Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Blues small forward Francis Evans has ripped down Shaun Mannagh in a tackle, won a free kick and booted the opening goal.
The Blues fans love him and love this goal.
In his third club, Evans has really found a place in this Blues side.
Blues 9, Cats 2 with 12 mins to go.
The Cats have had the best of the field position in the early stages but they’ve yet to kick a goal with the Blues defender punching strongly to clear the footy.
The Blues had one long shot from Ben Ainsworth go wide but they haven’t really shown their attacking chops yet.
Oisin Mullin has gone to Sam Walsh which should shock exactly no one – both of them have already had hands on the footy.
Blues 2, Cats 2 with 15 mins to go in Q1.
The players are on the field, the anthems are done and the teams are going through their finals warmups.
We will likely get some rain, how much remains to be seen.
Cats coach Chris Scott says he had a stressful week at the selection table which resulted in dropping premiership defender Sam De Koning.
Scott admitted the Cats made their calls based on picking the best team to beat Carlton.
“We thought long and hard about it – I’m not sure we would have picked the same team if we were playing different opposition,” Scott told Kayo Sports.
“We’ve chosen a team that we think is best to beat Carlton.”
Perhaps Cats great Tom Hawkins has some inside knowledge as he has suggested Max Holmes could play off half-back in his return from a serious ankle injury.
Holmes could be very damaging as a rebound defender given his speed and ball use, but the Blues do have some strong defensive forwards who could take him on.
“He’s a power player coming off a tight injury turn around, maybe the centre square isn’t where he starts,” Hawkins said on Kayo Sports
“Maybe, he starts at half-back, but he’s still very important to Geelong.”
Nothing says finals football like a monster cardboard cutout of Chris Scott’s head bobbing along Birrarung Marr to the MCG in the hands of travelling Geelong fans.
Seems to be a common site at this time of year, such has been the ongoing September success of the Scott-coached Cats.
But both supporter groups are up and about. As fans file into a quarter-full MCG, there seems to be a plucky sense of optimism among the Carlton Army, following the Blues’ win over Melbourne last week.
Both teams are on the ground now, taking shots at goal and running through their warm-up drills. Carlton were given the biggest cheer, suggesting the crowd numbers will lean in their favour.
Blues coach Josh Fraser says it is crucial he doesn’t “catastrophise” errors from his young side as they try to take down Geelong in tonight’s elimination final.
The Cats will have more finals experience than the Blues but Fraser’s young side were fearless in their wildcard win over Melbourne last weekend.
“It’s important with the group not to catastrophise the moments when things are not working,” Fraser told Kayo Sports.
“We had some last week that fed Melbourne’s opportunities but they were nice and calm. We will keep applying pressure and back our boys in.”
GWS captain Toby Greene has revealed he’s spoken directly to departing Port Adelaide star Zak Butters about the possibility of linking up at Geelong next season.
The Cats are firmly in the mix for both Greene and Butters, who has told the Power he wants to continue his career in his native Victoria.
Greene, the greatest player in the Giants’ 15-year history, is considering making the same move so he has more support for his young family.
The 32-year-old recently met with the Cats to discuss what looms as the toughest decision of his decorated career.
Cats assistant coach James Rahilly has offered little on Jeremy Cameron’s role tonight.
The veteran Cats forward has been playing at half-back and on the wing to build his fitness after battling injuries for much of the season but is tipped to return to the forward line for tonight’s elimination.
“I don’t know. Weather looks alright, maybe he will go half-back, maybe on the wing and maybe at full forward later,” Rahilly told Kayo Sports.
“I think he will find his way down there at some point.”
In Sam Walsh and Jagga Smith, Carlton have two hard-running midfield dynamos capable of tearing their AFL elimination final apart.
But Geelong have an equally-athletic Irishman in Oisin Mullin ready to shut one of them down.
It’s just a matter of who.
Whatever lever Cats coach Chris Scott chooses to pull, Blues counterpart Josh Fraser believes his midfield can handle the heat at the MCG on Friday night.
