Jed Bews – 5
Tough night for Bews, who had eight tackles but mostly struggled to make an impact. His night was made worse when Jacob Townsend then Jason Castagna outmarked him then slotted goals in the fourth quarter. 

Mark Blicavs – 5
Was tidy when he had the ball, but just didn't win enough of it. Backed up Zac Smith in the ruck and was solid enough without having an influence.

Patrick Dangerfield – 7
Maximum effort as always and his mark running fearlessly into a contest in the third quarter was courageous. But went at only 45 per cent efficiency on his 31 disposals. Spent a lot of the first half up forward after an early leg injury and also had a collision with Brandon Ellis in the second term.

Mitch Duncan – 8
Geelong's best player and worked against the flow in the early going when the Tigers were all over the Cats. Worked hard in the trenches for 29 touches (14 contested) and laid a match-high 11 tackles. Strong performance. 

Cameron Guthrie – 3
Done for the night early in the third quarter with a calf injury. His big moment was late in the first half, when he cut off a Nathan Broad kick then sent a torpedo forward that led to a Patrick Dangerfield goal. Wasn't great before that.

Zach Guthrie – 5
The pressure was on the 19-year-old to perform as one of the replacements for Daniel Menzel. Took a long time to get going, but won seven contested possessions to half-time and took a superb pack mark about 30 metres out in the third quarter. His miss from the ensuing kick will haunt him.

Tom Hawkins – 6
Strange night for the Tomahawk. Work rate was there, but did most of his damage outside 50 apart from a brief flurry in the third quarter. His decision to give the ball to Zach Tuohy when within scoring range early in the match was odd to say the least.

Lachie Henderson – 6
Little offensive impact with only eight disposals, but subdued in-form Jacob Townsend while often tasked with playing on the last line of defence. Among the better Cats on a difficult night.

Jake Kolodjashnij – 5
Finished the match on the bench with a calf issue. Was OK throughout the night without living up to his usual output. Set up a Tom Hawkins shot on goal in the second term.

Tom Lonergan – 6
Was stout in defence and took some goal-saving marks, particularly early, but probably narrowly lost his one-on-one battle with Jack Riewoldt. Still did his bit and was just overwhelmed by an inspired Tigers performance.

Andrew Mackie – 6
Battled away, but did some untidy things on occasion. Bloated his stats sheet with eight touches in the last quarter to finish with 19, but it wasn't one of his better nights.

Sam Menegola – 5
Got better after a horror start, but 15 disposals at 47 per cent efficiency is forgettable, no matter how you spin it. Had a shocking turnover kicking inside 50 at one stage, but to his credit managed to improve his rating throughout the night.

Steven Motlop – 5
The enigma that is Steven Motlop had another tough chapter. Had a pair of poor early turnovers – one to Dion Prestia and another out on the full – but did end Geelong's goal drought with a quality finish on the run in the second quarter.

Jordan Murdoch – 3
It was one big struggle for Murdoch, who set his sorry tone with a couple of shots out on the full in the first quarter. Just couldn't get into the contest and even hurt his ankle in the second term. Was caught holding the ball early in the fourth quarter to cap his night.

Brandan Parfitt – 5
Gave away a 50m penalty for a late and high hit on Bachar Houli in a second-quarter marking contest, but was generally OK for a first-year player. Showed impressive composure to baulk opponents and set up what should have been a Zach Guthrie goal in the third term.

James Parsons – 4
Had three shots on goal for one six-pointer, so it wasn't all bad. Did his foot sprain affect him? Either way, Parsons never got going and will be keen to redeem himself next week.

Joel Selwood – 6
Well down on his lofty standards. Was caught holding the ball in his defensive 50 in the first quarter and had only three possessions to the five-minute mark of the second term. Selwood rose to the occasion mid-game and was instrumental in Geelong fighting back, including setting up Patrick Dangerfield's second-quarter goal.

Scott Selwood – 7
A workhorse, and one of the Cats' top performers. The numbers don't always tell the story, but it's hard to argue with the lower-profile Selwood's on the night: 27 disposals (13 contested), eight tackles, eight inside 50s and seven clearances.

Zac Smith – 6
The best ruckman on the ground. Dominated the hit-outs with 50 – compared to Tiger rival Toby Nankervis' 32 – and won eight of his 11 disposals in contested situations. On the fringes of Geelong's best players.

Tom Stewart – 5
Had some big jobs, including manning Josh Caddy and Dustin Martin, and held up OK at times. There were too many shaky moments, including a dropped uncontested mark that gifted Caddy his first goal, and turnovers for Stewart to look back fondly at his performance.

Harry Taylor – 4
Any gloss from his outstanding round 21 domination of Alex Rance was gone by night's end. This was the one that counted, and Rance gave Taylor a bath. Kicked a goal when the result was long decided and just wasn't up to it this time.

Zach Tuohy – 7
The Irishman can hold his head high. His performance never wavered like many of his teammates' did and was a genuinely good contributor from go to whoa in his hard-running role off half-back.