Geelong has stumbled to a disappointing defeat on Saturday evening, falling to Port Adelaide by 30 points in the club's first ANZAC Day appearance since 2008. 

Unable to recapture the magic of last week's big victory over the Bulldogs, the Cats struggled to match the home side around the ground and battled to transition the football out of their back half, ultimately succumbing to Port Adelaide's dominance in general play. 

With the sheer weight of entries coming into the defensive 50, Tom Stewart (26 disposals, eight intercepts) did everything he could to try and keep his side in the contest, while Connor O'Sullivan (21 disposals, nine intercepts) and Lawson Humphries (19 disposals) also worked hard under immense pressure. 

Bailey Smith (30 disposals, five clearances) and Tanner Bruhn (24 disposals) found plenty of the football, while Jeremy Cameron (three goals) was the pick of Geelong's forwards in a tough night for the Cats' attack.

Geelong raced out of the blocks and looked in full control early in the first quarter, dominating around stoppages and kicking four out of the opening five goals, but Port Adelaide quickly wrestled back momentum and kicked three unanswered majors to leave the Cats trailing by six points at quarter time. 

The clearance battle (14-5) was firmly in Geelong's favour and Oisin Mullin certainly played his part, limiting Zak Butters to just three disposals in the first quarter while also winning three clearances of his own. 

Fresh off his 10-goal haul against the Bulldogs, Jeremy Cameron was involved early with two majors but the Cats also struggled to find an answer for Mitch Georgiades, with Port Adelaide's spearhead recording six scoring shots in the opening term alone. 

The pressure from both sides was immense but the Cats were on the back foot in the second quarter, struggling to gain the ascendancy around the ground as the Power extended their lead to 13 points at half time. 

Bailey Smith (17 disposals, four score involvements) found plenty of the footy in the opening half, Cameron (three goals) led the way up forward, while Connor O'Sullivan and Mark O'Connor registered 11 intercept possessions between them to help limit the damage on the scoreboard. 

Mullin entered his 50th AFL game having never collected more than four clearances in a match, but the Irishman absolutely obliterated his career-high by collecting seven clearances in the first half, while still limiting Butters to just two clearances in a strong start. 

Geelong's inability to transition the football continued into the second half and they were held scoreless through the opening 10 minutes of the third term, Shannon Neale produced a brilliant goal but the deficit drifted out to 24 points at the final break.  

Any hopes of a late charge from the Cats were dashed early in the final quarter as Port Adelaide piled on three goals in quick succession, despite some nice finishing around the big sticks from Shaun Mannagh and James Worpel. 

Brad Close added another goal late but the result was well out of reach, Geelong slipping to their third loss of the season in a tough night at Adelaide Oval. 

2026 AFL Season - Round 7

PORT ADELAIDE    4.6    7.8     9.15   13.17    (95)  
GEELONG CATS     4.0    6.1      7.3     10.5    (65) 

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Georgiades 4, Durdin 2, Sweet, Richards, Moraes, Horne-Francis, Farrell, Burgoyne, Bergman 1
Geelong Cats: Cameron 3, Neale 2, Worpel, Martin, Mannagh, Dangerfield, Close 1

BEST
Port Adelaide: Horne-Francis, Georgiades, Sweet, Butters, Farrell, Burgoyne
Geelong Cats: Stewart, Smith, Humphries, Bruhn, O'Sullivan

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
Geelong Cats: Blicavs (knee)

LATE CHANGES
Port Adelaide: Todd Marshall (illness) replaced in selected side by Jack Watkins
Geelong Cats: Sam De Koning (managed) replaced in selected side by Brad Close

CROWD: 41,164 @ Adelaide Oval