It takes a lot to crack the steely resolve of the Bendigo Bank Cats, said coach Leigh Tudor after the Cats 62-point demolition of a gallant North Ballarat at TEAC Oval.

After the Cats broke out to a match-controlling 32-point margin midway through the third quarter, they succumbed to a persistent Roosters side to lead by only five points at three-quarter-time.

Tudor said the Cats had slipped into a frustrating tendency of playing “fancy” football against an opposition that “kept coming all day and kept having a really good crack”.

But he did not feel the need to unleash an old-fashioned tongue-lashing to spark the Cats into action at the final break. Instead, the Tudor and the Cats “just talked footy”.

And that’s been the pattern for the Cats all season.

“I just wanted us to get back to our basics and get back to what we’ve been working on for the whole year,” Tudor said.

“I think the boys took a bit of ownership and I think they were a bit dirty for the last 10 minutes of the third quarter.

“You could see in their eyes they were pretty focused on making sure they came out really hard early and that’s what we want them to do – be really physical in the last quarter and they did it well.”

And it is that self-driven accountability from the Cats that means it doesn’t take long for the players to take a stranglehold on the situation and assume control of their own destiny.

On Saturday, it was an extreme example – a scintillating 10-goal explosion to open the third quarter that sent ripples of class reverberating around TEAC Oval.

One thing Tudor does reiterate during his addresses, however, is the imperative necessity of the side’s senior players to take the game by the scruff of the neck. And the players, invariably, embrace the challenge.

Tudor said Steven King, who was “awesome”, and Ryan Gamble and Brent Prismall, who were running rings around the Roosters’ midfield, spearheaded the side’s stunning final-quarter resurgence.

“(King’s) first 15 min of the last quarter, I’m not sure what was happening there, but he was awesome,” Tudor said.

“Him and Prismall and Gamble, I don’t know what they were setting up in there, but it worked, it worked really well and he definitely got us across the line.

When asked if King would command senior contention for Friday night’s preliminary final, Tudor said he had continually met the challenges thrown at him this season.

“All he can do is play against who they put up and play well, and he’s done that again today,” Tudor said.

“I thought he might have dropped a couple of marks, but his actual ruck work was fantastic.

“You wouldn’t (want to lose him), but I mean if anyone is to come back they’re going to be pretty awesome as well aren’t they?”

Tudor praised the irrepressible performances of the side’s five VFL-listed players, who he said were the difference between winning and losing.

“Jay Cheep, Scott Thompson, Jack Hollmer, Matthew Firman and James Byrne – our five VFL players this week – their first half especially was outstanding and they were the reason we won today, I’ve got no doubt about it, the VFL players were all fantastic for us,” he said.

“I really think they deserve a big wrap, because they worked really hard and for five of them to all play well in a preliminary final is just a great reward for their efforts. So depending on what happens next week – I would love to have all five of them again – but we’ll wait and see who’s coming back from injury.

“It’s a tough caper for the VFL-listed boys, so for them to keep backing up every week when they sometimes play and sometimes don’t, I’m just so proud that the five of them played so well in a final.”

Tudor confirmed Cheep will not be denied the grand final berth he deserves, saying the lively 23-year-old entrenched himself in the side following an outstanding finals series for the second successive year.

“He’s playing good football at the right time and I don’t think he’s going to get his position taken off him this year, like what happened last year,” Tudor said.

“So I’m really happy for him to be playing in a grand final because you know what you’re going to get for him.”

The Bendigo Bank Cats will meet Coburg in Sunday’s grand final at MC Labor Park, Princes Park, from 2.15pm.

Entry is only $20 for adults, $15 for concession/pensioner, while children under 15 are free thanks to TRUenergy.

The gates will be opened at 9.30am, before the VFL Reserves Grand Final between Coburg and Port Melbourne, which commences at 11am.

Geelong 3.5, 7.8, 13.8, 24.14 (158)
Nth Ballarat 3.6, 5.10, 11.15, 13.18 (96)
GOALS: Gardiner 4, Lonergan 3, Hawkins 3, Davenport 2, Cheep 2, Grima 2, Gamble 2, Prismall 2, Byrne, Djerrkura, King, Varcoe
BEST: Playfair, Prismall, King, Gardiner, Cheep, Hogan
REPORTS:C. Gardiner (Geelong) for making forceful contact from front on to D. Whyman (North Ballarat) in the 4th quarter.