News

GEELONG VFL coach Leigh Tudor said the Cats had little concern about a report on forward Charlie Gardiner from Saturday's win.

In the only sour note for the day, Gardiner had his number taken for a front-on bump on Djaran Whyman midway through the last quarter.

He faces the VFL tribunal tonight.

``I didn't actually see it but no one seems to be (concerned),'' Tudor said. ``Charlie didn't think he got him so we'll wait and see.''

 Gardiner would be a big loss for the Cats heading into their second straight VFL grand final.

His four goals on Saturday made him the biggest goal scorer of the game.

``Charlie's versatility has been fantastic for the footy club,'' Tudor said. ``Whenever we've needed someone to kick a goal, Charlie's done it for us, whenever we've needed someone to go on-ball and work hard, Charlie's been able to do it for us.''

Tudor said Brent Prismall, Steven King and Ryan Gamble deserved credit for setting up the Cats' final term blitz out of the middle.

``His (King) first 15 minutes of the last quarter, I'm not sure what was happening there, but he was awesome,'' Tudor said.

``He and Prismall and Gamble, I don't know what they were setting up in there, but it worked really well and he's definitely got us across the line.

``(Prismall's) decision-making and his ball use was probably the best out of anyone on the ground and then when he had to put his nose over it that last little bit when the game was on the line, he did that for us as well.''

 Prismall was everywhere on Saturday, and ended the game with 37 possessions, four clearances and 11 inside 50s.

Tudor said his team could learn a lot from the way it went about its business on Saturday.

``I thought in the third quarter they started messing around a little bit, started getting a little bit fancy for the first time for this year actually,'' he said.

``We've been really good at just challenging ourselves on our team structures and playing the right brand of footy that we want but I just thought we got a bit fancy there for a little while and they kept coming all day and kept having a really good crack.

``I just wanted us to get back to our basics and get back to what we've been working on for the whole year and I think the boys took a bit of ownership. I think they were a bit dirty with the last 10 minutes of the third quarter and you could see in their eyes they were pretty focused on making sure they came out really hard early and that's what we wanted to do _ be really physical in the last quarter _ and they did it well.''

Tudor also paid tribute to his five VFL-listed players, saying they all deserved special credit for their performances on Saturday.

``Their first half, especially, was outstanding and they were the reason we won today, I've got no doubt about it,'' he said after the match. ``I really think they deserve a big wrap. They work really hard and for five of them all to play really well in a preliminary final is just a great reward for their efforts.''