I was actually optimistic going in. Langford hammy didn’t help. Shitful.
Geelong have had a significant impact on the absolute demise of seasons in all of 2002, 2012 and 2022 (and yes, others). All noteworthy nominations for this thread.
2002 - We played them in the middle of the season and were very warm favourites. They were a long way from the powerhouse they would turn into later that decade. We were abysmal and they blew us away.
2012 - A great start to the season and a couple of speedhumps in the middle of the season. We had regathered some momentum heading into this game… but it was over very, very quickly.
2022 - I don’t need to say anymore. Other posters have summed it up very well.
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Yeah, its not the absolute thrashings, its the complete & utter lack of pride games that stick in your throat the longest. I just walked away from that game thinking “you weak pack of kents”.
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It ranks high on my list for this reason.
Pre season 2022 was pretty optimistic even by blitz standards. The siren is generous, it was done in 10 mins
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The Essendon vs Norf elimination final 2014.
Losing to the ■■■■■■■ bowls club and making Marvel our home game base.
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2024 at Marvel when we handed GC their first away win in about 50 years!
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Thanks for this list of depressing memories. It’s surprising how many of these games I was at and blocked from my memory.
Helps me understand why my son supports Geelong (my daughters have stuck with Essendon out of pity for me (bless them), but don’t go to the games).
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That was Easter at Marvel wasn’t it.
I was in Sydney at the time and seemed to recall we were less than a goal down at half time and then got torched in the second half.
There was a game against them in Perth in the mid 2000’s where we were only a goal down at the half and lost by over 10 goals with Pav and Lloyd having a shootout.
A few other Geelong maulings/heartbreakers for your consideration:
2004 semi-final - We only lost by 10pts, and I remember the call on the radio as Hird had a massive final quarter trying to get us over the line. We kicked one goal in the first half and thus started a finals losing streak that is still intact a staggering 21 years later. And it was the first year of Geelong’s era of excellence. Interesting parallels there.
2008, round 2 - We started the Knights era by belting the highly-fancied Roos by 55, then conceded 150pts the next week against the Cats and lost by 99. Bubble (albeit a one week bubble) well and truly burst.
2009, round 10 - We were fourth on the ladder before this game, and I remember there was a fair amount of hype about the match-up. Cats by 64pts.
2010, round 1 - I was on holiday in the US at the time, but I remember reading the match report and getting a summary from my little bro. We had a golden opportunity to make a definitive round 1 statement, we’d outplayed them and should have been further ahead at three-quarter time. Conceded eight goals in the last quarter, Cats by 31. Oh, and the Jay Neagle incident that lives on today in Blitz folklore. (We got a rematch later in the season: Cats by 71)
2013, round 7 - We were top, Geelong second, both undefeated. We beat them in every major statistical category (disposals, clearances (41-22), hit-outs, inside 50s, contested possessions, tackles) and had more scoring shots. Cats by 28. Not a horrible performance, but I remember being bitterly disappointed by the result.
2014, round 15 - We were five goals behind at one stage, and had been shithouse. My brother and his missus left at half-time. We came out a different team after half-time, completely outplayed them and were in front when Daniher goaled late in the last. Conceded two late goals, Cats by 9. One week after losing in similarly galling circumstances against Melbourne.
And there have been six 60pt+ hidings in the meantime, with an average losing margin of 55 points (12 losses, two wins in that time). No wonder I hate them so much.
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Great summary.
No club in my lifetime has owned us more than they have in the last 20 years.
They’ve been very good in that time and we haven’t… but our head-to-head record is abysmal.
The confidence this club has in playing us is going to take a very long time to break down.
I feel like there were a couple of preseason games where they broke us before we even started.
At least they broke Lav
Was absolutely ■■■■■■■ it down with rain all night, We very nearly pinched that game. Had no right being anywhere near it.
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Not sure if you or anyone else on here remembers, but was the game on FTA in Victoria? I listened to it on the radio, can’t remember if that was because it wasn’t on TV, or someone else was using the TV.
It would have been a 7:10-7:15pm start game with Channel 10 being the finals broadcaster at the time (2004).
Melbourne finals were only shown live if it was a sellout. The Geelong vs Essendon final wasn’t so it would have been on a 30-40 minute delay on Channel 10.
It wasn’t until 2011, unbelievably, when finals were unconditionally shown live into Melbourne.
I remember the annual outcry in the 2000s when Better Homes And Gardens took precedence on Channel 7 over live sport.
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I started feeling nervous when the “development isn’t linear” line dropped during the pre season, but convinced myself it was nothing.
I think his first win was against Melbourne. In 2015. Although he wouldn’t know because he got knocked out in the opening minutes.
Fremantle at Docklands during Easter 2022 was appalling. The Rutten rot had set in (although we were on the next week in Anzac Day).
Losing to them in 2017 at Subi after winning the first half was silly.
Then there was round two 2018 when we forgot to turn up to their first game at the new stadium.
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Can’t go against the gate!!!
