The result should have been a foregone conclusion by half time, but Freo wasted opportunities in front of goal.
Peter Mann and Craig Burrows were two of the culprits as the home side kicked 3.14 for the half.
Luckily for Freo, its backline and midfield continued to fire in the second half.
Scott Watters and Ben Allan’s work rate was outstanding, with Watters accumulating 33 disposals.
Andrew Wills kicked three goals against his old side.
For the Cats, 1989 Brownlow Medallist Paul Couch was excellent with 36 disposals, but he had few friends in the midfield.
The great Gary Ablett kicked five goals for Geelong, but it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat.
Cats’ coach, Gary Ayres was left to defend his decision to play Gary Hocking in the seniors instead of giving the midfielder a run in the reserves following his knee surgery after the star midfielder had only five touches.
Freo meanwhile showed the AFL that it was not going to be pushovers in its debut season.
Click below to see the stats from the game
