Geelong has completed a near flawless season, smashing Sydney by 81 points to claim their 10th AFL/VFL premiership.
In a quite unbelievable scoreline, the Cats kicked 11 goals to four after half time in their 20.13 (133) to 8.4 (52) triumph as the Grand Final returned to the MCG for the first time since 2019.
Fielding the oldest side in history, this Cats side was primed for success and Chris Scott’s side stood up when it really counted.
Perhaps the signature moment of the decider came with less than four minutes left, as inspirational skipper Joel Selwood bended a long goal to send the Cats fans into raptures.
Geelong made an ominous start, stamping their authority on nearly every facet of the game before quarter time.
Just one behind was scored in the first five minutes of play, but it was Tom Hawkins’ brilliance in the ruck which brought the first major of the Grand Final.
Hawkins then performed the same maneuverer in the ruck minutes later, leaving Tom Hickey with his hands full early.
Isaac Smith kicked two goals in the opening quarter, while delighting the Cats fans in attendance with a brilliant major early in the third quarter.
“Every single stat (John Longmire) will be worried about,” Cornes said on AFL Nation.
“This is getting to a disastrous stage for Sydney,” Healy said.
Sydney stemmed the bleeding in the second term, but the game blew out in the second half as Geelong smelt blood in the water.
After half time it was Tyson Stengle who put his name in lights, capping off his remarkable All-Australian season with four goals.
“Sydney looks broken now,” Cornes said in commentary early in the third quarter.
“It is a cat-astrophe for Sydney,” Anthony Hudson said.
Patrick Dangerfield has played this finals series like a man possessed, as he chased that elusive first premiership of his career.
He brought the same intensity to Grand Final day and was one of his side’s best, collecting 26 touches and three marks.
Isaac Heeney – one of Sydney’s most important players – failed to touch the ball until midway through the second term.
When the Swans are firing, players like Heeney are in the thick of the action but on the last Saturday in September, his lean patch through the game typified his side’s struggles across the field.
Sydney’s gamble to play Sam Reid after he sustained an adductor strain against Collingwood in the Preliminary Final backfired, with sub Braeden Campbell activated early in the second half.
Pre-game produced one of the most touching moments seen on any Grand Final day in years, as Levi Ablett – son of Gary jnr – joined Joel Selwood as he ran through the banner.
While the post-mortem at Sydney will begin in earnest, this is all about Geelong and the legacy premiership for Chris Scott, who has long been seeking a second flag to compliment the one he won in his first season as coach in 2011.
Scott has presided over a glittering run of success at Geelong, and now has multiple premierships to show for it.
“Chris Scott would be savouring this moment," Gerard Healy said in commentary.
“He's had plenty of criticism and heartache over the years. It's so well deserved, he's such an outstanding coach.”
Playing in a record 40th career final, Joel Selwood now becomes a premiership captain the first time and adds yet another accolade to his glittering career.
He also becomes the first Geelong player to win four premierships.
FULL SCORE
Geelong: 6.5, 7.7, 15.11, 20.3 (133)
Sydney: 1.0, 4.2, 4.3, 8.4 (52)
GOALS
Geelong: Stengle 4, Hawkins 3, Smith 3, Cameron 2, Close 2, Guthrie, Blicavs, De Koning, Duncan, Parfitt, Selwood
Sydney: Warner 2, Hayward, Heeney, McCartin, McLean, Mills, Papley
BEST
Geelong: Smith, Dangerfield, Stengle, Hawkins, Close
Sydney: Warner, Parker, Blakey, Lloyd, Papley
INJURIES
Geelong: Cam Guthrie, subbed off for Brandan Parfitt.
Sydney: Sam Reid (adductor), subbed off for Braeden Campbell.
CROWD: 100, 024 at the MCG