Cats beat Port in chaotic London clash
A chaotic final quarter of streakers and punch-ups forced an early finish as Geelong beat Port Adelaide by 21 points in their AFL exhibition match at The Oval in London.
The Cats won 13.10 (88) to Port's 10.7 (67), both teams fielding very inexperienced line-ups in front of a mediocre crowd of 12,129.
The final term was shambolic, a series of streakers invading the ground and running fights had officials blowing the siren after just 16 of the allotted 20 minutes.
Geelong was best served through Jimmy Bartel, but youngster Ryan Gamble impressed with four goals in a key forward role.
Port's best was Rising Star Danyle Pearce.
Port got the opening goal after just 70 seconds, but thereafter it was all Geelong in the first quarter.
The Cats were rebounding nicely, principally through one of the few experienced players on show in Bartel, and running forward well in possession, rattling on five goals.
The inevitable first fight, for which the London crowd roared, came in the midst of that Geelong run when Power fullback Daryl Wakelin tangled with young Geelong ruckman Todd Grima - with many others attending.
The Power got a couple of late goals through Damon White and Domenic Cassisi to cut the gap to a manageable 14 points at the first change.
Port dominated the early stages of the second term, with Pearce prominent in midfield and, when Cassisi roved the pack expertly to run into an open goal at the 12 minute mark, the Cats lead was back to one point.
But Port could never get in front and the first quarter pattern was reversed when Geelong kicked the last two goals of the term against the run of play to push the margin back out to 14 points at the main break.
The waves began in the crowd during the third term as the action on the field dropped.
With both sides perhaps turning their mind to winning the game, defences were flooded and the play rebounded between the half-back lines.
That suited Geelong, which retained a 13-point advantage at the last break.
When Darren Milburn snapped a goal five minutes into the final term, and Gamble slotted another direct from the resultant centre break, the gap was 26 minutes and effectively over.
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It was a great atmosphere and a thoroughly entertaining day. This annual match is an institution here in London and with good reason... thousands of young Aussies with smiles all over there faces and just an awesome social day with a bit of footy to boot.
We all had an absolute ball, find me someone who didn't?