2008 National Australia Bank Cup, Round 1
Geelong vs Melbourne
Saturday 16 February
Venue: Kardinia Park
Attendance: 15,000
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Geelong | 0.8.1 | 1.12.4 | 1.15.7 | 2.22.11.161 |
| Melbourne | 0.2.4 | 1.4.4 | 2.8.5 | 2.11.5.89 |
Geelong win by 72 points
9pt Goalkickers: Simon Buckley 1 , Colin Garland 1
6pt Goalkickers: Michael Newton 2, Colin Garland 2, Shane Valenti 1, John Meesen 1, Colin Sylvia 1, Trent Zomer 1, Brad Green 1, Isaac Weetra 1, Russell Robertson 1
An undermanned Melbourne travelled to Skilled Stadium to tackle the reigning premiers and were duly thrashed.
Dean Bailey's first outing as coach saw Geelong jump to a three goal lead in the first five minutes and by half-time were ten goals in front.
An inexperienced Melbourne lineup missing David Neitz, Cameron Bruce, Aaron Davey, Jared Rivers, Brock McLean, Brad Miller, Brent Moloney, Nathan Carroll, Matthew Whelan, Paul Wheatley, James Frawley, Clint Bartram and Ricky Petterd were no match for the likes of Steve Johnson (6 goals) or Cameron Ling (35 touches).
Players in their first competitive MFC match like Kyle Cheney, Trent Zomer and Tom McNamara would spend the entire season in the reserves so it was no surprise that they couldn't match it with the best in the land.
The margin was cut back to 26 points late in the third quarter but the Cats were too good and ran out big winners. Melbourne's reward for losing was to travel to Cairns to take on Richmond the following Friday night.