By John Van Klaveren
It was a tale of two forwards that finally broke the deadlock between Geelong and Collingwood on Saturday night at the MCG.
Tom Lonergan cloaked Magpie Travis Cloke while big cat Tom Hawkins managed to heat up enough to melt the hold of rookie defender Jack Frost.
Hawkins’ three last term goals finally saw off the dogged Magpies, who had reeled in Geelong leads several times during the game.
Up to then it had been a night for small forwards and midfielders, with the odd defender drifting down and snagging a sausage as well.
The 11 point win suitably closed out the enthralling match, highlighted by stifling pressure from both sides.
But Geelong had more system in its forward thrusts, while many of Collingwood’s goals came from opportunism.
The pleasing aspect for coach Chris Scott was the solid performances of a range of younger players, continuing vindication of off-season personnel decisions.
George Horlin-Smith collected Geelong’s opening goal, Jordan Murdoch bobbed up all over the ground and
Cameron Guthrie needs to have his hair dyed red, such was his Cameron Ling-like job on Pies skipper Scott Pendlebury.
Scott said coaching staff always kept a keen eye on the younger players, to check how they responded “when the heat’s on”.
Almost all stood up, Scott enthused, even those who did not have “great games”.
While happy with Guthrie putting the ‘bury’ back in Pendlebury, Scott was more pleased the stopper won his own ball and kicked a goal to boot.
“We still have a lot of work to do on our game,” Scott reminded his players.
But challenged on the statement, Scott smilingly admitted he could normally “just say that and not have to answer it specifically”.
“We’ve got a lot of inexperience in our team. Some of the ways we want to set up around stoppages isn’t being done as well as it might be.”
Third-placed Geelong hosts fellow unbeatens and top of the ladder West Coast at Simonds Stadium on Saturday night.
If that can’t fill the stadium, nothing will.
