Retired small forward Matthew Stokes has looked back on Geelong’s 2007 Grand Final win over Port Adelaide.
With the club’s most recent flag before that year, in 1963, it took a long time between glasses for the men in blue and white hoops, but that drought was snapped with the 119-point win.
Since the margin was so big, Stokes says he knew he and his teammates were going to be Premiers once Cameron Mooney extended the lead to 58 points with the first goal of the third term.
“After half-time we knew if we could kick a goal really quickly at the back of half-time it would be locked,” Stokes said. This Is Your Journey by SEN – courtesy of Tobin Brothers.
“I got the ball and sent it to my great friend Cameron Mooney, and he scored one from the boundary.
“We said, ‘Yeah, we got that, time to party’.”
With the 2007 Cats teeming with superstars, Stokes says it was an “incredible experience” knowing the game was over as everything they touched turned to gold.
“With our band everyone wanted to be the man, we had Stevie Johnson, Chappy (Paul Chapman), Gary Ablett Jr and Jimmy (Bartel), it was showtime for these boys,” Stokes said .
“It was an incredible experience to play a quarter and a half of football knowing that we had already won and were on our way to becoming Premiership brothers.”
Stokes retired a Cat twice with 200 AFL games under his belt.