The Bendigo Bank Cats are now almost certain to finish in second position on the VFL ladder after thrashing North Ballarat by 71 points at Austar Arena on Saturday.

Geelong won every quarter in its impressive victory which was made even more emphatic given the strong breeze that was blowing to one end of the ground. The triumph marks the side’s seventh win from nine away games this season, boding well for its September campaign.

Cats’ skipper James Byrne elected to kick in the advantageous direction in the first term, and his charges made full use, slamming on 8.7 to 2.1 in a scintillating start to the match.

Charlie Gardiner soccered through the first major 22 seconds into the game as the Roosters failed to show meaningful resistance from the outset. Geelong was incredibly efficient, entering their forward zone 56 times for a resounding 35 scoring shots.

The Cats were allowed a licence to run free across half-forward by an errant North Ballarat side which sat fourth leading into Round 18. Geelong’s stars enjoyed the freedom allowed to them, with Gardiner booting five goals, Todd Grima four and Henry Playfair three in the win.

It was arguably Grima’s finest performance of the year. Despite not registering a major in the first half, his work rate was exceptional all day with 23 possessions and 8 marks to go with his four goals, taking him to a tally of 40 for the year.

‘The boys talked about work rate beforehand and my pressure is the key to my game, and I’d gone away from that a bit of late,’ Grima said.

‘We put on a lot of pressure early, and the boys came to play, which was good.’

That they certainly did. Human bulldozer Josh Hunt was brilliant through the middle with 30 possessions while Tim Callan’s season just goes from strength to strength with 29 disposals of his own.

Ryan Gamble followed up his best-on-ground performance from the week before with 30 possessions in a typically creative and flamboyant performance across half-forward.

Coach Leigh Tudor was also impressed with 19 year-old ruckman Trent West who was pitted against two opposition big men in Orren Stephenson and Tristan Cartledge and won 24 hit outs.

‘I thought Tim Callan and Josh Hunt were sensational today and Trent West was awesome in the ruck,’ Tudor said.

‘Our intensity and hardness at the ball, and even when we didn’t have the ball, our work rate was really good to get the ball back off them as quickly as we could.’

‘We had a lot of winners today. I thought we used the ball really well, and the forwards and midfielders really presented and worked hard.’

The match was effectively over at half time due to Geelong’s ability to increase a 42-point lead into a 10-goal margin against the wind in the second stanza. Where the Roosters had turned the ball over incessantly through sideways kicking, the Cats opted for a running handball style, countering the gale far more effectively.

This was not the only instruction from the Geelong coaching staff which bore fruit – the use of Chris Urie to shut down the dangerous Dean Chester paid off following his three goals and best-on-ground performance for the Roosters against Box Hill the week before.

Along with Jay Cheep and Jack Hollmer, the VFL-listed players also performed strongly in conjunction with their AFL-listed counterparts, something that will become even more important in the finals with a maximum of 12 AFL players (not including rookies) allowed to clubs in such a position to use.

Most unfortunate for Geelong was the loss of the reliable Stephen Owen in the last quarter to what will be a season-ending knee injury for the young defender. It appeared to take place in a simple turning action to change direction.

‘(The medical staff) think he may have done his ACL, so we’ll find out on Monday whether he needs a reconstruction. We’re fearing the worst at this stage,’ Tudor said.

‘Steve’s been fantastic for us this year and improved out of sight, so we’re going to have to get one of the VFL boys to step up now.’

The Bendigo Bank Cats face another road trip next week, this time to Werribee, in an attempt to cement second place and continue its outstanding form heading into the finals.