A Magpie Cat-astrophe: Bucks’ boys embarrassed as Geelong makes it four prelims in five years

Geelong has waltzed into their fourth preliminary final in five years, totally embarrassing Collingwood to the tune of 68 points in their semi-final at the Gabba on Saturday night.

The Magpies were horrendous, kicking just one goal in the opening two quarters - marking the second time in club history they’d only recorded one scoring shot in the first half.

But they were as bad as the Cats were good, with Chris Scott’s midfield running the show and their forwards kicking straight to build an early lead they would never come close to relinquishing.

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Geelong will face Brisbane for a spot in the Grand Final next week at the same venue.

Pies' horror finals start

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QUARTER-BY-QUARTER RECAP

There were no late changes to either side.

Patrick Dangerfield was sent into the forward line from the opening bounce. He was tremendous in his last two games against the Magpies while primarily playing in the midfield, but it didn’t amount to much.

A Tom Hawkins behind begun the scoring, before Gary Ablett found Zach Tuohy on a lead inside 50. A free kick for high contact gave him the shot on goal, and he converted.

Dangerfield then returned to the centre bounce mix after his start up forward, before Rhys Stanley and Gryan Miers gave the Cats a dream start with two more majors.

In contrast the Magpies had some costly early mistakes, with Darcy Cameron dropping a mark in the forward pocket and Jordan De Goey spraying a set shot out of bounds on the full.

Making matters worse, Taylor Adams had to head into the rooms to have his elbow examined, appearing to be in serious pain. He returned to the game at quarter-time with it strapped.

It took a 50-metre penalty to give the Magpies some territory in the final minutes of the quarter, resulting in Jamie Elliott giving them their first goal.

But Tom Hawkins goalled from the ensuing centre bounce, handing his Cats a 4.4 (28) to 1.0 (6) lead at quarter-time.

The leaders then continued their dominant start, with Patrick Dangerfield kicking a remarkable goal from the boundary and setting up another by flying into a contest and clearing out three Magpies opponents.

Gaz's silky skills hurt Pies

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The margin was out to a stunning 42 points after Hawkins kicked his second midway through the second term, with Geelong dominating the midfield, winning 17 of the first 23 clearances.

Dangerfield snapped another impressive goal from the boundary in the final minutes of the half, while Cam Guthrie made it 9.6 (60) to 1.0 (6) at halftime - a bigger lead than Geelong had in the famous 2007 Grand Final blowout.

“That is as comprehensive a belting in a half of footy, let alone in a final, as we’ve seen in 2020,” Melbourne great Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy.

St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt said the Pies were “absolutely exposed, particularly in the mental side of this contest.”

“They just haven’t shown up, pretty simply.”

'It's bullshizen!'

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The Cats took it easy in the second half, but it still took the Magpies until deep in the third quarter to record their scoring shot. Unfortunately for them, Jamie Elliott sprayed a very makeable set shot for a point.

With just three behinds scored in the third term, Geelong took a 9.8 (62) to 1.1 (7) lead into three-quarter-time.

Patrick Dangerfield added his third and fourth goals early in the fourth quarter.

Collingwood added some mild respectability in the last term with Brodie Grundy, Jaidyn Stephenson and Brody Mihocek (twice) kicking majors.

The only disappointing moment for the Cats came in the final minutes when Rhys Stanley limped off with a knee concern, though he returned to the game late.

Tom Hawkins kicked his 600th career goal to cap off the night.

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