A record crowd of 44,091 turned up to Optus Stadium to watch Geelong and Greater Western Sydney clash in their AFL semifinal on Friday night — the start of Perth’s festival of football.

Making history as the first final in WA to not feature West Coast or Fremantle, the match also marked the biggest crowd for a Cats versus Giants game in AFL history.

The figure also marks the fifth-biggest crowd at Optus Stadium since the pandemic began.

Encouraged by clear conditions after a couple days of rain, fans took the chance to witness a rematch of round 21’s Friday night fixture, GWS prevailing by 19 points the last time the sides met.

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The crowd appeared to favour the Cats, Geelong fans sporting blue and white taking their place in the stands but neutrals voiced their appreciation for the Giants who refused to give up against their more experienced opponent.

Jesse Hogan missed the chance for a finals appearance in his home state, with the former Docker a late withdrawal.

Hogan failed to overcome a calf complaint in time for bouncedown after he pulled up sore following last week’s win over Sydney.

The forward was seen talking with fans boundary-side ahead of the game, which would have been just his second final following last weekend’s triumph.

Former Giants skipper Phil Davis replaced Hogan, with a late reshuffle needed against the Cats.

The match was to be Hogan’s 100th game and first back in WA since leaving the Dockers at the end of last year.

It left the Giants without three of their top four goalkickers for the season, with Toby Greene (45 goals), Jeremy Finlayson (23) and Hogan (20) all missing.

James Peatling started as the Giants’ medical sub, while Geelong sub Zach Guthrie was injected into the game at quarter time to replace Brandan Parfitt after succumbing to a hamstring injury.