Geelong ended Carlton's 2026 AFL season on Friday night, winning by 33 points in front of a mammoth elimination final crowd of 96,680 at the MCG.
Patrick Dangerfield wound back the clock kicking five majors, and Shaun Mannagh starred as the Cats set up a date with Fremantle next Friday night in a win-or-go-home semifinal.
Here are three things we learned from the game:
No one grinds down an opponent like Geelong
Carlton knew it had to start well. It was the underdog. Up against one of the most finals-hardened outfits football has seen. And had already survived a cut-throat encounter while its opponent put its feet up.
The Blues couldn't have made a better fist of that opening, either. Four goals to one in the first term, and by the time Ollie Hollands converted midway through the second, Carlton was 21 points up.
And in the end, it still counted for little. Because no one grinds down an opponent like Geelong. And in perfect conditions for the grind -- wet, slippery, with strong bodies required at the contest -- the Cats were in their element.
First Geelong got the game back on its terms with some basics. It tightened up defensively, and it applied more physical pressure. The tackle count said it all, Carlton ahead 19-7 at the first change, the Cats laying 25 to 13 in the second term.
The Cats started winning the contest, they pressed harder up on Carlton's defence, forcing more turnovers. And sure enough, the scoreboard became another trend to follow suit.
Harry McKay gave Carlton a seven-point lead nine minutes into the second half. But the Blues' next goal wouldn't arrive until Geelong had kicked eight in a row to lead by 42 points and completely blow to shreds what had looked set to be a tight game.
Patrick Dangerfield rightfully gets the plaudits for a superb five-goal, 21-disposal performance, Tom Stewart was masterful as ever in defence, Bailey Smith prolific through the middle.
But the Cats have been less star-driven for a while now, and two players just as pivotal to this victory were Shaun Mannagh and Ollie Wiltshire.
It was Mannagh who was the key to turning the midfield tide when Carlton threatened to build a gap too difficult for the Cats to bridge. And it was Wiltshire who engineered the goals which did just that, two goals assists in a row in the second term the start of Geelong's fightback.
The clever small forward ended up with four goal assists and could have kicked several himself. And there were probably still plenty of Carlton fans by the end of his contribution wondering who No. 21 for their opponent was.
That's the Cats, though. Efficient. No fuss. And at their best with something on the line. Like finals.
Still wondering about the wildcard?
Last week, the debate was hard to contest. Two blockbuster MCG finals, crowds of 173,000 and one epic finish. Did Friday night offer an argument for the negative?
Perhaps in a contest sense. This was 5th versus 10th remember, and for most of the second half it looked like it, an eventual 33-point margin perhaps flattering Carlton, the Cats posting 37 scores to just 19.
Then again, Carlton did beat the Cats during the season proper. And had we retained the top eight this season, Friday night at the G would have seen Geelong up against the Western Bulldogs, whom the Cats disposed of by an effortless 75 points back in Round 6.
And yes, if you're talking revenue, and let's be honest, that's all this has ever been about, the advocates have a pretty decent argument in the crowd at this game, a massive 96,680, the second-largest ever for an elimination final and meaning that 10th-placed team has pulled 188,000 people through the turnstiles in two weeks.
This writer remains a wildcard sceptic, but is happy to concede those sort of numbers are going to be hard to dismiss.
No shame in Carlton's curtain call
That huge crowd had just about halved by the finish of Geelong's big win, so dominant were the Cats in the early stages of the last quarter until Carlton got a few "cheapies".
But really, nothing could detract from where the Blues have finished this season compared with the train wreck it looked like before the midway point.
A team which looked destined for the bottom four instead contested September and a list which looked at best pedestrian in the end had excitement bobbing up all over the place, Jagga Smith, Harry Dean, Talor Byrne, and Billy Wilson just a sample of what Blues fans have to look forward to in 2027.
No wonder coach Josh Fraser was taking the positive route at the post-match press conference despite the decisive nature of his team's loss.
"There is work ahead of us and we won't settle on mediocrity," he said. "We need to chase that success and there is an expectation on the way their break looks and the way they return.
"There is a lot of work we have to do. Some of it is marginal, some of it is bigger, but we can't turn up in pre-season and think this will just roll on. We have to continue to look at our game and get better. I don't want to be sitting here finishing in eighth position.
"That's some challenges we have to embrace, and there is no evidence they won't do that as they've done an outstanding job over the last 15 weeks."
They certainly have. Ask any Carlton fan what they expected to be doing in the first week of September when the Blues were 1-8 and 16th on the ladder after Round 9 and you can bet your life the answer wouldn't have been: "Watching my team play in a final."
They may get to watch a few more over the next few seasons, too.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY.
