Geelong has done enough to notch their fourth consecutive victory in tricky conditions on Saturday afternoon, defeating Essendon by 67 points in the club's 500th win at Kardinia Park in V/AFL history. 

The damage was done early for the Cats as they piled on 10 unanswered goals to open the contest, they did not have it all their own way however as the Bombers lifted in the second half and started to chip away at the margin, but the home side did enough to further their case for a top-six finish. 

In the midst of the big run early in the contest, it was Ollie Dempsey and Ollie Henry who proved to be the difference as the dynamic duo both booted four goals, Dempsey equalling his career-high and Henry now moving into second place on Geelong's goal-kicking leaderboard in 2026. 

It was the usual suspects through the middle of the ground that adapted to the wet conditions, with Bailey Smith finding the footy at will throughout the night, while Oisin Mullin and Mark Blicavs provided plenty of grit around stoppages. 

Across half back, Tom Stewart was as dominant as ever and helped to thwart a number of attacks, Lawson Humphries provided a typically calm and composed presence, while Jhye Clark also continued his strong form with another impressive outing. 

00:47

Part the Dempsey: Electric Ollie flies through with flashy first

Ollie Dempsey pounces on the loose ball and activates the jets with a brilliant bursting opener

The rain tumbled early in Geelong and both sides eased their way into the contest in the opening stages of the first term, but as he does so often, it was Ollie Dempsey who broke the early deadlock with his 25th goal of the season. 

It would be the star winger again who would chip in with his second major to bookend the opening quarter, capping off a run of four unanswered goals for the Cats as they opened up a 25-point lead at quarter time. 

In tricky conditions, Jhye Clark impressed early with an equal game-high nine disposals in the first stanza, Bailey Smith was finding the footy with ease as per usual, while Shannon Neale and Gryan Miers both recorded three score involvements to help create opportunities for forwards around them. 

It was a pair of Ollies that were proving to be unstoppable, with Dempsey and Ollie Henry combining to kick seven of Geelong's first eight goals as they continued their hot start well into the second quarter. 

The Cats piled on 10 unanswered goals and remarkably, Essendon's first goal of the opening half came with under two minutes remaining in the second term, as Chris Scott's side extended their advantage to 53 points by the main break. 

There were big winners everywhere for Geelong in the first half, led by Dempsey who equalled his career-high with four goals, while Ollie Henry contributed with three majors to continue his brilliant form. 

Smith topped the stat sheet with 18 disposals, six more than the next best player on the ground, while Lawson Humphries was also impactful with three score involvements and three intercept possessions. 

The conditions dried up after half time and surprisingly, so did the scoring for Geelong in what proved to be a poor third quarter of football, with Essendon gradually eating away at the margin with a run of six goals to just the one for the Cats either side of the main break. 

Geelong's lead that once stood at more than 10 goals was briefly almost halved, but they would steady the ship late in the term thanks to some crafty play from Shaun Mannagh, helping to reestablish a 46-point buffer at three quarter time. 

The Bombers booted the opening goal of the final term, but as the heavens opened and the rain started to teem down once again, Geelong wrestled back the ascendancy and did what they needed to close out the game. 

01:33

Ollie bags: Dangerous Cats share the goals in early feast

Geelong's Ollie Henry and Ollie Dempsey go goal-for-goal as the lively forwards load up in the second term

Shannon Neale added two majors, Jhye Clark added another to cap off his night and Tanner Bruhn kicked his first goal of the season, as the Cats did enough to finish off a 67-point win at GMHBA Stadium. 

Geelong will now turn their attention to the penultimate game of the 2026 home-and-away season, with an exciting AFL and AFLW double-header awaiting at Marvel Stadium against North Melbourne next Saturday. 

2026 AFL Season - Round 22

GEELONG      4.5   10.9   13.11    17.15   (117)  
ESSENDON    0.4    2.4     6.7       7.8    (50) 

GOALS
Geelong: O.Henry, Dempsey 4, Neale 3, Martin 2, Polkinghorne, Mannagh, Clark, Bruhn 1
Essendon: Perkins, Farrow 2, Roberts, El Achkar, Caddy 1

BEST
Geelong: Smith, Dempsey, O.Henry, Humphries, Clark
Essendon: Merrett, Visentini, Sharp, McGrath, Caddy

INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Essendon: Nil

Crowd: 33,379 at the GMHBA Stadium