Geelong has suffered their first defeat of the 2026 VFL season, falling to Footscray by 33 points in a defensive battle on Friday afternoon.
After taking the lead early in the contest, the Cats remained in front for a large portion of the match and only relinquished the lead late in the third quarter, before the Bulldogs kicked away late with a run of eight unanswered goals to finish the game.
In a game where scoring was difficult, Jesse Mellor impressed with a strong display up forward, kicking a team-high three goals from his nine disposals to provide a spark for the Cats.
Through the middle, the experienced heads of George Stevens (28 disposals, 11 clearances) and Mitch Knevitt (28 disposals, 10 marks) did all they could to will their team over the line, while Marcus Herbert (26 disposals) continued his dominant start to the season with another brilliant performance.
Gaining plenty of attention for their fast starts this year, Geelong were keen to gain the ascendancy early on Friday and did so with three of the game's first four goals, but both teams defended strongly for large parts of the term which kept the Cats lead to just six points at quarter time.
The middle of the ground was always going to be important and the Cats were on top early, leading the clearance battle 15-6 in the first quarter which was inspired by a strong start from George Stevens, who collected eight disposals and four clearances.
Both teams locked horns in an engrossing second quarter, scoring remained hard to come by and the Cats defended strongly as they held the Bulldogs to just six scoring shots for the half, taking a seven point buffer into half time.
The pressure from Geelong was a telling factor early, laying 54 tackles in the first half alone after entering the match with an average of 63 tackles per game, limiting the Bulldogs to just 16 inside 50 entries which was well down on their early season average of 57 entries per game.
With only nine goals kicked between the two sides in the opening half, Jesse Mellor and Jamieson Ballantyne were instrumental for the Cats with two majors apiece, while George Stevens (18 disposals, seven clearances) and Mitch Knevitt (16 disposals, four clearances) were dominant through the midfield.
The Cats extended their lead early in the second half with two goals in quick succession, but the Bulldogs struck back with three unanswered goals to finish the third term and the visitors put their noses in front, Geelong heading into the final quarter trailing by a solitary point.
With plenty at stake as both teams looked to continue their undefeated streak, the Cats could not find an effective avenue to goal in the last term as the Bulldogs pulled away late, Geelong slipping to their first defeat of the season.
2026 VFL Season - Round 4
GEELONG 3.1 5.3 7.7 7.9 (51)
FOOTSCRAY 2.1 4.2 7.8 12.12 (84)
GOALS
Geelong: Mellor 3, Ballantyne 2, Molier, Knevitt 1
Footscray: Vandermeer, Dolan 3, Walker, Smith, Orgill, Darcy, Muratore, McNeil 1
DISPOSALS
Geelong: Stevens, Knevitt 28, Herbert 26, Clark 20
Footscray: Treloar 41, McNeil, Craig-Peters, Coffield, Busslinger 24
