{"id":120934,"date":"2025-09-05T15:01:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/120934\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T15:01:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:01:09","slug":"qualifying-final-geelong-v-brisbane-the-big-statements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/120934\/","title":{"rendered":"Qualifying Final – Geelong v Brisbane – The Big Statements"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am predisposed to dislike Geelong. As a Hawthorn supporter, I am supposed to hate the club. We\u2019re not friendly with them \u2013 we have history.<\/p>\n

However, as the second quarter wound to a close, there I was, hoping like hell the Cats would consolidate the excellent work they\u2019d put together in the first half that was somewhat undone by one of the worst periods of umpiring I\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah\u2026 we cannot do a review of this game without going there, and I am going there in the intro. I\u2019ll get to the ins and outs of the Cats and the Lions soon enough, but first, we have some business to attend to, and I cannot move on without getting this stuff down.<\/p>\n

As Tyson Stengle lined up for a goal that would have opened up a close to a six-goal lead for the Cats, the whistle blew at the opposite end of the ground. Mark O\u2019Connor had nudged Cam Rayner in the back, and the Brisbane forward milked it.<\/p>\n

A free kick was paid 150 metres off the ball.<\/p>\n

The umpire got sucked in.<\/p>\n

And then, as if things were not completely fucked up already, after Rayner slotted the goal, the same umpire paid another free kick to Rayner for another goal, as Cam Guthrie ran into him and knocked him over.<\/p>\n

In both instances, Rayner went down like he\u2019d been shot, and really, he should be absolutely ashamed of himself. He laughed, took the free kicks and goals, and celebrated the ruse he\u2019d pulled\u2026 as the game that has for so long been the golden goose had the noose tightened around its neck.<\/p>\n

The crowd anger was palpable. Hell, I was angry, too. Not because it cost my team a goal, or because my favourite player was hard done by, but because more of what the game was got replaced by the weak, over-officiated crap that now calls itself Aussie Rules Football.<\/p>\n

Imagine showing someone this game as their first taste of footy?<\/p>\n

What would you tell them? How would those couple of minutes, and those soft-as-butter decisions, measure up the game you\u2019d built up to them? Hell, forget the homophobic stuff \u2013 I half expect Snoop Dog to pull out of being the Grand Final entertainment because he doesn\u2019t want to be associated with such a weak-as-piss game. Please don\u2019t show him this footage.<\/p>\n

The umpire that made these pair of calls deserves to be relieved of his duties for the remainder of the finals series. Those types of reactive, panicked decisions do not belong in a high-stakes final where, historically, rules have been relaxed as the league looks to showcase the game, with the best players and the best teams testing each other.<\/p>\n

There will be some who think the exact opposite to me, and that\u2019s okay. They\u2019ll say \u201cyou can\u2019t bash into someone\u2019s back 150 metres off the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d agree wholeheartedly\u2026 if O\u2019Connor had actually bashed into him. However, Rayner went down so willingly that O\u2019Connor almost fell over as he expected a little more resistance when he did little more than nudge the Lion in the back. Watch the vision again. Rayner crashes to the deck like he is made of Jenga blocks. he was milking it, and anyone who\u2019s played the game knew it.<\/p>\n

Which is probably why the umpire thinks he was right in awarding Rayner a free kick. A different perspective.<\/p>\n

The game deserves better than wat we saw in those moments.<\/p>\n

It deserves better from Rayner, who basically took the piss with his efforts to draw the free kicks.<\/p>\n

And it deserves better from an umpire who decided that this contact at the other end of the ground, warranted penalising a team so heavily that it had the potential to change the game. It didn\u2019t, because the Cats were too good, but his decision(s) dragged Brisbane back into the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best it\u2019s ever been,\u201d remember?<\/p>\n

\u201cDisgrace\u201d was a word I heard used by some experts to describe the entire scene, and I have to agree. It detracted from a night that should have been all about the Cats, and all about them making yet another Preliminary Final \u2013 that\u2019ll be ten for Chris Scott.<\/p>\n

Instead, all the talk will be about this disastrous series of decisions that made me feel like the game I loved had slipped away.<\/p>\n

Damn that umpire\u2026 he made me barrack for Geelong. I\u2019ve never felt dirtier. Time to actually start the review.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aside from those free kicks and a quick flurry late in the game, this was a compelling case for the Cats\u2019 premiership credentials.<\/p>\n

The pressure they exerted on the reigning premiers at stoppages, and whenever the ball hit the deck, was top-notch, and despite having fewer disposals than the Lions, they were dominant in most parts of the ground.<\/p>\n

For me, it was about the way the Cats disrupted everything the Lions wanted to do. There was simply no passage permitted for the Lions through the guts, and when they tried, the Cats closed in from all angles.<\/p>\n

Even with Jeremy Cameron and Shannon Neale down (after Jezza\u2019s \u201calmost\u201d first quarter), the Cats continued to find avenues to attack that just weren\u2019t available for the Lions.<\/p>\n

The Cats closed down Hugh McCluggage, with Oisin Mullin once again applying the clamps, and with Ollie Dempsey using his impeccable timing to get forward and hit the scoreboard, they were far too hungry, and far too well-drilled for the Lions to combat.<\/p>\n

In his press conference, Chris Fagan was effusive with his praise for Geelong, and rightfully so. After a month and a bit of people questioning the calibre of their opponents, they welcomed the reigning premier to the MCG and booked themselves a Preliminary Final at the same venue in a fortnight.<\/p>\n

What a team\u2026 seriously, as much as I am supposed to hate them, I just can\u2019t. I respect the hell out of Geelong, and that respect grew again in this game.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get into the nitty-gritty. Here are The Mongrel\u2019s Big Statements<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The remainder of this article is for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It\u2019s a good deal.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oh\u2026 a Mongrel paywall\u2026 the worst of all paywalls. Why? Because HB believes work such as this is worth a mere pittance per day. Whilst you could stick with Caro\u2019s Arrow or Kane\u2019s Vol-Kane-O, you\u2019ll get your 500 words in the newspaper and be happy, or you could dive articles like this. If you don\u2019t want to, that\u2019s fine. You\u2019re welcome to join and keep reading if you do.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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