The last time Geelong and Richmond met in a final was in the second preliminary final in 1995.

Two of our current Cats Media staff, Tom Peeters and Adam McNicol, were at the game.

Here they recall what was a great afternoon for the boys in the hoops out at Waverley Park.

Tom: I remember this game well! Like many trips from Geelong to Waverley it was what felt like a seven hour bus ride. What followed then was shivering for hours on hard wooden seats. I wonder if the administration back in 1995 tried to get this game played at Kardinia Park?

Adam: Fair call about the facilities at Waverley, mate. They were terrible. And I remember the weather being particularly grim on this day. But I also remember the build-up to the game being brilliant. The Tigers had come from five goals down at half-time to beat Essendon the week before, and the Tiger fans were dreaming of seeing their boys run out in a Grand Final for the first time since 1982. Preliminary finals were old hat for Cats fans like you, given Geelong had played in prelims in 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1994. But it was Richmond's first preliminary final since '82. I must admit here that I grew up in a family of Tigers supporters, so I was surrounded by the wild hordes of the Tiger army. My family had driven five hours from Manangatang in north-west Victoria to be at the game. We sat on the outer wing, about 20 rows from the front (and what felt like about 500 metres from the other side of the ground). The Richmond fans in our area were full of life and energy … until the game started. In the opening few minutes, Michael Gale cleaned up his brother 'Benny' (now the CEO of Richmond), then kicked the ball the wrong way. After that it was one-way traffic. What do you remember about the Cats' onslaught?

Tom: I remember it being strange playing against Richmond. I had just turned nine for this game and had already experienced two losing Grand Finals in 1992 and 1994. In the previous years it seemed like all our finals opponents had been either the Eagles (who we could never beat) and the Bulldogs (who could never beat us). So to all of a sudden be at a game where the opposition crowd was huge and loud was something else. My enduring memory I think of the onslaught was not one of the genuine superstars of the team, but of Johnny Barnes running amok across the entire ground. I remember there being a fair bit of excitement with Gaz being back in the side after missing the qualifying final too. Leigh Colbert was another that I really loved at that age and I remember him wheeling around to boot a beautiful goal in the first quarter. Was the drive from Manangatang spent talking up the Tigers chances in the game or was the fear of the blue and white prevalent at even this stage?

Adam: I don't remember many Richmond supporters going in with much confidence that day. The stats leading into the match were quite similar to now. The Tigers had beaten the Cats just once since 1985! Since then, Gary Ablett Snr had racked up numerous double-figure goal tallies against Richmond. So the lead-up to the game was hoping and dreaming about a Grand Final berth rather than expecting it to happen. By quarter-time, when Geelong led by 24 points, it was pretty clear the dream was over. And when the Cats led 13 goals to three at half-time, it was absolutely done and dusted. The funny thing was that the Richmond supporters used the second half to celebrate what had been a very successful season by the Tigers' standards. I vividly remember Richmond supporters in the outer signing the club song with great gusto as the clock ticked down in the last quarter. The Tigers were then cheered from the field after losing by 89 points! Perhaps that's why they didn't make the finals again until 2001. Anyway, Tommy, it's been great reliving this game, and I'll leave you with the last say. Can you see another 89-point win coming up for the mighty Cats?

Tom: I remember the Tigers fans singing the song! As a young fella, it was very confusing. As good as our record is against the Tigers, I think 89 points might be wishful thinking. I will say this, though: I hope the outcome of this Cats v Tigers qualifying final is much better for Matthew Knights. Go Cats!

SECOND PRELIMINARY FINAL: Saturday, September 23, 1995

Geelong   5.1   13.4   16.6   20.9 (129)

Richmond     1.1   3.2   5.3   6.4 (40) 

Goals: Geelong — Ablett, Brownless 4, Breuer, Hinkley, Riccardi, Barnes 2, Colbert, Lord, McGrath, Mensch

Richmond — Charles, Daffy, Bower, Knights, Naish, Rogers

Best: Geelong — Barnes, Pickering, Couch, Colbert, Sholl, Ablett, McGrath

Richmond — Knights, Campbell, Bond

Crowd: 70,321, at Waverley Park

Umpires: Peter Carey, Rowan Sawers, Hayden Kennedy