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The Live Sport Bible is here!Thursday Fallout: Write off the Cats at your own peril
SEN • May 15th, 2026 9:11 am
Geez Geelong, that was impressive.
Don’t discount the Cats in your flag calculations. That’s what we learnt from Thursday night.
Chris Scott’s side has been flying under the radar of late with a lot of the talk surrounding Sydney, Fremantle, Hawthorn and of course back-to-back champs the Brisbane Lions.
But the Cats dismantled Chris Fagan’s Brissie on their own turf in a powerful display to win by 41 points (117-76) in slippery and greasy conditions at the Gabba.
Every year it’s the same story for a lot of footy watchers. ‘The Cats are getting old, surely they can’t compete again’.
Well, going off that win you should write them off at your own peril.
Shaun Mannagh was simply superb with a bag of five goals plus 30 touches, 14 score involvements and three goal assists. The Lions also had no answer for Bailey Smith (34 touches, 11 tackles, nine inside 50s, seven clearances, two goals), Tom Stewart who had a remarkable 17 intercept possessions to finish with 28 and seven marks, and Jeremy Cameron who could’ve had a fair night with 3.3 from 16 touches.
The next test for Geelong is the Swannies at The Cattery. If they win that then the lid will be off, Scotty.
What do we make of Brisbane right now?
They’ve only really played in fits and spurts and still hold a 6-4 record. That’s a good sign. There’s plenty under the bonnet still, isn’t there?
Everyone expects the Lions to build momentum at some point, and they likely will, but they’ve got plenty of competitors this year. A handful or so.
The Giants away next weekend could be a bit tricky. You’d expect them to pass that test off a nice 10-day break but if they don’t the alarm bells will be ringing.
They’ve clearly they’ve got the talent to bounce out of this lacklustre loss, and they have won six of their past eight. A lot of teams would kill for that form.
Fages is not yet worried and he would know…
