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The Cats win the 2011 AFL Grand Final

With a dominant 38-point victory over Collingwood, Geelong secured their ninth premiership.

The top two teams of the season, the Cats and the Pies, engaged in a thrilling battle before 99,537 fans at the MCG, with Chris Scott’s squad winning 18.11 (119) to 12.9 (81).

By defeating the Magpies, who only lost two matches throughout the season—both against Geelong—the Cats celebrated their third premiership in five years.

At three-quarter time, Geelong held a slender seven-point lead after a fluctuating third quarter that saw the lead change hands five times. However, in the final quarter, the Magpies struggled to keep pace with the Cats, who finished strongly.

Around the stoppages, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood played crucial roles, with Bartel earning the Norm Smith Medal for his outstanding performance of 26 possessions and three goals.

In the absence of James Podsiadly, who was knocked out in the second quarter, Tom Hawkins delivered the best game of his career. After failing to score in the first half, he became pivotal when it mattered, finishing with three goals and assisting Steve Johnson with another.

Travis Varcoe sparked his team with a spectacular goal just 10 seconds into the game, forcing the Pies to defend intensely in the opening moments.

The Magpies absorbed the early pressure effectively, retaliating primarily through Travis Cloke, who presented a challenge for Harry Taylor. They managed to take the lead early in the second quarter after trailing by one point at the first change.

Midway through the second quarter, the Cats lost Podsiadly when he was up-ended in a marking contest by Ben Reid, who executed a strong spoil. Podsiadly landed harshly on his right shoulder and was stretchered off the field, with Mitch Duncan stepping in as his substitute.

Early in the match, Scott Pendlebury faced a tough tag from Joel Corey but gradually found his footing, finishing with 33 disposals and 10 clearances. He played a key role in the fiercely contested third quarter, although he couldn’t stop the Cats from taking the lead.

The Pies needed a boost from Brownlow medallist Dane Swan in the last quarter, but Cameron Ling effectively neutralized him throughout the match, and Swan struggled to escape the tag.

Johnson, who had been doubtful due to injury all week, capped off a stellar performance with the first goal of the final quarter, and when Bartel extended the lead to over four goals, it became clear that the premiership cup was returning to Geelong for the third time in five years.

Scott achieved the remarkable feat of leading the Cats to a premiership in his inaugural year, a distinction last accomplished by Alan Joyce at Hawthorn in 1988.

by Terence Johns

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