Ahead of Geelong and Carlton’s 221st match on Saturday night we look back at five of the Cats’ best victories against the Blues.
Round 19, 1947: Geelong 17.7 (109) def Carlton 16.11 (107)
A fightback to remember. The Cats trailed the Blues for most of the game and went into three-quarter time with a 24-point deficit.
Geelong rallied in the final term kicking seven goals to two to pull off a comeback victory to remember.
Lindsay White was the hero the Cats booting 10 goals. Russel Renfrey contributed three goals and Doug Brown chipped in with two, but it was White’s individual brilliance that will long be remembered.
He went on to win Geelong’s Best and Fairest in 1947 and was the club’s leading goalkicker with 76 goals.
Round 11, 2002: Geelong 15.10 (100) def Carlton 14.12 (96)
The Cats led by 38 points with 12 minutes to go, before the Blues piled on seven goals in an extraordinary burst and closed to within four points.
With less than a minute to go, Matthew Lappin marked in front of Max Rooke and was awarded a 50m penalty for late contact. Lappin kicked the goal, giving the Blues a two-point lead with 26 seconds remaining.
However, the Cats raced the ball forward from the ensuring centre bounce and David Clarke's low left-foot pass was marked by a diving Peter Riccardi on the 50m arc. The siren sounded as Riccardi was lining up, but the veteran wingman, who had already booted three goals, was unfazed.
His kick from 52m out looked to be heading too far right, yet it swung back and went straight through the middle, handing Geelong a remarkable four-point win.
Prelim Final, 1931: Geelong 11.17 (83) def Carlton 11.11 (77)
1931 was a special year for the Cats winning their second premiership in the VFL era. That year they played Carlton on three occasions, but one game stood out. It was the preliminary final in front of a crowed of 36,653 fans at the MCG.
Many Geelong supporters could have been forgiven for thinking the Cats were in for a tough day at the office when Carlton jumped them in the opening quarter and held a 47-0 advantage at the first break.
The Cats rallied in the second quarter kicking eight goals to one to wrestle back the lead. The sides went goal for goal in the third term with just one point separating them heading into the final quarter. Geelong then held sway to hang on by a goal.
Midfielder ‘Carji’ Greeves was best on ground and George Moloney kicked a game-high four goals.
The Cats defeated Richmond in the Grand Final the following week.
Preliminary final, 1967: Geelong 17.6 (108) def Carlton 11.13 (79)
With a crowd of more than 95,000 watching on, the Blues looked to have the game under control when they opened a 27-point half-time lead. But the Cats stormed back into the contest by kicking eight goals to one in the third quarter.
Having led by 14 points at the last change, Geelong went on with the job in the final term, kicking three unanswered goals and winning by 29 points.
Doug Wade finished with five goals, while John Sharrock kicked two.
Round 12, 2014: Geelong 16.11 (107) def Carlton 15.12 (102)
A see-sawing contest saw the Cats establish a 24-point lead early in the third quarter, before the Blues hit back with the next six goals and opened a 16-point lead of their own by the 11-minute mark of the last term.
Geelong then rallied in a thrilling finish, Joel Selwood kicking a goal at the 19-minute mark of the final quarter to earn his team a five-point victory.
