Cameron sent to hospital after scary injury but gutsy Cats find way to ...

Brad Close was around the football all night, Tanner Bruhn was strong throughout and Rohan was both polished and determined in the forward line.

The whole Cats’ defence, led by Tom Stewart, repeatedly came up with bumps, pressures and turnovers.

Christian Petracca and Jack Viney were typically industrious for the Demons and Pickett was brilliant whenever he got hands to the football but Melbourne were unable to convert opportunities at key moments.

The Cats made a better fist of their scoring chances in the first term as Rohan played a big role up forward both setting up goals and kicking his own as he extended the lead just as the rain began falling late in the first term.

The wet footy hampered both sides for the rest of the match, with the exception of Demons star Kysaiah Pickett, who soccered a goal in the second term and were clean in his handling despite the conditions.

Two late behinds gave the Demons their first lead with just 59 seconds before half-time.

In the third term Rohan and Jacob van Rooyen traded goals before a typically classy finish on the run from Pickett extended his side’s lead to seven points going into the last term.

Ollie Henry’s flying mark and goal tied the scores early in the last term before teammate Zach Guthrie had home fans cheering after he goaled from distance.

Tom Atkins’ pressure work stopped a certain Demons goal with 12 minutes remaining and that turnover resulted in Mark Blicavs’ goal which extended the lead to two goals.

Cameron put a scare throughout the ground when he was downed in the first term after a collision with teammate Rohan.

The Cats forward was clearly knocked out before he hit the ground after Rohan flew for the ball and collected Cameron, who didn’t see Rohan, under the chin with his shoulder.

Jeremy Cameron of the Cats lays injured.Credit: Getty Images

It took almost 10 minutes to treat Cameron and prepare him to be carted off the ground with Geelong later reporting that Cameron was responsive, in good spirits and taken to hospital for further assessment.

Melbourne have condemned rumours that star midfielder Clayton Oliver is missing AFL games for reasons other than injury.

Oliver has not played since round 10, sidelined by a hamstring injury and a five-day stretch in hospital because of an infected blister on his foot.

The stint out of action has sparked a series of rumours that Demons football manager Alan Richardson sought to address publicly before Friday night’s clash with Geelong.

The rumours suggest Oliver’s absence is due to issues with his behaviour and professionalism.

Oliver will have another scan on the troublesome hamstring on Friday and is no certainty to play in next week’s game against GWS.

“It’s probably not surprising when you have an infection interruption, you’re in bed for a week, you’re in a horizontal position ... things tend to tighten up again,” Richardson told 3AW radio.

“So it’s going slower than what we’d like and we’ll get that looked at.

“It could be that he’s right to go next week but he might not be. We’ll just have to wait and see.

“But the other suggested reasons for him not playing are ridiculous and disappointing and bloody hard for Clayton and his family and friends to deal with.”

With AAP

Best: Melbourne: Petracca, Pickett, Viney, Salem, Rivers, Lever

Geelong: Close, Rohan, Stewart, Blicavs, Bruhn, Atkins