Feature

A dominant display from clever Cat, Shaun Mannagh helped to lead Geelong to an important win over St Kilda

When Shaun Mannagh spun through a goal from deep in the pocket early in the first quarter, with a kick that bounced at right angles and had enough off-spin on it to make Nathan Lyon proud, it was a safe bet that the crafty small forward was in for a good afternoon. 

The Cats flew out of the blocks with a brilliant start against the Saints booting the opening five majors of the contest, Mannagh was heavily influential kicking two goals and dishing off another goal assist to give his side a healthy buffer early on.

As the afternoon wore on, Geelong struggled to build a match winning lead until a dominant phase in the third term which was again inspired by Mannagh, who collected nine disposals and four score involvements to help the Cats take a 37 point margin into the final break. 

The clever Cat went on to finish with 24 disposals, three goals and two goal assists in a brilliant performance, not letting his pressure lapse either as he laid a team high 11 tackles on Sunday afternoon. 

Mannagh said it was a focus to start the game strong, as Geelong looks to build momentum heading towards the final month of the home and away season. 

“We spoke about starting the game really well because obviously the last couple of times they played us, they had the wood over us,” Mannagh told Cats Media. 

“We wanted to set the tone really early, trying to get the ball in our front half. We knew they would take those short little kicks and if we denied that, making them kick long down the line it would go a long way to helping us.

“The first quarter we did that really well, probably dropped off a little bit in the middle of the game but we finished off really well.

“We will take the four points and we have got another five weeks to build, to make sure our game is in tip top shape before we head towards the real stuff.”

Mannagh has been a focal point of the Cats offense in 2025, kicking 20 goals in just 15 matches while also averaging over 18 disposals and four clearances per game. 

Sunday afternoon was the latest in a long line of strong performances for the brilliant forward this year, fittingly coming at GMHBA Stadium against the same team he made his AFL debut against almost 16 months ago.

But Mannagh said his primary focus is making sure he is plays his role, to help the Cats succeed in the final portion of the home and away season. 

“Numbers are numbers, but we just want to make sure we are playing the team game,” Mannagh said. 

“Make sure we are playing our role in the team and as small forwards, some games we get the ball a bit and sometimes we don’t at all.

“We just need to make sure we are in the right position, we tend to focus on that a fair bit. I will go look at that, there was definitely a few times where I wasn’t in the right position and I could probably give one or two away.

“We will look at that and go again, but overall the whole group did really well and the mids gave us really good use.”