In order to secure an important eight-point victory at the MCG, Melbourne had to overcome both the Cats and its own inaccuracy, making it the first team to defeat Geelong this year.
The game’s goalkicking ranged from the exquisite to the utterly absurd, but Bayley Fritsch’s brilliant dribbler from the boundary completed a total shutout, securing the 10.14 (74) to 9.12 (66) victory.
Jake Lever was a continuous intercepting thorn in Geelong’s side, teenager Caleb Windsor kicked a vital goal, and skipper Max Gawn was a massive presence in the last term.
With four and a half minutes remaining, Zach Guthrie’s snap narrowed the gap to just three points before Fritsch’s heroics. However, the Cats defender’s major was marred by Jeremy Cameron missing two easy chances to score.
A tense arm wrestling between two defensively powerful teams defined the first half, which probably only the most ardent football tacticians could have loved.
Melbourne opted for a measured approach, carefully circling the perimeter in an attempt to breach Geelong’s defense.
It was successful in the first quarter. The Cats’ defense appeared temporarily unsettled as it conceded two goals in the slowest of Demon moves. Harrison Petty took advantage of a Sam De Koning error on a chilly MCG, and Kozzy Pickett added a rare burst of pace by pouncing on a ball that ricocheted off multiple hands.
Geelong chose to move the ball considerably more directly than Melbourne in the second half, seemingly finding a step more pace in the process, but the Dees’ closing speed and tackle pressure frequently converted the rapid passes into hurried and careless handballs.
When they did manage to score, Tom Hawkins, who had been goalless for four games in a row, was frustrated as Steven May, Lever, and Tom McDonald patrolled the air.In the first, second, and third terms, the two teams kicked an incredible 14 behinds in a row before Kade Chandler eventually made a true kick to give the Dees a 14-point lead.
It let loose a chain reaction that culminated in a flurry of incredible goals, including Ed Langdon’s dead-eye near the boundary and Ollie Henry’s and Tyson Stengle’s dodge-turn-spin snap.
However, as the quarter went on, Melbourne ran the risk of shooting itself in the foot as the sheer volume of behinds caught up to the Dees, giving the Cats a two-point advantage at the half.
As the game went on, Christian Petracca gained prominence. He began to make a bigger effect in the third term when the game became more open and he gave a tremendous bounce across half-forward.
Tanner Bruhn, a midfielder for Geelong, was substituted off with a shoulder injury in the third term.
