GEELONG 2.3 5.6 6.13 9.18 (72) ESSENDON 2.2 5.4 6.5 6.6 (42)
GOALS Geelong: Motlop 2, Gregson, Lang, Bartel, Caddy, Cockatoo, Stanley, Smith. Essendon: Zaharakis, Laverde, Brown, Stokes, Fantasia, Merrett.
Best: Geelong: Duncan, Dangerfield, Lonergan, Taylor, Selwood, Motlop. Essendon: Zaharakis, Merrett, Gwilt, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Cooney.
INJURIES Essendon: Jayden Laverde (shoulder), Mitch Brown (nose). Geelong: Shane Kersten (calf) replaced in selected side by Jake Kolodjashnij.
UMPIRES Hay, McInerney, Mitchell.
CROWD 42,723 at the MCG.
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Bombers put up a fight before losing
Geelong survive a scare from Essendon before scraping to a 30-point win at the MCG.
"Hiding to nothing" is a phrase you'll hear many times this season when a team is taking on Essendon, the Bombers without a dozen of their best and already in some eyes having exceeded expectations merely by winning a game.
And it's certainly one that would have been rolling off Geelong tongues at half-time of Saturday's game against the Bombers at the MCG.
In a match they were not only expected to win, but win very well, the Cats went to the long break just two points up, matched in every facet by the undermanned Bombers and the scent of a major upset growing more pungent.
Which is where you have to give Chris Scott's side due credit. The final scoreboard will record a 30-point win as the Cats restored the status quo.
Really, however, by the end, it should have been much more, such was the level of Geelong's kicking yips, which saw them add 1.7 despite dominating the third quarter. Neither should it be lost that they restricted Essendon in the second half to just 1.2.
Still, it took until a Zac Smith goal from a free kick 13 minutes into the final term to seal the win. It took imposing performances from senior midfielders Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood.
And it took tremendous defensive discipline from Tom Lonergan, who kept Joe Daniher goalless, Harry Taylor and Lachie Henderson to reduce the Essendon forward set-up to near impotency by the end.
This is one the Cats will be glad to put in the bank and then put behind them. Essendon, for their part, perhaps perversely, may take away more of lasting value. Because unlike their previous two defeats, the Bombers at least gave a yelp for four quarters, and a bit more than that in the first half.
Indeed, the reception Essendon got from their fans as they left the field at half-time was more raucous than some teams are afford by their faithful in victory, but it was one they'd earned. They had the first two goals of the game on the board before Geelong fired a shot and dominated the early play.
David Zaharakis, continuing his outstanding early season form, notched the first with a lovely snap from a boundary throw-in. The second came from Jayden Laverde, the talented youngster playing his first game of the season, marking a lovely pass from Marty Gleeson and duly converting.
Geelong always looked threatening, but the Cats were strangely fumbly and less than sharp with their disposal early, though when their goals did come they did so easier than Essendon's.
The seemingly inevitable loomed larger early in the second term as the Cats snuck ahead by a tick over two goals, Steven Motlop roving the crumbs nicely as a cluster of Bomber defenders flew together, Cory Gregson converting a bullet-like pass from Joel Selwood, quiet early but beginning to put his stamp on proceedings.
Dangerfield continued to rack up the touches, Cam Guthrie prolific, too, and after Nakia Cockatoo sprinted into another open goal, Geelong had kicked five of the last six goals, led by two, and looked set to build further on that advantage.
But Essendon kept coming. Symbolic was Zach Merrett's tackle on Dangerfield that nailed the Cat star holding-the-ball. Essendon began to attack again, and after Mitch Brown threaded a goal from the tightest of angles  it was back to only six points.
Barely a minute later, Orazio Fantasia, hard up against the boundary on the other side of the ground, did similarly, and scores were back on even terms. Cockatoo hit the post for the Cats just short of siren time, and Essendon went to the break buoyed, Geelong with more than a few concerns.
By the time Mathew Stokes, busy, like teammate James Kelly, against his old team, put the Bombers in front, you wondered whether Geelong was going to end up calling this one of those days.
The sign of a good side, however, is one that can have one of them yet still emerge with the points. And from that objective the Cats would not be swayed, even given a ridiculous run of inaccuracy, which saw Daniel Menzel, after missing again from point blank range, with a tally of 0.5.
By the time Darcy Lang extended Geelong's lead to 17 points midway through the final term, the Cats had enjoyed 25 inside 50s for a return of 1.10 and one out-of-bounds on-the-full. Needless to say, such carelessness won't go unpunished against the top sides.
Essendon will take away more great performances from Zaharakis and Zach Merrett, a vastly-improved one from veteran Adam Cooney, good work in defence by James Gwilt and Michael Hartley and more promising moments from the exciting Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
For the Bombers, as might happen a bit this year, it was a sort of win without having one. The Cats, of course, had little to gain and plenty of face to lose. And while this was far from a game for the ages, for both teams you might well end up saying mission accomplished.
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