Geelong sent a message to the competition with a dominant win over Essendon in its 2022 AFL season opener at the MCG on Saturday.
The Cats kicked 12 goals to three in the first half to send a statement, which coach Chris Scott said even took him by surprise, in the 20.18 (138) to 11.6 (72) win.
“We have a lot of respect for the opposition but you always go in with some apprehension into round one,” Scott said.
“We feel like we’ve had good preparation – not perfect, we’ve still got some players we think will come back in the next week or two or three – but … it gives us some validation on the things we have been working so hard on.
“I’m really proud of the whole club and the way we’ve worked on some things and it’s nice to see it come out early on.”
Despite making last year’s preliminary final, the aging Cats team went in as underdogs against the Bombers following a disappointing preseason match against Gold Coast.
But Geelong took control of the game from the first bounce, with stars Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Hawkins leading the way.
Dangerfield was back to his best in the midfield, racking up 22 disposals and nine inside 50s in the first half, while Hawkins was damaging in the forward half, kicking four goals.
“I don’t want to go too far in my praise of [Dangerfield] but I thought he just took the game away from the opposition,” Scott said.
“He looked like the Danger of a few years ago.”
The 31-year-old finished with 31 disposals, 19 contested possessions, 12 score involvements, eight clearances and a goal in the best on ground performance that saw him awarded the Tom Wills Award.
Essendon improved in the second half, kicking eight goals to Geelong’s eight after half time, but couldn’t make a dent into the 60-point half time margin.
Tyson Stengle was a standout in his first game for the Cats, finishing with four goals and 20 disposals.
Scott said was “really proud” of the way Stengle had fit in at Geelong after off-field field incidents saw him sacked from Adelaide early last year.
“Twelve months ago, he was a long way away from the position he is in today, but he has put his head down,” Scott said.
“I haven’t seen anything but good things from Tyson and I think the whole world understands that we’ve all got skeletons in our closet, we’ve all done things we are not proud of but it is [about] how you fight your way back.
“I’m really proud of him.”
The only downside for the Cats in the first half was an injury scare for star forward Jeremy Cameron.
Cameron was involved in a heavy collision with Essendon defender Jayden Laverde during marking contest early in the game, and was later taken to hospital for scans on a possible broken rib.
He was released from hospital on Saturday night, with scans clearing him of any internal damage.
The Cats will also be without young defender Sam De Koning this weekend after he was concussed in the third quarter.
Under the AFL’s updated concussion protocols, any player that suffers concussion has to spend at least 12 days on the sidelines.
Attention now shifts to this Friday’s game against Sydney, with the Cats heading up to the SCG for the clash.
Sydney forward Lance Franklin kicked just one goal in the Swans’ win over GWS, meaning he could reach the 1000 goal milestone if he kicks four against the Cats.
