Southport are through to a preliminary final against Footscray after defeating a star-studded Geelong outfit by 29 points at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday Afternoon.
The Cats had five AFL premiership players playing for them: Parfitt, Hawkins, Rohan, Guthrie and De Koning, but the Sharks proved too good, winning 13.9 (87) to 7.16 (58).
Sharks’ forward and former Geelong Cat Wylie Buzza kicked the first goal of the game, before the Cats steadied with majors to Clohesy and Hawkins.
Southport hit back with goals to Heron and Gray, giving Southport a four point lead into the first break.
Jay Lockhart opened the game up for the Sharks in the second quarter with three majors in three minutes, which helped Southport get out to a 28 point lead at half time.
Geelong came out strong in the third quarter and cut the margin to 11 points before Buzza slotted a clutch goal just before three quarter time.
The Sharks then kicked the first three goals of the last term to extend their lead to over five goals and put the game out of reach for the Cats.
Geelong’s Mitch Hardie kicked a goal late in the last quarter, but it was too little too late.
Jesse Joyce and Nick Williams were terrific for the Sharks down back, whilst Brayden Crossley, Jacob Heron and Jacob Dawson played well in the middle.
After the match, Southport Coach Steve Daniel said, “We are excited to be back playing in a preliminary final. They are hard to get to, so I am very proud of the boys that we have got there.”
“We will turn our focus straight to trying to beat Footscray, but we are pretty happy to get over that Geelong side.”
“The Cats obviously had some quality personnel come into their team, so to get that result is just fantastic.”
Southport’s preliminary final against Footscray will be played the Whitten Oval on Saturday 14 September at 2pm.
Geelong v Southport – Saturday 7 September, GMHBA Stadium, 11:35am
GEELONG 2.3 4.6 6.11 7.16 (58)
SOUTHPORT 3.1 9.3 10.4 13.9 (87)
GOALS: Jay Lockhart 3, Wylie Buzza 3, Jacob Heron 2, Keegan Gray, Jack Sexton, Hugh Dixon, Campbell Lake, Will Derrington
BEST PLAYERS: Jesse Joyce, Brayden Crossley, Nick Williams, Jacob Heron, Jay Lockhart, Jacob Dawson
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Photo Credit: Rob Lawson/AFL Photos
