Cats resurrect season with thumping win over Hawks

Geelong Cats v Hawthorn Hawks, AFL 2023 round 4 Ben Jensen THE CATS, who in case you missed it lost their first three games, thrashed the Hawks at the MCG on Easter Monday on the back of a ten goal third quarter. The Hawks held a slender lead going into half time but would not score at all in the third term while the Cats piled on ten goals five behinds. Jeremy Cameron ended the day with seven goals taking his season tally to 18, a two goal lead over second placed Blue Charlie Curnow. Substitute Ollie Henry was called on in the second half after Jed Bews suffered concussion from a collision with Hawk Conor Nash who played out the game.

Cameron was named the Cats’ best and scored a perfect ten in the AFLCA awards, with Mitch Duncan second (eight votes). Max Holmes continues to impress coming back from the injury that cruelly ended his 2022 season, also named in the best. This weekend in the ‘Gather Round’, or ‘NRL Round’ as we call it, Geelong play West Coast on Sunday at the Adelaide Oval. Both sides have had only one win so far but the Cats have a vastly superior percentage, the Cats’ 109.9% v 77.6% for the Eagles.

AFL 2023 ROUND FOUR
GEELONG CATS V HAWTHORN HAWKS
MONDAY 10 APRIL 2023, 15:20 AEST
MELBOURNE CRICKET GROUND (MCG)

GEELONG CATS: 3.2, 4.3, 14.8, 19.13 (127) DEFEATED
HAWTHORN HAWKS: 3.3, 5.6, 5.6, 6.9 (45)

GOALS
GEELONG CATS: Cameron 7, Ollie Henry 2, Hawkins 2, Close 2, Stengle 2, O’Connor, Holmes, Rohan, Dangerfield
HAWTHORN HAWKS: Breust 3, Greene 2, Amon

BEST
GEELONG CATS: Cameron, Duncan, Holmes, Dangerfield, Stewart, Miers
HAWTHORN HAWKS: Breust, Day, Ward, Impey

INJURIES
GEELONG CATS: Blicavs (ribs), Bews (concussion)
HAWTHORN HAWKS: Nash (head)

CHANGES
GEELONG CATS: –
HAWTHORN HAWKS: –

SUBSTITUTES
GEELONG CATS: Ollie Henry, replaced Jed Bews after half-time)
HAWTHORN HAWKS: Chad Wingard, replaced Tyler Brockman in third quarter

REPORTS
GEELONG CATS: –
HAWTHORN HAWKS: –

CROWD: 65,355 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

UMPIRES
FIELD Leigh Fisher, Andrew Stephens, Hayden Gavine, Robert Findlay
BOUNDARY Christopher Gordon, Matthew Tomkins, Ben MacDonald, Damien Main
GOAL Steven Piperno, Luke Edwards EMER: Adam Wojcik

PREDICTIONS
Ben – Cats 48 points
Oscar – Cats 23 points
Cassie – Cats 17 points

GEELONG CATS – SELECTED SIDE
IN: Kolodjashnij, Duncan, Stanley, Parfitt
OUT: De Koning (injured)

B: O’Connor, Ratugolea, Tuohy
HB: Kolodjashnij, Stewart, Z.Guthrie
C: Smith, Blicavs, Holmes
HF: Stengle, Hawkins, Close
F: Miers, Cameron, Atkins
FOLL: Ceglar, C.Guthrie, Dangerfield
INT (FROM): Bews, Bowes, Bruhn, Henry, Rohan, Duncan, Stanley, Parfitt

HAWTHORN HAWKS – SELECTED SIDE
IN: Wingard, Koschitzke, Weddle
OUT: Nil

B: Frost, Sicily, Jiath
HB: Scrimshaw, Hardwick, Impey
C: Amon, Newcombe, Morrison
HF: Macdonald, Breust, Moore
F: Brockman, Meek, Greene
FOLL: Reeves, Day, Nash
INT (FROM): Ward, Wingard, Mackenzie, Worpel, Bramble, Maginness, Koschitzke, Weddle