AFL 2009 ROUND 21; WESTERN BULLDOGS V GEELONG; MATCH PREVIEW PLUS TV / RADIO BROADCAST DETAILS
Ben Jensen 21 August 2009

By Ben Jensen AFL 2009 ROUND 21 WESTERN BULLDOGS V GEELONG CATS GEELONG face the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium this Friday night in a perfect test just two weekends from finals. Brad Ottens will not return, despite three weeks in the VFL, though the Cats have made five changes from last week's side. Travis Varcoe is one out for the Cats, set to miss three to four weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in Saturday night's thriller with the Swans at ANZ Stadium. Steve Johnson misses again with his hip injury, Tom Harley with a knee while Simon Hogan and Tom Lonergan are dropped. Darren Milburn, David Wojcinski, Max Rooke, Paul Chapman and Ryan Gamble all return however. Meanwhile the Bulldogs have their own issues, 2001 Brownlow medallist Jason Akermanis facing the chop or a pay cut should he want to continue into 2010. Again the game's being broadcast on ESPN in the UK, that's three out of three.

JUMP TO FULL TEAM LISTING

The last meeting between these two teams was a classic, the Cats fairly lucky to finish in front after Bulldogs veteran Brad Johnson had a shot after the siren to win the match, managing only a behind, the Cats hanging on by 2 points. Back then Steve Johnson and Matthew Stokes kicked 0 goals between them, for the Bullies Akermanis and Johnson 8 on a good night for forwards. Both sides have struggled for form the last two months, the Bulldogs all but losing third spot on the ladder to Collingwood, Cats top spot to the Saints.

One thing that is starting to work for the Cats is their backline; Scarlett and Taylor now appearing fully fit, and rookie Tom Gillies slotting in well. Captain Tom Harley is in and out of form but fit while the likes of Milburn, Rooke and Wojcinski may only be a week or so away from pressing for a return.

YOUR SAY: WILL THE CATS GET OVER THE LINE?

LAST GAME DETAILS

INJURY LIST

LAST TIME

MATCH NEWS BY GOOGLE

UMPIRES:

TBA

TIP?

Cats by 7 points

BETTING GUIDE (As At 19/8/2009) (Check OnThePunt for latest odds)*

The odds for Hawthorn are expected to narrow closer to the game, but on the Wednesday the Cats were short priced favourites, paying around $1.20 with the Hawks $4 outsiders.

* This information does not constitute investment advice. And if you think it does, you may as well invest in Babcock & Brown, Opus Prime or ABC Learning Centres. Suffice to say, don't rely on us, check the latest odds yourself.

YOUR SAY

MATCH NEWS BY GOOGLE

GEELONG

IN: Chapman, Rooke, Gamble, Milburn, Wojcinski
OUT: Varcoe (shoulder), S.Johnson (hip), Hogan, Harley (knee), Lonergan

B: Milburn, Scarlett, Enright
HB: D.Johnson, Taylor, Mackie,
C: Corey, Ling, Bartel
HF: Chapman, Mooney, Rooke
F: Stokes, Hawkins, Byrnes
FOLL: Mumford, Selwood, Ablett
INT: Gamble, Gillies, Blake, Wojcinski
EMER: Hogan, Tenace, Lonergan

WESTERN BULLDOGS

IN: Higgins, Giansiracusa
OUT: Williams (foot), Wood

B: Harbrow, Lake, Addison
HB: Hargrave, Morris, Gilbee
C: Eagleton, Boyd, Picken
HF: Murphy, Hahn, Johnson
F: Welsh, Minson, Akermanis
FOLL: Hudson, Cooney, Higgins
INT: Hill, Ward, Giansiracusa, Reid
EMER: Everitt, Stack, Wood

CATS INJURY LIST

LATEST LIST

Updated 19/8/2009

Player (Injury) Onset; Estimated Return; Notes

Max Rooke (knee) - test
Darren Milburn (ankle) - test
David Wojcinski (ankle) - test
James Kelly (hamstring) - test
Bryn Weadon (quad) - 1 week
Nathan Djerrkura (quad) - 1 week
Scott Simpson (ankle) - 3 weeks
Travis Varcoe (shoulder) - 3-4 weeks
Josh Hunt (ACL) - season
Mitch Brown (broken leg) - season
Ranga Ediriwickrama (hamstring) - season
Matthew Egan (foot) - season

BULLDOGS INJURY LIST

Daniel Cross (ankle) - 1 week
Ryan Griffen (hamstring) - 2 weeks
Tom Williams (foot) - 2 weeks

LAST TIME

AFL 2009, ROUND 9

FRIDAY 22 MAY 2009, 19:40 AEST, ETIHAD STADIUM

CATS SCRAPE PAST DOGS IN NAIL BITER
Ben Jensen 23 May 2009

By Ben Jensen AFL 2009 ROUND 9 GEELONG CATS V WESTERN BULLDOGS GEELONG just got over the line against the Bulldogs in the best game of the season thus far a few hours ago at Etihad Stadium. Bulldog Brad Johnson had a chance to be a hero after the siren but could only manage a behind, after marking right on the goal line but between the goal and behind posts. The Cats led by 36 points at one stage in the third term but the Bulldogs, led by Jason Akermanis in his 300th game, would not let the matter rest and pushed Geelong all the way and at one stage looked likelier winners.

PREVIEW
REVIEW

GEELONG 6.4, 9.10, 14.12, 17.14 (116) DEFEATED
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.2, 8.3, 11.8, 17.12 (114)

GOALS
GEELONG: S Johnson 5, Stokes 4, Chapman 3, Bartel, Gamble, Rooke, Selwood, Varcoe
WESTERN BULLDOGS: Akermanis, Johnson 4, Giansiracusa, Griffen 2, Cooney, Eagleton, Hill, Minson, Picken

BEST
GEELONG: G Ablett J Selwood S Johnson M Scarlett C Ling J Corey
WESTERN BULLDOGS: J Akermanis N Eagleton B Johnson R Griffen M Boyd D Cross

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

VFL

2009 VFL DRAW FOR GEELONG

VFL ROUND 19
WERRIBEE TIGERS V GEELONG
SATURDAY 22 AUGUST 2009, 14:00 AEST
BARTERCARD OVAL

GEELONG

TBA

LAST TIME

VFL 2009 ROUND 5, SATURDAY 9 MAY 2009, 10:40 AEST

SKILLED STADIUM

MATCH PREVIEW AND TEAM LISTS

The Cats are attempting to get their first win, in their first home game of the season against Werribee prior to the AFL match. Werribee however have two wins out of three and will be no pushover that's for sure. We're keen to see how Tom Lonergan, Nathan Djerrkura, Ryan Gamble and particularly Trent West go.

GEELONG 2.1 8.4 12.5 15.8 (98) DEFEATED
WERRIBEE 4.7 8.10 11.12 13.14 (92)

GOALS: GEELONG : J. Podsiadly 6, T. Lonergan 4, A. Varcoe, A. Donohue, B. Moles, N. Djerrkura, T. Hunt
WERRIBEE: M. Pask 3, T. Bongetti 2, L. Adams 2, S. Kennedy 2, W. Martiniello 2, S. Wright, D. Gleeson

BEST: GEELONG : R. Gamble, J. Podsiadly, N. Djerrkura, B. Raidme, J. Laidler, T. Gillies
WERRIBEE: M. Barlow, A. Obst, M. Rockefeller, S. Wright, W. Martiniello, D. Gleeson

REPORTS: Nil

WERRIBEE

TBA