Geelong will have a chance to avenge its Round 14 defeat at the hands of St Kilda in the 2009 AFL Grand Final after dismantling Collingwood in slippery conditions in front of 87,258 fans at the MCG on Saturday night.

The Cats led this preliminary final at every change – by 10 points at quarter-time, 12 points at half-time and then 34 at the final change following a blitzkrieg six-goal-to-no-goal final term.

The last term was a procession for the Cats after Travis Varcoe kicked a goal three minutes in which stretched the deficit to 40 points before the 2007 premiers ran out 17.18 (120) to 6.11 (47). The pies could manage just two behinds in the final term.

Ominously for the Saints, the now fully-strengthened Geelong side was able to get more miles into the legs of Steve Johnson (20 touches, 1.3) and ruckman Brad Ottens (11 possessions, 21 hit-outs, 1.2). Paul Chapman is looking as fit as he has been at any time in the past two seasons.

TAB Sportsbet’s Gary Davies texted 3AW Football in the dying minutes of the game to say Geelong will start $1.75 favourites to win the premiership with the Saints at $2.00.

Gary Ablett was brilliant all night for the Cats and finished with 34 possessions and two goals while his hard-running team-mates Joel Corey, Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel all had an impact.

Chapman booted five goals from his 25 disposals to lead the Cats.

Shannon Byrnes, Varcoe and Tom Hawkins kicked two goals apiece for Geelong. For Hawkins, his improvement in the second half of the year has now been punctuated with a very good display when the heat was on in a preliminary final, no less.

Geelong’s defence was impregnable for most of the evening. Matthew Scarlett made John Anthony look second-rate in most one-on-ones while Harry Taylor did a great job on Travis Cloke.

James Kelly, Tom Harley, Darren Milburn and Corey Enright were super-reliable when it was their turn to step up. Varcoe was also good for the Cats, particularly in the second term.

In the only clash between Geelong and St Kilda this year, Saints ruckman Michael Gardiner took a massive pack mark and kicked his fourth goal with a minute to go as the Saints beat the Cats by six points – 14.7 (91) to 13.7 (85).

For Collingwood tonight, Shane O’Bree tried hard and led his side with 26 disposals with Alan Didak having a good night with 25 touches and a goal next to his name at full-time.

But a Collingwood side lacking injured Scott Pendlebury and Josh Fraser had little to be inspired by. Leon Davis completed his average final series with a 13-touch, no goal effort.

Dane Swan won 17 possessions despite Cameron Ling’s hard tag but wasn’t an influential player and Cloke, Anthony, Brad Dick and Dale Thomas couldn’t manage a goal between them. Out of form forward Paul Medhurst was dropped for this game.

Collingwood started the match in brilliant fashion highlighted by the Pies having the first seven inside-50s.

Dick was extremely lively early on and it was a good handball from him which set up Ben Johnson for the first goal. Collingwood made it two unanswered when Harry O’Brien unleashed a bomb from 55 on seven minutes.

However, the complexion of the term changed when Ablett – who had started forward – was moved into the middle of the ground. The Brownlow Medal favourite racked up 12 touches in the quarter and after its slow start, Geelong answered Collingwood’s run of inside-50s by having eight consecutive forward entries.

Ottens booted the Cats’ first goal from a difficult set-shot from the pocket and Byrnes – with a banana from the boundary – and Chapman added majors before the first change.

Geelong’s 3.6 to 2.2 lead was handy, but Cat fans were disappointed with two misses from Cam Mooney – both inside 30 metres – and another from Ablett which he arguably should have slotted on the run from 40 metres out.

In the second term, the umpires had what David King said was a ‘horror show’, Rex Hunt said was a ‘schizenhausen’ quarter and Dennis Cometti described as a peiod of ‘flustered’ decision-making. It appeared to leave all at the MCG baffled as to whether there had been rule changes during the week no-one knew about.

Back to the footy, Chapman made it four unanswered goals for the Cats 30 seconds into the term after he converted some good work from Hawkins.

Then, after Collingwood appeared to be robbed when Leigh Brown was not given a free-kick and 50-metre penalty for the rule where a player is taken out of the contest after disposing of the ball, Hawkins kicked a great goal from 55 down the other end of the ground after out-marking Simon Prestigiacomo.

Trailing by 20 points, Brown – perhaps in the classic square up – was paid a mark and given a 50-metre penalty when Milburn tried to spoil before the umpire had even blown the whistle to pay the mark.

Brown, seemingly everywhere, then took a mark from a Thomas inside-50 following the restart but missed the 35-metre set-shot. Ablett, or rather the umpire, made Brown pay for the wasted chance when he gave the star Cat a free-kick in the goalsquare when O’Brien appeared to be pulled to the ground by Ablett.

The crowd didn’t have to wait too much longer for more umpiring-related confusion, as rather than allow advantage to the Cats – in possession and streaming forward into goal before Byrnes threaded it – brought the ball back into the centre square to Milburn. His pass resulted in nothing for Geelong.

Hawkins, playing one his better halves of footy, was in the action again on 17 minutes when he chased down Nick Maxwell in the Cats’ forward 50 before finishing the free-kick beautifully from deep in the pocket.

Possibly the most baffling umpiring decision followed this, with a Pies defender being told to play on ‘not 15’ after he took the ball in the Geelong attacking 50 only for the umpire to change his mind, pay the mark and then pay a 50-metre penalty against the Geelong defender tackling.

Before the main break, Tarkyn Lockyer and Didak kicked goals for Collingwood – which had taken momentum away from the Cats in the latter stage of the term – and the double-blow gave the Pies a major sniff at half-time.

Ablett amassed 20 touches in the first half, which ended with Geelong leading 7.7 to 5.7, while O’Bree had 16 touches for a Collingwood side needing a big lift from Davis, Cloke and Anthony in the second half.

Geelong smashed the Pies early in the third term, winning possession, using the Sherrin well and kicking the first three goals of the quarter in 10 minutes – the third of these a sublime finish from Corey on the boundary line.

Leading by 31 points, Johnson then missed a good chance which would have seen the Fat Lady extend her vocal chords, this miss followed up by another umpire error, Davis not paid a mark in Collingwood’s attacking 50 he clearly took from a 20-metre pass.

Then, after Maxwell missed a set-shot from directly in front for the Pies, Byrnes won a foot-race against Lockyer to gather a Geelong forward entry and put the Cats up by 37 points at the 17-minute mark.

The Pies again managed to kick the last goal of the term – a good mark and finish from Brent Macaffer – but Geelong still carried an 11.13 (79) to 6.9 (45) advantage into the last quarter before putting its opposition to the sword.

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