The Cats are up on the Gold Coast this weekend in pursuit of their 12th win in succession against a Suns team who’ve fallen out of touch with the finals after last weekend’s loss against Hawthorn.

So what do we make of this game?

Even during wins Geelong are finding areas of their game to work on so they’ll see this as another opportunity to keep moving the season forward, and with a relatively healthy list, players will be playing for their spot in the September 22.

For the Cats, the popular Zach Guthrie will play his 50th game for the club after six years on the list. A mighty achievement. 

A couple of things to look out for when the ball is bounced at 4.35pm on Saturday.

Gold Coast Form Guide

If you watched last weekend’s slim loss to Hawthorn it’s difficult to know which Suns side will show up this weekend.

At the major break, they were down eight in the clearances and contested possessions and 21 on the scoreboard, before turning in a +24 in contest and +8 in clearances performance to fall just 7 points. There are plenty of stars in the Gold Coast sky, and the Cats will be ready for their best and brightest to be on display this Saturday. 

Metricon Stadium 

Geelong has lost to the Suns twice over the past 11 years and perhaps unsurprisingly both games have been at Metricon, where the Suns are 40-72 since 2011.

Incidentally, the first game at the old Carrara between the two sides was back in Round 10 of that season where Geelong won by 66 points, so it's not clear how much the ground, which has very different dimensions to GMHBA Stadium (as most do), has to do with the outcome.

Geelong did split its 2020 games at the ground, losing to Richmond and beating the Swans by 26 and six points respectively.

The Big Guns

Tom Stewart was uncharacteristically quiet last weekend against St. Kilda (18 disposals, two marks) in his second game back from suspension after a solid showing against the Dogs in Round 20 (22-10).  

However, in his four games against the Suns he’s averaged 24 touches (equal highest career figure) and nine marks, which is also in the top couple, so expect this to be the game that we see the All-Australian high flyer start hitting his stride as we close in on the end of the home and away season.  

Equally, after missing last week Patrick Dangerfield will look to be back to his bullocking best against a Gold Coast side that historically, he loves to play against. His career average of 27 touches a game sits second to only Adelaide and Hawthorn.

With September in the air, you can bet the Cats' biggest guns will be firing this weekend in Queensland. 

WITH Jeremy Cameron putting on a show, Geelong has wrapped up the minor premiership, outclassing Gold Coast by 60 points at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

The Cats were in no mood for a close contest, kicking seven goals in the first quarter and rarely letting up, running out 18.11 (119) to 9.5 (59) winners.

It was their 12th straight victory and locks in an unassailable lead atop the premiership ladder ahead of a round 23 date with West Coast at GMHBA Stadium.

SUNS v CATS Full match coverage and stats

Gold Coast has been a difficult team to play on their home ground this season, beating Carlton, Fremantle and Richmond, while running Melbourne and Collingwood close, but Geelong was a different class.

Its physicality was obvious from the outset, with rested skipper Joel Selwood and returning superstar Patrick Dangerfield (seven clearances apiece) damaging in the middle of the ground.

Tyson Stengle strengthened his claim for a Therabody All-Australian jacket with three first quarter goals to blow the game open, while Tom Hawkins (one goal and four assists from 13 disposals), Mark Blicavs (27 and two goals) and Max Holmes (20 and two goals) were all influential.

But it was Cameron that really caught the eye.

With a glut of supply heading forward of centre, Cameron was a nightmare to match-up on, kicking 3.3 from 21 disposals as he roamed all over the ground before resting for much of the last quarter.

The Cats sweated on Gold Coast errors, and there was plenty of them early on.

The Suns committed 21 turnovers from 73 first-quarter disposals, with Sam Menegola, Hawkins and Stengle all profiting from quick transition after winning the ball back.

After trailing by 51 points at half-time, the Suns really battled when things looked like getting totally away from them.

Touk Miller (36 disposals) continued a magnificent season, while Ben Ainsworth (four assists from 19 touches) worked his heart out.

Izak Rankine left the field in the final quarter nursing what appeared to be a left shoulder injury.

Jezza tightens the Coleman race

Jeremy Cameron put together another spectacular performance, roaming from his key forward post to the wing to the midfield and everywhere in between. His gawdy numbers tell only a part of his story, with his work-rate burning opponents up and down Metricon Stadium. Cameron finished with 21 disposals, including three goals, bringing him closer to the top of the Coleman Medal race. He now has 59 goals for the year, two behind Carlton's Charlie Curnow before the Blue plays Melbourne later on Saturday night.

Who did it better, Tyson or Izak?

Both teams have exciting small forwards and they both produced pieces of magic early on to bring the crowd to their feet. From a stoppage in Geelong's forward 50, Tom Hawkins tapped the ball perfectly into the path of Tyson Stengle, who gathered without breaking stride and somehow from deep in the right forward pocket threaded it through for a magnificent goal. Not long after, it was Izak Rankine – who was hard to miss with his dyed-white hair – who produced a show-stopper. Gathering a crumb close to goal, Rankine spun out of trouble and somehow got the ball to his right foot with the most clever of finishes.

More Brownlow votes for Miller

It's hard to not be drawn to Touk Miller. The Suns' co-captain is currently the joint leader, with Lachie Neale, of the AFL Coaches' Association MVP award and will surely add to that tally again tonight. He also has to be right in the running for the Brownlow Medal. With another 36 disposals and a work-rate that had him all over the ground, helping in defence and linking up when Gold Coast went forward, he will likely be in the votes again – even if behind Cameron.

GOLD COAST     2.2      4.2    7.2       9.5 (59)
GEELONG           7.3   12.5    15.9     18.11 (119)

GOALS  
Gold Coast: Rankine 2, Anderson, Davies, Day, Flanders, Hollands, Lukosius, WittsGeelong: Cameron 3, Stengle 3, Blicavs 2, Holmes 2, Miers 2, Parfitt 2, C.Guthrie, Menegola, Hawkins, Tuohy

BEST  
Gold Coast: Miller, Ainsworth, Ellis, Anderson, Lemmens, Witts
Geelong: Cameron, Blicavs, Holmes, C.Guthrie, Stengle, Stewart

INJURIES 
Gold Coast: Day (knee), Rankine (shoulder)
Geelong: Stanley (leg)

SUBSTITUTES 
Gold Coast: Jeremy Sharp (replaced Sam Day in the third quarter)
Geelong: Mark O'Connor (replaced Rhys Stanley in the third quarter)