Podsiadly got on top of Brian Lake early and finished with three goals, but Steve Johnson was the most effective forward on the ground, finishing with five after a slowish start.
After a highly-entertaining first term in which the Bulldogs’ pressure was superb and they led the inside-50 count, the Cats took control and blew the Bulldogs off the paddock. They were unable to recover.
The Cats’ win consolidates second spot for another week, while the Bulldogs remain fourth, courtesy of Fremantle’s loss earlier in the day.
Western Bulldogs 3.1 3.2 6.3 9.6 (60)
Geelong 4.1 14.4 17.6 25.11 (161)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 3, Hall 2, Jones 2, Gilbee, Griffen
Geelong: Johnson 5, Podsiadly 3, Ablett 3, Varcoe 3, Byrnes 2, Selwood 2, Chapman 2, Mooney 2, Stokes, Menzel, Ottens
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Morris, Giansiracusa, Boyd, Murphy
Geelong: Ablett, Selwood, Enright, Milburn, Mackie, Bartel, J. Hunt
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Wood (hamstring), Williams (shoulder/neck), Higgins (calf)
Geelong: Lonergan (flu) replaced in selected side by Laidler
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Stevic, Chamberlain
Official crowd: 42,199 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
