Geelong’s premiership defence was on life support at half-time on Easter Monday, with the Cats staring down the barrel of a season-crippling fourth straight loss to start the year.
A defeat to a Hawthorn side in rebuild mode, and even accused of tanking only a fortnight ago, would almost certainly have sealed the Cats’ demise in 2023.
Instead, they preyed on the youth-laden Hawks’ third quarter vulnerabilities to quickly, if still belatedly, wipe a nine-point deficit at the main break then surge to a match-winning lead with 10 unanswered goals in a ruthless scoring binge.
That explosion of goals, which reached 13 in a row in the final term before Luke Breust finally intervened, propelled Geelong to their maiden triumph of the year – by 82 points – as they try to resurrect their fortunes.
Jeremy Cameron (seven goals) was best afield and kept his Cats in the contest early with his solo heroics in attack, then kept ticking the scoreboard over as his teammates came to the party. If he is not the competition’s top player, there are not many ahead of him.
Captain Patrick Dangerfield, one of the early culprits with some lax defensive work, sprung to life in the third quarter, while super sub Ollie Henry – who replaced Jed Bews (concussion) at half-time – kicked two goals in the term to be a pivotal factor.
Dangerfield’s tackle on Jai Newcombe in the game-turning term was part of his highlight reel, and he was singled out for praise from coach Chris Scott at three-quarter time.
Tom Hawkins, opposed to Sam Frost, also rose to the occasion in the second half. Mitch Duncan’s return should not be underestimated, and he was one of Geelong’s rare four-quarter performers.
Hawthorn have now lost all four third terms this season at a barely believable 147-point deficit, in a trend that must be of concern to second-year coach Sam Mitchell.
The Hawks’ only inside 50 entry for the quarter saw Connor Macdonald dump his kick into Esava Ratugolea’s arms.
Cats coach Chris Scott refused to panic as his team became the first reigning premier to slump to an 0-3 start the next season since North Melbourne in 1976, but will still expect major improvement in the coming weeks.
Hawthorn outworked and out-hunted the more experienced Cats for a half, surging out of the blocks with the first three goals in barely nine minutes, then weathered a Cameron-inspired fightback to hold a slender edge.
But they had no answer once Geelong grabbed control, struggling to even get the ball out of their defensive half.
Breust and impressive 21-year-old Will Day were the Hawks’ fire-starters, but faded like the rest of their teammates, while defenders Jarman Impey and Changkuoth Jiath provided plenty of run.
Unreasonable umpire contact?
In a round where Adelaide’s Jake Soligo already copped a fine for touching a goal umpire, Cameron had an umpire encounter of his own.
The 30-year-old fired through his seventh goal from point-blank range, and was celebrating with the fans, only to run straight into a nearby umpire.
Cameron wrapped his arms around the umpire at the last moment to prevent a worse collision, and may even have come off second-best as they crashed to the ground.
Jeremy Cameron of the Cats collides with the boundary umpire.Credit: Michael Willson, Getty Images
There is unlikely to be any sanction waiting for the champion Cat after this accident.
Déjà vu at the ’G
Hawthorn established their shock Easter Monday upset of Geelong last year with the first three goals in the opening six minutes.
Twelve months later, it was a similar story. Two Breust goals and another to Fergus Greene gave the Hawks a lightning start, except this time it took them nine minutes. Just like the 2022 clash, the Cats staged a fightback – but this time there was no resistance from Hawthorn.
The Hawks’ experience gulf didn’t help as Geelong emerged from half-time in a menacing mood and subsequently put their young rivals to the sword with a devastating response reminiscent of their form in the second half of last season.
One-man show
The discussion on the AFL’s best footballer is a never-ending one – and always subjective – but Cameron continues to ensure he remains in the conversation.
The brilliant Geelong forward almost single-handedly kept the Cats in the contest in the first half as Hawthorn threatened to put their great rivals in a hole they could not recover from.
Cameron kicked two goals in the opening term and delivered a perfect pass for Max Holmes to kick another after the siren, then added another in the second quarter after flying from the side of the pack to mark.
His and Carlton star Charlie Curnow’s blistering starts to the season have paved the way for what could be an entertaining Coleman Medal race. The winner might even be crowned the game’s best.
Geelong 3.2 4.3 14.8 19.13 (127)
Hawthorn 3.3 5.6 5.6 6.9 (45)
Goals
Geelong: Cameron 7, Hawkins 2, Close 2, Henry 2, Stengle 2, Holmes, O’Connor, Rohan, Dangerfield. Hawthorn: Breust 3, Greene 2, Amon.
Best
Geelong: Cameron, Duncan, Dangerfield, Holmes, Smith, Bowes, Close.
Hawthorn: Day, Breust, Impey, Jiath, Ward.
Injuries
Geelong: Bews (concussion). Hawthorn: None.
Umpires: Fisher, Stephens, Gavine, Findlay.
Crowd: 65,300
