Geelong has cruised to a dominant win at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, defeating Essendon by 94 points to move into second place on the ladder. 

A six-goal first quarter opened up an early buffer for the Cats and they never looked back, increasing the margin at every break before icing the game with a late flurry to record their fifth consecutive victory. 

The Cats tall timber did most of the damage up forward, Jeremy Cameron and Shannon Neale combining to boot 10 goals but Geelong were also able to find 11 individual goal-kickers throughout the afternoon. 

Bailey Smith (41 disposals, six clearances) brought his own footy in another sensational display, Max Holmes (36 disposals, eight clearances) was equally impressive and Tom Stewart (23 disposals, 16 marks) dominated in defence. 

00:38

Cats turn chaos into Mannagh magic

Shaun Mannagh dribbles an easy major after a great centre clearance and an assist from Tyson Stengle

Geelong gained the ascendancy early on Saturday with a six goal opening term, quickly opening up a 23 point break at quarter time with Jeremy Cameron, Shannon Neale and Shaun Mannagh all hitting the scoreboard twice. 

Mark O'Connor continued his strong form with 10 disposals in the first quarter, while Max Holmes and Bailey Smith broke the game open with their run and carry. 

After a high-scoring opening term, things tightened up in the second stanza with only four goals kicked, but Geelong were able to extend their lead out to 35 points at the main break. 

Bailey Smith was everywhere in the first half accumulating 24 disposals, four marks and seven inside 50's, generating 466 metres gained to continually push Geelong into attack. 

Tom Stewart was dominant down back collecting 14 disposals, nine marks and four score involvements, while Holmes (17 disposals) and O'Connor (15 disposals, eight marks) continued to be heavily influential. 

The game opened up after half time in another high scoring quarter, the two sides kicking 12 goals between them but Geelong continued to have all the answers, pushing the margin out to 49 points at the final break. 

Any chance of a comeback was quickly snuffed out in the final term as the Cats went on a rampage, booting seven unanswered goals to streak away to a dominant 94 point victory. 

Jeremy Cameron slotted his sixth major, Neale kicked his fourth and Mannagh curled home his third, while Ollie Dempsey also bobbed up and booted two majors in the last quarter. 

00:51

Jezza and Danger link up in sizzling play

Jeremy Cameron snaps a beauty on the left but it was all thanks to a clean pickup and handball from Patrick Dangerfield

Once again Geelong's forward half pressure was a feature, laying 13 tackles inside 50 to the Bombers six, continuing to lead the AFL in that statistic to this point in 2025.

The win sends Geelong into the top two on the ladder for the first time this year, passing Adelaide and Brisbane to sit behind only Collingwood after 14 weeks of the season. 

The Cats return home next week for a blockbuster Friday night clash as they prepare to take on Brisbane at GMHBA Stadium. 

2025 AFL Season - Round 14

ESSENDON     2.4      3.7      8.7         8.8       (56) 
GEELONG        6.3      9.6     16.8      22.13      (151)

GOALS 
Essendon: Wright, Guelfi 2, Roberts, Kako, Gresham, Duursma 1
Geelong: Cameron 6, Neale 4, Mannagh 3, Dangerfield, Dempsey 2, Stengle, Stanley, Miers, Humphries, Holmes, Close

BEST
Essendon: Setterfield, Merrett, Goldstein, Prior, Guelfi
Geelong: Cameron, Smith, Holmes, Neale, Dempsey 

DISPOSALS
Essendon: Setterfield 31, Merrett, Johnson 29, Prior, Caldwell 28, Roberts 27
Geelong: Smith 41, Holmes 36, Miers 25, Stewart 23, O'Connor 22, Guthrie 20

INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
Geelong: Sam De Koning (shoulder)

SUBSTITUTES 
Essendon: Archie Perkins (replaced Archer Day-Wicks in the third quarter)
Geelong: Mitch Duncan (replaced Sam De Koning in the third quarter)

CROWD: 61,643 @ MCG