Cats down dogged Dogs in wet AFL clash

Harry Taylor excelled in his 150th AFL match as Geelong tackled the Western Bulldogs into submission to win by 13 points at a cold, wet and windy Simonds Stadium.

The Cats were more clinical and creative with a very slippery Sherrin during the opening half, triumphing 10.9 (69) to 7.14 (56) in heavy rain to make it 48 wins from their past 50 matches at the venue.

The inaccurate Bulldogs kicked six of the game’s last nine goals, but had left themselves with too much work to do.

Sunday’s result created further congestion at the top of the ladder, where new leaders Sydney enjoy a four-point buffer over Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Fremantle and Geelong.

The four teams below the Swans are separated by percentage only, making for a tight final seven rounds as they jostle for a double chance in finals.

Magicians Steve Johnson and Steven Motlop sparked the Cats in a game that provided limited fodder for any highlight reels, while wet-weather specialist Jimmy Bartel laid an incredible 15 tackles.

Johnson returned to form with 25 disposals and 14 tackles, while the Cats finished with 129 tackles in total – 13 short of the AFL record set by Richmond against Port Adelaide in 2010.

Taylor had the job on debutant Jack Redpath and defused many of the visitors’ forays forward.

To put the 28-year-old’s dominance in perspective he had eight marks at halftime when the Dogs’ entire team had 12.

Johnson and Motlop had helped Geelong race out to a 34-point lead in the second quarter, but momentum changed dramatically after halftime.

Midfielder Tom Liberatore and captain Ryan Griffen were indomitable in the middle and Marcus Bontempelli, the last-gasp hero in the Dogs’ last-start win over Melbourne, lifted again.

Bontempelli kicked goals to trim the margin to 15 and then 14 points late in the third term.

Tom Hawkins provided the game’s clutch moment, converting from a difficult angle 10 minutes into the final quarter to kick his side’s only final-quarter goal.

The vast majority of the crowd of 24,766 gave the three umpires a vocal and vitriolic send-off, with the freekick count finishing 25-13 in favour of the visitors.

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