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The Geelong Cats have booked their place in the AFL preliminary final with a commanding 68-point elimination final victory at GMHBA Stadium, playing the kind of football that the coaching staff had been targeting since the pre-season and delivering a complete performance in front of 36,000 fans who created the atmosphere that has made the ground one of the most imposing home venues in the competition.
The Cats' forward line produced their most devastating output of the season, with Jeremy Cameron (six goals) and Tyson Stengle (four goals) combining to dismantle the opposition defence in a second quarter that produced nine unanswered goals and delivered the contest-ending momentum that the Cats maintained for the remainder of the match.
Coach Chris Scott said the performance "ticked every box we set before the game," noting that the defensive structure had conceded only three goals in the second and third quarters and that the midfield's clearance dominance — 38 to 22 in the match — had provided the ball movement that created the scoring opportunities the forward line converted.
The Cats will meet the minor premiers in next week's preliminary final, with a grand final appearance the prize. The match will be played at the MCG if the Cats advance, representing a potential fifth grand final appearance in ten years for a club that has sustained its premiership-contending standard across an era in which most clubs have been unable to maintain this level of consistent excellence.
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Cunningham Pier and the Geelong waterfront at dusk.1 / 4
