AFL ROUND 21 2007: GEELONG V PORT ADELAIDE; MATCH PREVIEW PLUS TV / RADIO BROADCAST DETAILS; BARTEL OUT
Ben Jensen 25 August 2007

By Ben Jensen GEELONG CATS V PORT ADELAIDE POWER GEELONG MIDFIELDER JIMMY BARTEL will miss the remainder of the home and away season after having his appendix removed yesterday after feeling adbominal pain. Football boss Neil Balme reflected on the timing of Bartel's misfortune. "We're lucky in the sense that this happened now and not in September. We expect Jimmy to miss one or two games and then be back."

GEELONG has also dropped former skipper Steven King in favour of Mark Blake and rested NAB Rising Star favourite Joel Selwood for this Sunday's top of the table match of the round with Port Adelaide. Geelong resisted the temptation to reverse the decision to rest Selwood. Bartel's place has been taken by Shannon Byrnes.

David Johnson has re-earnt his spot in the side, notionally at Selwood's expense. Max Rooke will resume in the VFL, after his season-long battles with hamstring injury. For Port, Kane Cornes has signed a new contract, agreeing to stick with the Power until 2010.

Port Adelaide, second on the ladder to Geelong after their last-second win over Hawthorn in Launceston last weekend, want to secure a top four spot on the AFL Ladder, and hopefully a first up home final. The Cats just want to keep their momentum going, and seek their sixteenth win in a row.

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LAST GAME DETAILS

INJURY LIST

LAST TIME

MATCH NEWS BY GOOGLE

UMPIRES

James, Kennedy, Head

MILESTONES

NIL

WEATHER

As usually at Skilled Stadium you'll probably freeze your arse off and arrive home sunburned if you don't prepare ahead.

Min 9, Max 19

Partly Cloudy, Mild, a few showers

Quite windy - around 20 km/hr

TIP?

Geelong by 41 points

BETTING (As At TBA) (Check OnThePunt for latest odds)*

* This information does not constitute investment advice.

GEELONG

IN: Byrnes, Blake, D Johnson
OUT: King, Selwood (soreness), Bartel (appendix)

B: Milburn Scarlett Harley
HB: Mackie Egan Wojcinski
C: Kelly Enright Corey
HF: S Johnson Mooney Varcoe
F: Chapman N Ablett Stokes
FOLL: Ottens Ling G Ablett
INT: J Hunt D Johnson Blake Byrnes
EMER: Callan Playfair Gardiner

PORT ADELAIDE

IN: Logan, Wakelin
OUT: Carlile, Thomson

B: Wilson Thurstans Pettigrew
HB: P Burgoyne Chaplin Surjan
C: Cassisi K Cornes Rodan
HF: C Cornes Tredrea Ebert
F: Lade Westhoff Motlop
FOLL: Brogan S Burgoyne Pearce
INT: Boak, Logan, Salopek, Wakelin
EMER: Carlile, Mahoney, White

CATS INJURY LIST

REFER INJURY LIST FOR UPDATES (Updated on Tuesday nights)

As advised by the club, 21/8/2007 / Updated 24/8/2007

(The Cattery's comments in brackets)

Jimmy Bartel Appendix 2 weeks (New)

Stephen Owen ACL Season
Kane Tenace hamstring 1 week (New)
Joel Reynolds ACL season
Nathan Djerrkura quad strain 2-3 weeks (Dragging on!)
Max Rooke hamstring test (Amazing progress)
Brent Prismall wrist test (Probably too late to press for AFL squad)
Sam Hunt hamstring 2-3 weeks

PORT ADELAIDE INJURY LIST

As advised, 20/8/2007

Nathan Batsanis, Groin (Round 18 SANFL) - Season

Jonathan Giles, Knee (Round 19 SANFL) - 1-2 weeks

Alex Lee, Shoulder (20.7.07) - Season

LAST TIME

ROUND 9, 27 MAY 2009

GEELONG MAKE THEMSELVES AT HOME, LEAPFROG PORT ADELAIDE TO SECOND SPOT
THE CATS STUNNED the Power tonight at AAMI Stadium, in a game reminiscent of the record breaking destroyation over Richmond at Telstra Dome four weeks ago. Geelong led by 71 points at half time, and ended up winners by 54 points. After a five goal to one opening term the Cats led by twenty-five points but missed several easy goals so could have been in front by more. Geelong dominated Port Adelaide in the first quarter and with an eight goals to one second term, blew any chance Port had of coming back to the proverbial 'shizenhousen'. A pedestrian second half played mostly in light drizzle saw the lead pegged back to fifty-six points

The Cats now leapfrog past Port Adelaide into second position on the AFL ladder, behind only the West Coast Eagles. Port Adelaide were shunted back down their ladder from second to seventh position, their percentage plummeting from 114 to 105, although equal with Geelong and six other teams on six wins in Adelaide, Hawthorn, Collingwood and the Kangaroos.

Geelong coach Mark 'Bomber' Thompson was rapt with the win, his team's sixth from the first nine games, and again had a backhander for the media who continue to bring up Geelong's forty+ year premiership drought. The fireworks for a premiership aren't being ordered just yet, Bomber's taking it 'one week at a time'.

GEELONG 5.4 (34) 13.9 (87) 14.15 (99) 16.20 (116) DEFEATED
PORT ADELAIDE 1.3 (9) 2.4 (16) 4.10 (34) 8.12 (60)

GOALS:
GEELONG: Rooke 3, Johnson 2, Bartel 2,Mooney 2, Wocjinski 2, N Ablett, Varcoe, G Ablett, Stokes, Ling
PORT ADELAIDE: Rodan 2, Burgoyne 2, Cassisi, Treadrea, Ebert, Krakouer

BEST:
GEELONG: Bartel, Wojcinski, Ling, Rooke, Ottens, Corey, G Ablett, Scarlett, Milburn, Stokes
PORT ADELAIDE: Difficult to discern

VFL

VFL ROUND TWENTY 2007

BENDIGO BOMBERS V GEELONG

SUNDAY 26 AUGUST 14:00PM

QE OVAL (BENDIGO)

B Callan Lonergan J. Hunt
HB Enright Spencer D. Johnson
C Prismall Byrne Davenport
HF Gardiner Playfair Grima
F Blake Hawkins West
R King Gamble Byrnes
Int R. Butler Barnes Cheep Hogan Urie Wilson Couch Clarke Thompson
Hollmer Rooke Firman

LAST TIME

VFL ROUND SIX 2007, SKILLED STADIUM

SUNDAY 13 MAY 2007

GEELONG held off Essendon affiliate Bendigo to win by thirty-two points in the AFL curtain raiser. Former skipper Steven King kicked four goals, as did recruit, former Eagle and Demon Phil Read. King will still find it difficult to break his way back into the AFL side, but importantly there is now competitive tension in the ruck division for the first time since 1999, John Barnes' final year at the Cats.

GEELONG 5.4 8.8 15.10 20.16 (136) DEFEATED
BENDIGO BOMBERS 3.1 6.3 11.6 16.8 (104)

GOALS
GEELONG: P. Read 4, S. King 4, C. Urie 2, R. Gamble 2, J. Davenport, J. Byrne, M. Rooke, M. Spencer, C. Gardiner, T. Couch, S. Hogan, T. West
BENDIGO BOMBERS: K. Bradley 5, J. Cloke 3, K. Reimers 3, S. Geary 2, A. Connaughton, S. Lonergan, S. Camporeale

BEST
GEELONG: S. King, M. Rooke, T. Callan, S. Byrnes, P. Read, J. Byrne
BENDIGO BOMBERS: A. Connaughton, K. Bradley, C. Heffernan, D. Dick, S. Camporeale, S. Rosa

B Connaughton Johns Weeks
HB Rosa Chartres Flaherty
C Heffernan Bolton Peverill
HF Carter Neagle Coghlan
F Jolley Lee Atkinson
R T. Plummer Cloke Houli
Int Bradley Maddern M. Johnson Dillon S. Plummer Hille Dyson Hocking Camporeale Nash Bowles Dempsey

TOM LONERGAN (CLICK IMAGE TO VISIT THE WEBSITE OF ZAIDEE'S RAINBOW FOUNDATION)