Geelong has fallen agonisingly short of clinching another come from behind victory, going down to the GWS Giants by four-points at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday afternoon. 

The momentum ebbed and flowed throughout the match which culminated in a tense final quarter, but the Cats were unable to land the decisive blow despite generating plenty of chances. 

Bailey Smith was immense through the middle finishing with 34 disposals, 12 score involvements and 10 tackles alongside star midfielder, Max Holmes who was influential with 30 disposals and 14 score involvements of his own. 

Thrust into a more permanent ruck role, Mark Blicavs stood tall accumulating 20 disposals, 21 hit-outs and nine clearances to help the Cats gain the ascendancy through the middle of the ground. 

00:39

Duncan eyes major opening back at the Cattery

Mitch Duncan remembers where the goals are at GMHBA Stadium, snapping a beauty off one step

Geelong had to weather an early storm in the opening quarter as GWS piled on five of the first six goals, but the Cats were able to arrest momentum late and cut the margin back to 10 points at quarter time. 

Max Holmes was everywhere in the opening term accumulating 10 disposals and five score involvements, while Sam De Koning and Connor O'Sullivan picked off a combined seven intercept possessions to continue their strong form. 

A see-sawing second quarter saw the lead change hands five times, the Cats clawing their way back in front with a six goal term to take a narrow one point lead into the main break. 

One big takeaway for Geelong was their ability to gain ascendancy around stoppages after quarter time, winning the clearance battle 13-7 in the second term lead by an instrumental performance in the ruck by Mark Blicavs (13 hit-outs, four clearances). 

Max Holmes was simply dominant accumulating 18 disposals and 11 score involvements in the first half, Bailey Smith collected 17 possessions and seven score involvements of his own, while Jeremy Cameron was heavily influential with two goals from his 11 disposals. 

Momentum shifted once again early in the second half, GWS kicking four of the first five goals in the third term to leave Geelong seven-points adrift heading into the final break. 

Bailey Smith continued to make his mark on the contest, collecting 23 disposals between the second and third quarters to go alongside 10 score involvements. 

The two teams traded blows in a tense final term, with neither side able to string together consecutive goals through the first 25 minutes of the quarter. 

Geelong put their noses back in front late by a solitary point, before Jake Riccardi snatched the lead back for GWS with just three minutes on the clock. 

With time ticking down, Mark Blicavs drifted forward and took a massive contested mark, but his set-shot slammed into the left goal post to leave Geelong four-points behind with just over a minute left. 

The Cats created chances but could not land the knockout blow, falling four-points short in a thriller at GMHBA Stadium. 

2025 AFL Season - Round 9

GEELONG CATS     3.4      9.8     11.12     14.17     (101) 
GWS GIANTS        5.2      9.7       13.7       16.9     (105)
 
GOALS 
Geelong Cats: Mannagh, Cameron, Dempsey, Stengle 2, Neale, Miers, Henry, Duncan, Dangerfield, Close 1
GWS Giants: Hogan 7, Stringer 2, Ward, Thomas, O'Halloran, Greene, Green, Cadman, Riccardi 1

BEST
Geelong: Cameron, Holmes, Smith, Dangerfield, Blicavs, Dempsey
Greater Western Sydney: Callaghan, Briggs, Hogan, Taylor, Green, Whitfield

DISPOSALS
Geelong Cats: Smith 34, Holmes 30, Miers 23, Duncan, De Koning 21
GWS Giants: Green 37, Whitfield 30, Callaghan 29, Ash 25, Hogan 22

INJURIES
Geelong Cats: Nil
GWS Giants: Jake Stringer (hamstring)

SUBSTITUTES 
Geelong Cats: Ted Clohesy (replaced Jhye Clark at three quarter time)
GWS Giants: Josaia Delana (replaced Jake Stringer in the second quarter)

Crowd: 28,407 @ GMHBA Stadium