Cats star Jeremy Cameron’s fifth goal closed the door on a thrilling Carlton fightback, as Geelong claimed a 13-point win at the MCG on Saturday.

The top-of-the-table Cats led by six goals midway through the final term before the Blues turned the contest on its head with four of the last five goals.

But it was Geelong’s brutal efficiency that kept the Cats undefeated as they claimed the 18.10 (118) to 15.15 (105) victory.

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The win has been soured by a hamstring injury to skipper Patrick Dangerfield, who limped from the field in the third term.

Without Dangerfield, the missing Tom Stewart and no goals to star Tom Hawkins, the Cats still managed to pull away in the final term as star Jeremy Cameron finished with five – including the goal to end the Blues’ fightback with less than three minutes to play.

For the Blues, the result was a missed opportunity as they failed to cash in on the scoreboard.

Carlton had 66 inside 50s – 21 more than the Cats but couldn’t find a winning score, with their fans left frustrated by numerous umpire calls.

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Carlton was forced to swing a late change, with forward Orazio Fantasia withdrawn due to illness. He was replaced by debutant Jaxon Binns, who was named as the starting sub. It was Binns’ first AFL game after being taken by the Blues with Pick 32 in the 2022 draft.

The Cats got the fast start with Jeremy Cameron kicking the first goal within the first two minutes.

Carlton’s stoppage game got going though, leading to Jordan Boyd’s first AFL goal that brought the house down at the MCG.

“It’s quite intimidating what they’re doing at the moment from stoppage. It’s the old Carlton,” dual premiership Kangaroo David King told Fox Footy.

But Geelong’s pressure early was impressive, which saw Gryan Miers and Zach Tuohy kick consecutive goals.

Captain’s goals at either end of the field then followed, with Patrick Cripps’ set-shot followed by a beautiful finish from Cats counterpart Patrick Dangerfield.

And when Mark Blicavs kicked truly from a tough angle, the Cats had opened up a 14-point advantage.

“It’s a hot footy at the moment,” King said.

Despite their awesome intensity, the Blues were wasteful in front of goal, booting 2.8 for the first term and trailing by 12 points at the first change.

And they had a big injury concern with Tom de Koning failing to reappear after the quarter time huddle, after he crashed heavily to the turf late in the opener.

“That hurt just watching it!” Jason Dunstall said.

Commentator Anthony Hudson said the Blues appeared “ruffled” in the opening term, after dominating contest and clearance but not getting the reward.

“Carlton are winning it out of the centre… just can’t get the score on the board,” commentator Cameron Mooney added.

“(Geelong) are really tearing Carlton apart through that middle of the ground with that transition football.”

De Koning made his return to the contest and had a hand in Elijah Hollands’ big goal to bring his side within six points.

But despite all their dominance, it was Ollie Henry who extended Geelong’s lead with a brilliant goal line mark.

After a review, it was determined Henry didn’t get hands in the back and was able to snap truly.

“They’re not getting a lot of love by the umpires the Blues,” King said.

And when Tuohy added his second late in the term, Geelong had a remarkable 10 goals from just 19 entries.

“It’s ridiculous,” King praised of Geelong’s efficiency.

“They can not miss!” Hudson said.

“This is just pure conversion,” Dunstall added. “This is just a display of class.

“Making every post a winner.”

By the main break, Geelong led 64-45.

“They’ve done so much right and find themselves 19 points down,” Hudson said of Carlton’s first half.

A “rubbish kick” turnover cost Carlton to start the third when Miers added his second for the match as the margin grew to a game-high 25 points.

But from there, the Blues found their fight.

Goals to Curnow, Jack Carroll, McKay and Curnow again dragged Carlton back to within four points as the Cats’ day soured.

Skipper Patrick Dangerfield slowly made his way from the field with a hamstring issue midway through the term.

“It’s been the slowest jog you’ll ever see,” Mooney said of Dangerfield’s departure.

“He’s in some serious pain at the moment.”

Tom Atkins was injected into the contest as a result, before a moment of controversy left Blues fans up in arms in the stands.

Zac Williams went to ground, leaving his opponent Ollie Henry free to mark inside 50 and nail his set shot.

But it was the missed contact on Williams that left the Blue army in uproar as boos rang out.

“He goes down a bit easily for mind. I don’t mean to be brutal about it,” Dunstall said watching the replay.

“There’s a little brush over the shoulder.”

“He played for the free kick and lost,” King added.

Henry’s goal helped the Cats to hold an 11-point buffer at the final change.

And from there, Geelong took control.

Carlton fans weren’t any happier in the final term when Harry McKay coughed up a costly 50m penalty that led to Cameron’s fourth goal.

Despite being told to stand on the mark, McKay moved away.

“Michael Voss will look at this and say ‘we could have won that game’. But the bottom line is you didn’t because you can’t kick straight. You didn’t convert,” Dunstall added.

But just as the Cats appeared home, Carlton found their fire to close within two goals with three minutes to play.

A late Cameron major closed the door on the Blues fightback as Geelong remain top of the table after seven rounds.

THE 3-2-1 …

3. CATS ‘CHARACTER’ SHINES THROUGH IN MCG CLASSIC

In a classic encounter between two leading premiership contenders, the contrasts in strength between the unbeaten Geelong and Carlton were apparent early on at the MCG.

The Blues midfield led by Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh brutalised their rivals in the middle of the ground in the first term, smashing the Cats in clearances and at the stoppages.

But when the ball burst into open territory, the swiftness and dare with which Geelong was able to hurt Carlton in transition was evident, at least until the Blues last gasp burst.

Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield, who looks set for another stint on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, set the tone in front of 87,775 fans with his determination to play on.

A classic illustration of their flow occurred at the 20-minute mark of the term when Tanner Bruhn won the ball in defence and spotted Ollie Dempsey 50 metres away on the outer flank.

Dempsey, in turn, chipped the footy back into Mark O’Connor in the middle. He dished it back to the running Dempsey, who handballed to Mitch Duncan dashing through the centre.

Raising his eyes further afield, Duncan was able to spot Mark Blicavs deep in attack, who kicked the Cats fifth goal for the term.

The transition came in the space of a V from the backline to deep in attack and was a superb example of the flowing nature of Geelong when they had control of the footy.

“They have been brilliant on the outside all day, Geelong,” North Melbourne premiership defender David King said.

Jason Dunstall, who will be elevated as a legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame this year, noted that when Geelong were able to dash forward, they were hard to defend.

“At the moment, Carlton’s defensive structure has no answer to the speed with which the Cats are moving the footy. The Cats want to play on at every opportunity,” Dunstall said.

“It is not predictable. It is the best option. (They assess their) best chance to kick a goal. That is where they are going.”

Cameron, who surpassed 600 goals early in the match and kicked the settler after Carlton’s four-goal burst in the dying stages, said it was an awesome win.

“(We) probably just let them back into it there late, but it was good to get over the line,” Cameron told Fox Footy.

“We just had to keep our composure. It is very easy to lose composure when they kick two, three or four quick ones. It is just an awesome win.

“There is a lot of character in the group. We don’t read into the outside noise. We just do what we want to do.”

2. ‘PURE CONVERSION’: ‘CLASSY’ CATS CAN’T MISS

Whether the contrasting styles had an impact on the stark contrast in forward line efficiency between the two combatants is questionable.

What is not in doubt is that Geelong maximised their opportunities in the forward 50m arc while the Blues were wasteful at critical junctures.

From set shots, Geelong kicked 13.3 (81) to Carlton’s 6.8 (44) in what Dunstall described as near “pure conversion”.

“They cannot miss. This is pure conversion. Whether it is on the run, where it is snapping, whether it is set shots This is just a display of class. They are making every post a winner,” the Fox Footy analyst said.

The first term proved a case in point, for while a strong statistical argument could be made to suggest Carlton dominated the quarter, the Cats led by two goals at the opening break.

The Blues went inside their forward 50m arc 17 times for the term compared to Geelong’s 11.

Carlton had 28 more disposals for the quarter and were on top in clearances (+12) and contested possessions (+11), with Marc Pittonet outstanding in the ruck.

Despite boasting Coleman Medallists Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay in attack, and with Tom de Koning lively until landing heavily after a marking contest, the Blues had to work hard for their goals. This was despite Geelong defence missing champion Tom Stewart.

At quarter-time, the Cats had kicked 5.2 (32) to Carlton’s 2.8 (20).

A wobbly set shot from Jacob Weitering, who had the better of Geelong veteran Tom Hawkins, shortly before the siren to end the first term was an apt illustration of their woes.

Similarly with the match to be won in the last term, the difference in conversion between the two sides again proved critical.

Trailing by 11 points at the final change, Carlton had the first three shots of the final term, but Curnow, Corey Durdin and de Koning all kicked behinds.

Having absorbed the early pressure, Geelong was able to race it down to their forward line, where Zac Tuohy took a strong mark that led to his third goal for the match.

“It is the clear difference in the game, the ability to convert your opportunities,” Dunstall said.

“Michael Voss will look at it and say, ‘We could have won this game’. But the bottom line is that you didn’t, you couldn’t, because you can’t kick straight, you can’t convert.”

1. CRACKING MARK TOPS OFF CATS STAR’S RETURN

After an absence of 12 months, Geelong’s dual best-and-fairest Cam Guthrie celebrated his return to football with a spectacular mark on the wing in the opening minute of the match.

Playing his first game since Rd 6 last year, was able to soar high on to the back of Blue Matt Cottrell to haul in a brilliant grab that signalled he was back in action.

He finished the match with 27 disposals, the most for the Cats, and seven marks, which is the third most for Geelong, in an outstanding return.

Guthrie shapes a critical cog for Geelong in the second half of the year as he builds match fitness given his outstanding resume and importance to the Cats, as Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall noted.

“It is great to see Cam Guthrie back. They have missed him,” the Fox Footy analyst said.

The absence of Guthrie, who won his second Carji Greeves Medal in Geelong’s premiership season in 2022, from Rd 6 last year was a factor in the Cats failure to play finals last year.

The 31-year-old was sidelined with foot and toe problems as the injury-ravaged Cats faded from contention in 2023 and there were concerns for his season in February as well.

In the opening minute of a pre-season clash, coincidentally against the Blues, the 2020 All Australian injured a tendon in his quadriceps muscle and missed another two months.

He adds experience and tenacity to a Geelong midfield and his return is timely given the hamstring injury suffered by Cats captain Patrick Dangerfield in the third term.

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