- Geelong thrashed Port Adelaide in the first week of AFL finals
- Booked a place in the preliminary finals to play for a place in the grand final
- Star forward silenced detractor who looked a lot like The Simpsons character
A Port Adelaide star has become an instant icon thanks to Geelong star Jeremy Cameron – and earned a new nickname in the process.
The Cats were ruthless at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night, booking their place in a preliminary final after thrashing the Power 20.18 (138) to 7.12 (58).
The match looked tight, at least in the early stages, and the parochial home crowd was giving it to the visitors.
However when ‘Jezza’ dribbled the ball through the sticks soccer style for his second goal, Geelong was suddenly up by 27 and the crowd was silenced.
None more so than a young man who bore a striking resemblance to The Simpsons character Ned Flanders who had been delivering choice words all night to the Geelong players.
So Cameron took the moment to run straight back up to him and point him out, clapping back in the best way possible.
‘Why is Ned Flanders yelling at Cameron?’ asked one footy fan.
‘Ned Flanders throwing the shade from the fence,’ added another.
‘Ned Flanders looks upset,’ posted another.
‘I always wondered what team Ned Flanders barracked for. Question answered finally,’ joked yet another.
Jeremy ‘Jezza’ Cameron calls out the Ned Flanders doppelganger that had been sledging him
There were plenty of footy fans who called out the similarities between the Port Adelaide supporter and the classic character from The Simpsons
There was plenty of support for Cameron for standing up to the fan as well, from footy fans across the league.
‘He gave it to good to Ned Flanders,’ one posted.
‘Well done Jeremy you didn’t carry on like a certain few players have done in the past. That’s what football is all about players and fans having fun,’ added another.
‘Not the smartest thing to do, sledging the star player, Jezza had the last laugh,’ posted another.
The qualifying final romp at Adelaide Oval secured Geelong an MCG preliminary final in a fortnight – the club’s 13th prelim in 18 years.
But Geelong veterans Tom Hawkins and Cam Guthrie, and ruckman Sam De Koning, will be forced to press their claims for recalls in VFL ranks.
Hawkins (foot) and Guthrie (Achilles) and De Koning will feature in Geelong’s VFL semi-final on Saturday.
De Koning returned from a knee injury in state league ranks last weekend and was an unused emergency for the Cats’ qualifying final against Port.
Five-time All Australian Stewart was pulled from Geelong’s side which dished out Port’s second-biggest finals loss with a 20.18 (138) to 7.12 (58) triumph.
Stewart was substituted out of Geelong last home-and-away game because of hamstring tightness but fell ill in Adelaide.
