Cats return to AFL top eight with easy win over North

Geelong have celebrated a milestone game for Zach Tuohy with a 62-point win over North Melbourne. (Julian Smith/AAP PHOTOS)

Geelong are back in the AFL top eight and coach Chris Scott is bullish about the chaos the reigning premiers can cause.

The Cats belted North Melbourne by 62 points on Sunday at GMHBA Stadium to honour Zach Tuohy's 265th game.

Tuohy took the record from Jim Stynes for the most matches by an Irishman with the 19.11 (125) to 9.9 (63) win.

Geelong now have a tough end to the season, starting with next Saturday night's home game against resurgent Essendon.

Other than Fremantle, who made the finals last year, all the Cats' opponents are above them on the ladder.

But Scott is relishing the challenge, saying his team's best form will test the best in the league.

'We still have the capacity to find our best footy and be very, very dangerous," Scott said.

"We thought today was a step in the right direction there.

"We are very confident that if we play our best footy, we're the danger.

"We're OK with (our fixture) ... at least you can come away from those games, if you play well, thinking that's a bit more validation, that our best is going to be good enough. But I think we know that already."

Adding to their optimism, key forward Jeremy Cameron should return from injury to face the Bombers.

North kicked two of the first three goals, but Geelong claimed the next 11 to kill off the match.

The Kangaroos' third goal did not come until nine minutes into the third term.

Adding to their dirty day, Griffin Logue has a knee injury that they fear is serious and co-captain Jy Simpkin was also forced out of the game because of concussion.

North coach Brett Ratten said they were smashed in centre bounce clearances and that put them on the back foot throughout the game.

"We just know when you play Geelong down here .. they get run-ons, lock you away and set the game up and to lose centre bounce you give them exactly what they want," Ratten said.

They kicked a goal, we went back to the middle and we start the game in their forward 50 nearly,"

The Kangaroos were 68 points down in the third quarter, but they stopped the game becoming a total rout.

Ratten spoke of them trying to have little wins and one came in the last quarter when Cooper Harvey, the son of AFL games record holder Brent, kicked his first goal on debut.

North players ran from everywhere to congratulate Harvey and Ratten said that showed their spirit remained strong, despite 14 consecutive losses.

Tyson Stengle kicked five goals and Ollie Henry four for the Cats as Mitch Duncan impressed with 30 possessions, while Luke Davies-Uniacke was best for North and kicked two goals.

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store