By Luke Voogt
Geelong fans celebrated the new Charles Brownlow Stand with the biggest regular-season crowd at Simonds Stadium in two decades and a Cats triumph Friday night.
But the 30,275-strong crowd failed to test the ground’s new 36,000-person capacity, with a wet forecast keeping some fans at home.
The Indy caught up with veteran commentator Bruce McAvaney, who agreed to greet some Cats fans despite being due for a TV segment.
The “gentlemanly” footy host posed with Steve Barry and his family, who were thrilled with the new Charles Brownlow stand.
“It’s an amazing stand with good facilities,” Steve said.
Cats fan of 67 years, Christine Ronaldson, was similarly impressed with the new stand.
“I’ve been here since 3pm this afternoon,” she said.
Christine remembered coming to the ground when the first three rows of the stand were wooden seats.
“I would race in and get the first row,” she said.
“Except for one day when Hawthorn supporters got in there before me and jumped the fence. I wasn’t happy, I’ll tell you that.“
The 72-year-old was enjoying a cheeky wine or two in the stand’s new social rooms, despite a minor hiccup earlier in the day.
“The scanner didn’t work when we tried to get in,” she said. “But they’ve really looked after us.”
For Newcomb’s Marion, 76, and Keith Goodwin, 81, it was “never too late” to get to a Cats game.
“This is the first game we’ve been to,” Marion said. “We’ve just taken out memberships this year.”
The couple, formerly of Ballarat, had watched their beloved Cats on TV for 50 years, but were thrilled to see their first game live.
“The atmosphere is so good,” Marion said.
And the Goodwins were in for a treat with Geelong prevailing by 23 points, despite a dominant third quarter by the Bulldogs.
Geelong put on a relentless display of pressure which saw them record a club record of 134 tackles, after dismal tackling performances earlier in the season.
Politicians, dignitaries and Geelong celebrities gathered in the new stand’s Pivot and Presidents rooms for functions throughout the night.
