Eight players in the squad are in line to make their first official appearance in the blue and white, and will play alongside a strong list of premiership players with only Brad Ottens, Matthew Scarlett, Paul Chapman and Max Rooke missing out. Tom Harley is also an obvious omission, following his retirement in October last year.

One man attracting a lot of attention is rookie-listed forward James Podsiadly, who last played a NAB Cup match in Collingwood colours back in 2002.

The squad is yet to be finalised, but has been named as follows:
Gary Ablett, Tom Allwright, Jimmy Bartel, Mark Blake, Shannon Byrnes, Allen Christensen, Joel Corey, Mitch Duncan, Corey Enright, Tom Gillies, Tom Hawkins, Josh Hunt, Taylor Hunt, Steve Johnson, James Kelly, Jeremy Laidler, Cameron Ling, Tom Lonergan, Andrew Mackie, Darren Milburn, Cameron Mooney, Steve Motlop, James Podsiadly, Joel Selwood, Dawson Simpson, Harry Taylor, Adam Varcoe, Travis Varcoe, David Wojcinski. Three players from this squad will be named as emergencies.

The AAMI Stadium match also marks the 150th AFL game for midfield star Gary Ablett Junior. Ablett debuted against the Bombers way back in Round 1, 2002 and has only missed around 19 senior matches in between.

Adelaide have divided footy fans with the inclusion of Nathan Bock, lifting his indefinite suspension after only one match. Bock and Robert Shirley replace injured pair Nick Gill and Scott Stevens.

ADELAIDE

GEELONG

As it was his first pinching offence, Johnson was fined $1200 sanction – reduced by 25 per cent for an early plea.

Collingwood’s Nick Maxwell was suspended for two matches for engaging in rough conduct against Johnson during the second quarter and his team-mate Heath Shaw will miss one match for making contact with umpire Michael Vozzo in the same quarter.

In front of a disappointing crowd of 58,527, the match started with ominous signs with a goal to Alan Didak within 20 seconds; a 20-point lead at quarter-time for the Pies and an average start from the Cats had more than a few Geelong fans recalling memories of 2008 – if it wasn’t for Collingwood’s poor kicking, the margin would have been even bigger.

The second quarter was full of highlights for Cats fans, including an unbroken end-to-end chain that started with James Kelly kicking out after a Collingwood miss and finished with David Wojcinski goaling on the run from 35 metres.

Goals followed to Matthew Stokes, Paul Chapman (after receiving a 50 metre penalty courtesy of Heath Shaw’s hand on the umpire) and Travis Varcoe put the Cats four points up (and had the fans on their feet) after a clever goal from an Ablett handball.

The fun didn’t stop for Cat fans, with Steve Johnson the next in line for a goal. Geelong weren’t just outscoring the Pies in goals either: they were leading the second quarter possessions by almost 15 at one stage. Travis Varcoe kicked his second, and Tom Hawkins got his first.

After seven unanswered goals, Magpie Dane Swan was in a position to steady the Collingwood ship but missed. Chapman’s second goal ensured the Pies paid for that miss, and the Pies’ quarter-time lead of 20 points was now a half-time deficit of 27 points.

Collingwood made a determined start to the third quarter, but poor kicking from both sides enabled the Cats to hang on for a 14 point lead at the final change.

Two quick goals to Johnson and Shannon Byrnes extended the Cats’ lead once more, and killed off any chance of a Collingwood comeback. Cameron Mooney kicked his first to extend the lead beyond 30 points. Both teams traded scores, with goals to Chapman and Hawkins being countered by goals to Leon Davis, Josh Fraser and Paul Medhurst. Max Rooke kicked the Cats’ seventh goal for the final term and the Cats were home.

FINAL SCORES

GOALS

INJURIES
Geelong: Cameron Ling (ankle)
Collingwood: Ben Johnson (broken leg), Heath Shaw (cramp)

REPORTS
Collingwood: Heath Shaw for making contact with umpire Vozzo in the second quarter.

GEELONG

COLLINGWOOD

GEELONG

RICHMOND

Johnson was sure of his innocence and wanted to avoid any points hanging over his head; the tribunal took his impeccable record into account and accepted his explanation that he was trying to brush off Hodge, with whom he was remonstrating after seeing team-mate Mathew Stokes lying on the turf.

The news wasn’t all good for Geelong, with Steve Johnson booked for attempting to strike Hawk Luke Hodge. However, with his excellent record, the total points will leave him clear to play whether he challenges the report or not.

Should he plead guilty, the Hawks’ ruckman Simon Taylor will miss at least the next two weeks after being given a three week penalty for dropping his knee to Joel Selwood’s head. His team-mate Luke Hodge was cleared of striking Tom Lonergan.

Cats Max Rooke and Andrew Mackie had their numbers taken, as did Hawks Luke Hodge and Simon Taylor – but despite the number of reports, the match was not quite the grudge-match the media described. It was good, hard footy – ruined only by the all-too-often intrusion of the umpires’ whistles. It may have been a ploy to manage the anticipated aggression, but 64 free kicks in one match was more than a little overzealous by the umpires.

With Matthew Scarlett and Darren Milburn resting on the bench (and Tom Harley and Josh Hunt out injured), the final quarter dominance of the Hawks’ forwards brought a lot of focus to young defenders Harry Taylor and Tom Lonergan, and the fingers of blame were pointing their way. However, Taylor is not alone when it comes to being beaten one-on-one by Franklin, and the Cats midfield should accept part of the blame for not stopping the Hawks’ quick delivery into their forward 50.

At this stage, such a fadeout is no real cause for concern – players are unlikely to be peaking at round 1 of the season – and the Cats will no doubt have learned from this lesson. The real worry was the Cats’ inaccuracy in front of goal, and the fact that their total scoring shots could have put the Hawks away before half-time – a statistic not lost on those who witnessed the same teams at the same venue on the last Saturday in September, 2008.

FINAL SCORES

GOALS

INJURIES
Geelong: Matthew Scarlett – ankle
Geelong: Ryan Gamble – hip
Geelong: Paul Chapman – head
Hawthorn: Michael Osborne – hamstring
Hawthorn: Stephen Gilham – knee (replaced in selected side by Cameron Stokes)

REPORTS
Hawthorn: Simon Taylor for misconduct (kneeing) on Geelong’s Joel Selwood in the first quarter
Geelong: Max Rooke in the third quarter for ‘late contact’ on Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell
Hawthorn: Luke Hodge in the third quarter for striking Geelong’s Tom Lonergan
Geelong: Andrew Mackie in the fourth quarter for striking Hawthorn’s Brent Renouf