Geelong has won the battle to stay undefeated, beating the Bombers by 28 points at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The Cats held their nerve after Bombers kicked clear in the second quarter and capitalised on Essendon’s poor kicking to move to the top of the ladder after seven rounds.
The Bombers looked good early and after an even first quarter they led by 3 points at the first change before kicking away in the first half of the second quarter. Tom Hawkins kicked the first goal of the term before the Dons piled on the next four goals.
In classic Geelong style they didn’t let up and clawed back to hit their lead after the siren giving them a four point lead at the main break.
Essendon dominated the third term, racking up a number of shots on goal but couldn’t convert booting 1 goal, 11 behinds for the quarter as the Cats made the most of their forward entries kicking six majors, setting up a hand 27 point lead at three quarter time.
The poor kicking was costly for the Dons, allowing for Geelong to break the game open and despite stringing a few goals together in the final term they weren’t able to get within striking distance of the Cats.
GEELONG 2.2 7.7 13.9 17.11 (113)
ESSENDON 2.5 6.9 7.18 11.19 (85)
GOALS
Geelong: Stokes 3, Lonergan 2, Blicavs 2, Smedts 2, Hawkins 2, Duncan, Selwood, Schroder, Christensen, Motlop, Bartel
Essendon: Myers 2, Gumbleton 2, Goddard, Davey, Hibberd, Hocking, Bellchambers, Hurley, Crameri
Official crowd: 53,014 at Etihad Stadium
