By Shayne Hope, AAP
Geelong coach Chris Scott has allayed fears over Tom Stewart’s fitness after the star utility was substituted out of the Cats’ 93-point annihilation of West Coast with a tight hamstring.
Stewart and Lawson Humphries (tight calf) both sat out the second half as Jeremy Cameron spearheaded the 26.12 (168) to 11.9 (75) rout with nine goals at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday.
But Scott said the pair will be “fine” for the Cats’ first AFL final, with five-time All-Australian Stewart a key to Geelong’s premiership chances.
“He’s good. It was almost one of those where, irrespective of what the medical staff were going to say, we were going to take him out of the game,” Scott said.
“We did have a loose plan to get (substitute Jed) Bews in to get as close to a half as possible, so it did match up a little bit there.
“It’s a little frustrating when you have another one that you want to manage as well, but that was our priority rather than risking anyone just to chase the scoreboard a little bit more.
“Those two guys will be fine.”
Cameron had seven goals from as many kicks against West Coast’s undermanned defence in the first half as Geelong became the eighth team in AFL/VFL history to build a 100-point margin by half-time.
The Cats were utterly dominant to that point while chasing a huge winning margin in an attempt to sneak provisionally into second place on the ladder.
But West Coast showed some fight, stemming the flow and narrowly outscoring their hosts in the second half.
The result meant Geelong locked away a top-four finish, but it wasn’t quite enough for them to leap above second-placed Port Adelaide ahead of Sunday’s fixtures, which will decide the final starting grid for September.
“I can’t remember coming away from a game in my time in the AFL thinking everything was perfect,” Scott said.
“You’d always like a little bit more, but if you had have said at the start of the season we were going to finish top four then I think we would’ve taken it.”
Cameron and Ollie Henry (four goals) both matched personal-best goal tallies, while Max Holmes (26 disposals), Patrick Dangerfield (25) and Jack Bowes (24) all shone in the Cats’ biggest win of the season.
West Coast young gun Harley Reid (15 disposals) had a fresh-air swing on the goal-line in the final term, but responded with two late goals.
Jake Waterman, Jack Darling and Jamie Cripps also finished with two each, while Elliot Yeo (25 disposals), Jack Hutchinson (24) and Tim Kelly (21) were the Eagles’ best ball-winners in a midfield that was comprehensively outplayed.
West Coast coughed up 18.6 to 2.2 in what interim coach Jarrad Schofield conceded was an “embarrassing” first half.
“We took a lot of learnings in that first half about what’s required to play the game,” Schofield said.
“We were beaten convincingly in and around the contest, and centre bounce was a real issue.
“We had to get to half-time and reset, but I’m really disappointed for the football club and how we performed there.”
The heavy defeat is a blow to Schofield’s chances of winning the full-time coaching role, with the Eagles seeking a replacement for axed former coach Adam Simpson.
