Grand Finals Are Sometimes Won In Moments And Five Ensured Geelong’s Golden Era, Writes Cam Mooney

Sometimes the grand finals are decided in the nick of time.

And as a member of the Cats, during our golden era from 2007 to 2011, there are five that come to mind as being the ones that either established the tone or the standard, or shifted momentum in favor of the hoops.

The ruckman Brad Ottens's motivational first quarter chase down of Port Adelaide's Michael Pettigrew got us buzzing in 2007. Brad Ottens finished in fifth position.

When you consider that we finally won by 119 points, it is mind-boggling to contemplate that at that time in the game we were only up by 15 points with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter.

Even though we had scored the game's first couple of goals, the game still seemed to be a lot more competitive than that. The Power had the game's initial few shots on goal.

And then you knew we were gone when "Otto" went after Pettigrew down the boundary line at the 50-meter arc.

The situation felt very momentous.

When Otto's tackle was shown on the screen two days later, on Mad Monday, the entire crowd erupted in cheers.

Then, in 2011, Travis Varcoe scored twice against Collingwood, another monumental moment.

It was a thrilling game to see from the stands.

But after losing possession of the handball within the defensive 50, Trav was able to go the length of the field and score one of the game's most impressive goals.

After that, it seemed as though Collingwood didn't have any answers to offer.

In the same match, James Podsiadly went down with a shoulder injury, which was a pivotal occasion because it allowed Tom Hawkins to finally emerge as Geelong's number one forward. Podsiadly's injury opened the way for Hawkins to finally emerge as Geelong's number one forward.

On that particular day, he rose to prominence in Kardinia Park, where he has been ever since then.

My victory over St. Kilda in the 2009 decider was the second-biggest moment of my career, and it occurred during one of the most memorable grand finals of the modern era.

despite the fact that it practically replicated the nightmare we had against Hawthorn during the previous season.

While I was stationed at center half forward late in the game, I observed the erratic Stevie Johnson pass the ball to Gary Ablett Jr. in the middle.

The St. Kilda defender Zac Dawson, who was assigned to guard me, came off of me and made an outstanding play to steal the ball.

I can still hear myself saying to myself, "Crap, I've cost us another grand final," as I watched the game.

Then, however, Matthew Scarlett delivered to Gaz the biggest toe poke in AFL history, which caused Gaz to fling the ball inside the 50-yard line.

When I was running inside the arc, I distinctly recall thinking to myself, "Here's my chance for redemption for the previous year."

I made a dash for the target, but Max Rooke came flying from the opposite direction and took me out totally.

It was fortunate that the ball fell to Varcoe, who then passed it on to Chapman; the rest, as they say, is history.

I remember Chappy taking a shot that went right over my head, and I knew that from that point on, we were going to be very difficult to beat because we had dominated the quarter.

I remember that at the final break, our coach Mark Thompson said something to the effect of: remember how you felt this time last year coming off the field without a medal, and don't let it happen again. Don't let it happen again.

There is no doubt that our loss to the Hawks twelve months earlier made us a tougher club than the Saints were in that last term, and the Saints went through more adversity than most.

Nevertheless, the most memorable moment of my career was a tackle made by Max Rooke, who I've already highlighted.

His approach in September was exemplified by his tackle on Raph Clarke, which set up the game's first goal despite his lack of statistical prominence in the 2009 championship game.

Not because we were the best squad that year or even that day, but because of things like that.

If you watch the footage again, you'll see why I considered Rooke my best on the ground that day; he was so tough, determined, courageous, and vicious.

The squad that performs well under pressure is the one that typically ends up with the trophy.

On Saturday, I can't make up my mind about who will win. However, if the game is close, I'll trust my gut and choose the Pies to win by eight points.

All they have to do is take the opportunity.