Geelong news

To protect the integrity of the competition, the VFL does not allow players unqualified for VFL finals to play in its Sunday grand final should the Cats be eliminated from the AFL the previous day.

If Geelong's AFL team wins there will be no restriction on VFL team selection.

But should it lose, then the VFL team will be restricted to 12 AFL-listed players, who would have to be finals qualified (at least seven VFL games and no more than 12 AFL games this season).

"This rule has been in place since 2004, It is not a Geelong-specific rule, it is a competition rule," VFL general manager Martin Stillman said.

Geelong coach Leigh Tudor is anxious not to get ahead of himself but is merely pointing out what could become a difficult selection process.

GEELONG'S VFL team can guarantee a top two finish with a win over Werribee at Bartercard Oval tomorrow.

The Cats, who sit a game clear in second spot on the ladder, can cement their spot if they notch its fourth straight win tomorrow afternoon.

Geelong will be out to turn the tables on their local rivals after their round nine result.

Werribee took the points at Skilled Stadium by 15 points in round nine, set up by a six-goal opening quarter.

Silky-skilled midfielder Brent Prismall is again likely to miss with a wrist injury, while first-year player Nathan Djerrkura is also unlikely to play again before the end of the home and away season.

Defender David Johnson has been added to the team after being dropped from the AFL side, while Stephen Owen will be missing for the best part of 12 months, due to have a knee reconstruction today.

The 20-year-old 2005 AFL draft choice from the North Ballarat Rebels, who is yet to make his AFL debut, twisted his left knee midway through the final quarter.

Geelong VFL coach Leigh Tudor said last night Owen appeared to have damaged his ACL joint.

"Stephen has been awesome for us all year," Tudor said.

"He has improved out of sight and it is very sad. He will undergo a full medical examination on Monday."

Geelong's 71-point win came on the back of emerging teenage ruckman Trent West, a winning midfield headed by Josh Hunt and Ryan Gamble, a strong defence led by Tim Callan, Tom Lonergan and Sam Hunt, and a three-pronged attack headed by Charlie Gardiner, Todd Grima and Henry Playfair.

A BRILLIANT Geelong has moved to outright second spot on the VFL ladder after smashing fourth-placed North Ballarat by 71 points in swirly conditions in Ballarat.

Charlie Gardiner started the onslaught only 20 seconds into the match when he soccered through an easy goal and Geelong never looked back.

Laden with talent, the Cats made good use of the strong breeze to kick 8.5 — their best quarter for the year — to obliterate any chance the Roosters may have had.

Gardiner was extremely dangerous all day, kicking five goals and easily could have had seven. He was prevented from kicking the easiest of set shots in the first quarter after an errant elbow from Rooster Leigh Harding forced Gardiner from the field under the blood rule.

Harding was not reported for the incident but is likely to be when footage of the incident is reviewed.

In the third quarter, Gardiner again soccered through a goal from the goal square, only for the goal umpire, inexplicably, to deem it was touched.

WITH four rounds to play in the VFL home-and-away season, round 17 could prove pivotal to the make-up of the top eight come finals time.

The Coburg Tigers travel down the Princes Freeway today to play the rampant Geelong Cats at Skilled Stadium in the morning AFL curtain-raiser.

The Cats boast the most potent forward line in the competition, kicking an average of 116 points a game. They also have the most miserly defence with an average of only 79 points kicked against them each week.

The Tigers, who have not lost a game since round 11, will rely on their athleticism to out-run the Cats. They will be missing suspended midfielder Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, who has enjoyed a wonderful month of football, but will regain Andrew Krakouer, who was omitted from the Richmond side.

Tigers coach Andy Collins is a supporter of the AFL curtain-raiser concept, believing it provides the crowds with added value.

"It's great for the fans to be able to see their club's players run around in the VFL. I would travel down to Skilled Stadium every week if it meant we could play a curtain-raiser."