West Coast led at every change but couldn't hold on at an inhospitable Kardinia Park, falling to the Cats by just one kick. Compounding the loss, wingman Chris Mainwaring went down with a serious knee injury in the first term. Andy Lovell had 26 disposals and five tackles to be among the Eagles' best.
Summary[]
| 1/4 time | 1/2 time | 3/4 time | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geelong | 0.6.6 | 4.8.32 | 7.9.51 | 11.12.78 | ||||
| West Coast | 3.1.19 | 6.4.40 | 8.4.52 | 11.6.72 |
Goals: Grgic, Lewis, McIntosh 2, Kemp, Pe.Matera, Ph.Matera, Morrison, Sumich
Best: Heady, Kemp, White, Grgic, McKenna, Pe.Matera
Injuries: Mainwaring (knee), McIntosh (concussion, cut head)
Named sides[]
Geelong Cats[]
| B: | Brad Sholl | Ben Graham | Tim McGrath |
| HB: | Michael Mansfield | Barry Stoneham | Brenton Sanderson |
| C: | Paul Corrigan | Darren Milburn | Martin McKinnon |
| HF: | Ronnie Burns | Leigh Colbert | Craig Biddicombe |
| F: | Matthew Robbins | Steven King | Derek Hall |
| R: | John Barnes | Glenn Kilpatrick | Paul Couch |
| I: | Carl Steinfort | Peter Riccardi | Tim Hargreaves |
| E: | Jason Snell | Adam Houlihan | Liam Pickering |
West Coast Eagles[]
| B: | Josh Wooden | Ashley McIntosh | Fraser Gehrig |
| HB: | Guy McKenna | Ryan Turnball | Daniel Metropolis |
| C: | Peter Matera | Ben Cousins | Chris Mainwarning |
| HF: | Dean Kemp | Jason Ball | Chris Lewis |
| F: | Brett Heady | Peter Sumich | Mitchell White |
| R: | Ilija Grgic | Drew Banfield | Andy Lovell |
| I: | Phil Matera | Chad Morrison | Paul Symmons |
| E: | Tony Evans | Michael Gardiner | David Wirrpanda |
From the papers[]
The Sunday Age[]
"Sure enough, the Cats booted three of the first four to take a 13-point lead halfway through the term, only to be clinging for life to a six-point break when the siren went. The Eagles might even have pinched it at the end, Peter Sumich loping off the interchange bench to bring the Eagles back within seven points, then missing two further chances to reduce the margin to just one point.
While it might have been a clear case of theft had it won, the fact West Coast was even that close was a wonder. Its day could have well and truly been finished more than three quarters earlier, by which time key small man Chris Mainwaring had left the field with a serious knee injury, and key forward Ashley McIntosh was off, not to return, with concussion after a shuddering collision with Brenton Sanderson, which left the Geelong player needing 30 stitches to a head wound.
McIntosh, who had already kicked two goals, remained the Eagles' joint leading goalscorer, which gives some idea of their problems up forward, but neither could the Cats, despite some brilliant bursts of attacking football, kick completely clear.
Geelong's inspiration arrived via Peter Riccardi, whose previous couple of weeks had been poor to say the least, but who seems to make a habit of turning it on against the Eagles. He began in fine form on a wing - heading off Drew Banfield, Chad Morrison and being matched with Peter Matera all by quarter-time. He ended as a matchwinner giving Guy McKenna the runaround at full-forward."