The cruel trend ruining star’s season

Geelong’s star recruit Jeremy Cameron has suffered another hamstring injury in the Cats’ match with the Bombers on Friday evening.

Cameron, picked up from the Giants this season, had been contending with hamstring soreness prior to the game, but shortly after he kicked his third major of the night, the injury became too much to handle.

Cameron was subbed out in the second quarter and played no further part in the match.

“He had what was reported to us as a bit of tightness pre-game, but declared himself fine,” Geelong coach Chris Scott said at halftime.

“He did get a bit of a cork in about the same spot and just felt that it was getting tighter. The feedback I’ve got is they’re not worried about damage, but not good enough to keep going.”

Cameron’s third hamstring injury in the past six months puts a question mark over his immediate playing future as the race for the AFL’s top four intensifies.

The Cats faithful will hope he can take his place in Chris Scott’s 22 for clashes with Carlton, Fremantle and Richmond in the coming weeks.

Jeremy Cameron has been subbed off.

Max Holmes comes on as the medical sub for Geelong. #AFLCatsDonspic.twitter.com/wqBmwycCxt

Third time Jeremy Cameron has injured his right hamstring in the space of six months. If strained – as would be expected given his reaction – he’s facing at least a month on the sidelines #AFLCatsDonshttps://t.co/AyIvwZvHDI

Patrick Dangerfield was the only player with his socks up at GMHBA Stadium, literally and figuratively.

The Brownlow medallist turned in easily the best performance of his interrupted 2021 campaign, steering Geelong from early trouble to a hard-fought but eventually comfortable 41-point victory over Essendon.

It took the Cats until 10 seconds from the quarter-time siren to boot their first major, but with Dangerfield in full flight, Mark Blicavs playing Mr Fix-It in the ruck and Tom Hawkins bagging six majors, the rescue mission was complete early in the final term.

On a bleak winter night in Geelong, Dangerfield not only looked the part with his elevated hosiery, he rediscovered his running power in racking up 38 telling touches to spark his team from its early lethargy.

Bombers big man Sam Draper looked ominous early and with Jake Stringer booting the first two goals, Essendon looked a live chance for the win that would have propelled it into the top eight.

But as Blicavs and Rhys Stanley combined to quell Draper’s influence, Geelong powerhouse Jeremy Cameron blew the game apart with three goals either side of quarter-time.

When he limped off with a hamstring injury, Hawkins took over for his biggest haul of the season to cap a 66-point turnaround from late in the first term.

The Cats were clearly second to the ball early, but some ferocious tackling from Dangerfield, Tom Atkins and Joel Selwood turned the tide in the second term.

Darcy Parish was again stunning for the Bombers, who actually had 17 more inside-50 entries but just didn’t have the potent targets their opponents enjoyed at the other end.

Hawkins kicked six in Friday night’s win. Pic: Michael KleinSource:News Corp Australia

Parish pumping

Darcy Parish is already enjoying his best AFL season, but almost in shouting distance of his junior stomping ground at Winchelsea, he elevated his game to a whole new level.

Once thought of as an outside player, Parish has added two truckloads of grunt to his game and was the Bombers’ absolute beacon, particularly when the Cats were rampant in the second term.

Of Parish’s 43 disposals, no fewer than 28 were won in contests. He also had eight centre clearances and 15 inside-50s.

Two-way pace

The footy world has already grown to admire the explosive pace of Nick Hind, typically going “downhill” as the Bombers surge forward off half-back.

But the former Ballarat junior showed he’s got footy nous and is prepared to do the harder and less glorious “uphill” yards when he saved a certain Tom Hawkins goal in the first term.

Hawkins risked the “dribble wrath” of Jason Dunstall by trying to bounce one through from 25m out, enabling Hind to crank up the jets and run the ball down right on the line.

Express post

The right goal post at the Barwon River end of the ground got up close and personal with Hawkins, not once but twice in the Cats’ hard-charging second term.

Hawkins was shoved unceremoniously into the timber after he’d booted one of his three goals for the term, rocking the foundations of the Players Stand.

But some impressive footwork prevented another run-in with the woodwork as the big fella showed the dexterity of someone half his size in sharking a Sam Draper spoil that rocketed beneath his knees and slamming through another from point-blank range.

SCORES

GEELONG

1.1 (7) 9.3 (57) 11.5 (71) 15.8 (98)

ESSENDON

4.2 (26) 5.3 (33) 7.8 (50) 8.9 (57)

VOTES

3: Patrick Dangerfield

2: Darcy Parish

1: Tom Hawkins

BEST:

Geelong: Dangerfield, Hawkins, Blicavs, Atkins, Stewart, Tuohy.

Essendon: Parish, Merrett, Stringer, Heppell, Draper, Ridley.

GOALS:

Geelong: Hawkins 6, Cameron 3, Miers 2, Tuohy, Rohan, Dangerfield, Smith

Essendon: Stringer 3, McDonald-Tipungwuti 2, Jones, Merrett, Parish

INJURIES:

Geelong: Cameron (right hamstring),

Essendon: nil

REPORTS: nil

CROWD: 15,579 at GMHBA Stadium

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