Geelong coach Chris Scott believes Shaun Mannagh could still have a long career despite his late start to AFL football.
The 28-year-old turned on a match-winning performance in tonight’s match with five goals and 30 disposals.
Scott said he was proud of Mannagh’s development after working his way through the ranks into the AFL.
But he added that, physically, Mannagh’s body was strong and fresh, which could allow him to play for a long period of time.
Lions coach Chris Fagan won’t press the panic button, despite the loss to Geelong, but he hasn’t spared his stars with his post-game comments either.
“Geelong’s hunger was superior to ours. That’s at this point in time. It doesn’t mean it will be next week,” Fagan said.
“We’ve been pretty good for a few weeks, but tonight they were terrific.
“A lot of our really good players didn’t play as well as they normally do.
Cats veteran Patrick Dangerfield played out the game with a hand injury and a post-game handshake appeared particularly painful for the Geelong great.
Dangerfield believes he will be fine for next week’s clash with Sydney, but he was clearly wincing, and his hand was swollen.
Dangerfield also said that he believed players were playing longer because of sports science advancements and clubs wanting to keep players for longer.
“I don’t think it’s a mental thing as players have already been incredibly mentally strong in that regard,” Dangerfield told Kayo Sports.
“In sports science, the understanding that you can push players for longer [has made the difference].
“In earlier eras, you would get to 30 and you are almost written off. I think now, there isn’t an untapped amount of talent, so clubs realise they want to make the most of the players they’ve got.”
Some observers would have been surprised to see Cats defender Jack Henry playing in the forward line tonight, but he was on his return from injury.
It soon was clear that Henry was in attack to play a negating role on Lions superstar Harris Andrews, and he did his job to a tee, restricting Andrews’ ability to leap for intercept marks and begin counter-attacks for the Lions.
“Jack’s had an interrupted start to the year but when the coaches came to him and said are you willing to do it, that’s what we love about Jack,” Stewart told Kayo Sports.
“He’ll have a crack and I think he did an essential job.
“I think Harris is the best defender in the league, so to nullify his impact on a greasy night was exceptional for our team.”
The Cats have proved they will be premiership contenders again in 2026 after a stunning five-goal burst to open the third quarter blew the reigning premiers to smithereens at the Gabba.
The win came off a five-day break and puts them in third spot, while the Lions slipped to sixth after the 41-point loss.
Shaun Mannagh was the hero with three goals in three minutes and 50 seconds in the premiership quarter as the Cats slammed on seven unanswered goals either side of half-time.
Mannagh’s purple patch started with an audacious kick out of midair from 30 metres out that sailed through the goals.
Cats star Tom Stewart has tried to hose down concerns about his late-game leg injury.
“Just a corky and some old legs – I just wanted to get off a minute early,” Stewart told Kayo Sports.
Stewart praised the play of Jack Henry in negating Harris Andrews and his onballers for their work to pressure the Lions.
“This is probably the hardest place to come and play footy,” Stewart told Kayo Sport.
“But it wasn’t too long ago that they had a similar result over us.
“The boys around the footy were immense tonight with their pressure around the ball.”
Cats playmaker Shaun Mannagh revealed he had never played at the Gabba before tonight’s match,but he’s ended with a career-best performance of five goals and 30 disposals.
“It’s pretty good isn’t it. I’ve never played at the Gabba, it was pretty electric,” Mannagh told Kayo Sports.
“We know what a class outfield they are as reigning premiers, so to come up here and take a big scalp if good for our season. We are happy with that.”
Mannagh said he just tried to make the most of his chances in the forward line as the Cats have plenty of players chasing goals.
The Cats were far too good for the Lions, scoring a comfortable win at the Gabba and taking some wind out of the sails of the reigning premiers.
The only tough thing for the Cats was that Tom Stewart left the field in the final minute after appearing to pull up short with a leg issue.
More on that in the post-game, but that was an impressive win from the Cats.
The Cats’ Jack Martin has been on the bench since midway through the third quarter.
Martin is battling some calf tightness, with Geelong taking a cautious approach to him in this second half.