Cats unfurl flag in grand final rematch against injury-hit Swans

Beneath the lights of GMHBA Stadium on a Saturday night, two clubs meet carrying the unfinished business of a year ago — one to raise a flag, the other to reclaim its dignity. Geelong, still finding its footing after a stumbling start to the season, finally unfurls its 2022 premiership banner before its home faithful, with Sydney arriving not as guests of honour but as a side determined to rewrite the story of that grand final defeat. It is the kind of fixture that reminds us sport's ceremonies and its contests are rarely separate things — the past is always present on the field.