Cats slay Lions, into 2020 AFL Grand Final for Gary Ablett’s final game

Brisbane Lions v Geelong Cats, AFL 2020 second preliminary final match review Ben Jensen GEELONG great Gary Ablett will bring down the curtain on his nineteen season AFL career in next Saturday night’s AFL Grand Final after the Cats defeated Brisbane Lions in the preliminary final on their home turf last night. Geelong led for all but a few minutes in the first quarter, but didn’t kick clear of the Lions until the second half holding the Lions to one goal kicking three of their own in the third term to take a 18 point lead into the final quarter. Four goals to one including Gary Rohan’s third after the siren blew the margin out to 40 points.

The Cats’ opponent is the best side of the previous three seasons Richmond, the Tigers like the Cats losing their first final but accounted for Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night. The Cats reported no injuries while four-time Hawthorn premiership player Grant Birchall may have played his last game after suffering a hamstring injury late in the match.

Last time the Cats and Tigers met it was a one-side affair, Richmond winning by 26 points. But the Cats were without athletic ruckman Rhys Stanley, dangerous forward Rohan, and a midfielder named Joel Selwood who played his tenth preliminary final last night.

AFL 2020 – SECOND PRELIMINARY FINAL
BRISBANE LIONS V GEELONG CATS
SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER 2020, 19:40 AEDT
GABBA, BRISBANE
MATCH PREVIEW

GEELONG 2.5, 4.8, 7.11, 11.16 (82) defeated
BRISBANE 2.0, 4.3, 5.5, 6.6 (42)

GOALS
GEELONG CATS: Rohan 3, Ablett 2, Hawkins 2, Miers, Tuohy, Parfitt, Henry
BRISBANE LIONS: Cameron 2, Neale 2, Hipwood, Rayner

BEST
GEELONG CATS: Duncan, Stewart, Dangerfield, Ablett, Hawkins, Rohan
BRISBANE LIONS: Neale, Rich, Lyons, Lester, Zorko

INJURIES
GEELONG CATS: Nil
BRISBANE LIONS: Grant Birchall (hamstring)

CHANGES
GEELONG CATS: Nil
BRISBANE LIONS: Darcy Gardiner (knee), who was replaced in the selected side by Jack Payne

REPORTS
GEELONG CATS: Nil
BRISBANE LIONS: Nil

CROWD: TBC at Gabba, Brisbane

GEELONG CATS – SELECTED SIDE
IN: –
OUT: –
B: J.Henry, H.Taylor, J.Kolodjashnij
HB: L.Henderson, M.Blicavs, T.Stewart
C: M.Duncan, J.Selwood, S.Menegola
HF: L.Dahlhaus, G.Rohan, G.Miers
F: G.Ablett, T.Hawkins, S.Simpson
FOLL: R.Stanley, P.Dangerfield, C.Guthrie
INT: J.Bews, B.Parfitt, Z.Tuohy, M.O’Connor
EMER: T.Atkins, Z.Guthrie, E.Ratugolea, B.Close

BRISBANE LIONS – SELECTED SIDE
IN: Ellis-Yolmen
OUT: Coleman (omitted)
B: D.Rich, D.Gardiner, H.Andrews
HB: Z.Bailey, R.Lester, G.Birchall
C: H.McCluggage, M.Robinson, C.Ah Chee
HF: D.Zorko, D.McStay, C.Rayner
F: O.McInerney, E.Hipwood, C.Cameron
FOLL: S.Martin, J.Lyons, L.Neale
INT: J.Berry, L.McCarthy, C.Ellis-Yolmen, B.Starcevich
EMER: K.Coleman, M.Hinge, J.Payne, T.Fullarton

UMPIRES
FIELD: Robert Findlay, Shaun Ryan, Craig Fleer EM: Jacob Mollison
BOUNDARY: Ian Burrows, Michael Marantelli, Matthew Jenkinson, Christopher Gordon
GOAL: Steven Axon, Matthew Dervan EM: Jesse Baird