Geelong were in red-hot form entering the final two games of the 2025 home-and-away season, but they could not afford to rest on their laurels with a blockbuster clash in Sydney looming large in the context of their season. 

On a four-game win streak and sitting in the top two on the ladder for the first time since Round 14, the Cats needed just two victories to close out the regular season and secure a home Qualifying Final. 

After a difficult year with a cruel run of injuries, the Swans had been eliminated from Finals contention but it also made them a more dangerous proposition, a team stacked with talent that had nothing to lose in the penultimate game of the season. 

The stakes could not have been higher for Geelong as they made the trek to the SCG, but after a nervous start saw Sydney kick away early, the Cats settled into the contest and proved that they were more than up for the challenge. 

The tension was palpable at the opening bounce and Geelong knew that a fast start would help to take the crowd out of the equation, but it was not an ideal start as the Swans raced out to an early lead. 

Sydney recorded six of the opening seven scoring shots and had it not been for some inaccuracy, the margin might have drifted further than 20 points but it still put the Cats behind the eight-ball with an early mountain to climb. 

But cool under pressure and not fazed by the slow start, Geelong made a swift response to quickly claw their way back into the contest. 

Shannon Neale made his presence felt with two important goals, Jack Martin followed suit and Gryan Miers slotted a beauty from the boundary, the Cats erasing the early deficit and levelling the scores at quarter time. 

The Swans responded after the first break but they also had no answer for Neale, with the big Cat kicking a third and fourth goal by the 13-minute mark of the second quarter, imposing himself on the contest. 

A slice of magic from Tyson Stengle and a second major for Jack Martin put Geelong back in front, but it was certainly a hot contest with the visitors eking out a nine-point buffer at half time. 

As he does in most games, Bailey Smith was finding plenty of the footy and having a significant impact, while Mark O'Connor was also doing a terrific job in limiting the impact of Isaac Heeney. 

The Cats had wrestled back the momentum but the game was still up for grabs after the main break, but with a top-two berth on the line, this was an opportunity that Geelong was not going to let slip. 

Stengle opened the second half with a brilliant set-shot finish in the shadows of the Members Pavilion, Shaun Mannagh crafted an opportunity and curled home another, then the skipper clinched his opportunity and hit the scoreboard, Dangerfield's goal putting the Cats 20 points clear before the halfway point of the third term. 

Ollie Dempsey then kicked another pearler from a similar spot to Miers in the first quarter, capping off a dominant period of football and the Cats had suddenly carved out a 26-point lead at the final break. 

Looking to close out the game, Mannagh slammed the door shut with two more goals in the fourth quarter and combined with majors from Miers and Stengle, the Cats stormed to a 43-point victory and all but secured a top two spot on the ladder. 

Smith finished with 30 disposals and seven inside 50s to claim the three votes on Brownlow night, Neale was awarded two for his dominant four-goal haul in the opening half, while Mannagh (19 disposals, three goals) and Tom Stewart (25 disposals) were also comfortably among the best players on ground. 

2025 AFL Season - Round 23

SYDNEY      4.3    7.4     8.6    10.8    (68) 
GEELONG    4.3    8.7   12.8   16.15   (111)

GOALS
Sydney: Ladhams, McLean, Papley 2, Buller, Campbell, Heeney, McCartin 1
Geelong: Neale 4, Mannagh, Stengle 3, Martin, Miers 2, Dangerfield, Dempsey 1

BEST
Sydney: Ladhams, Gulden, Papley, Warner, Mills
Geelong: Smith, Neale, Mannagh, Atkins, Holmes, Dempsey, Stengle, Stewart

Crowd: 37,656 at the SCG