By John Van Klaveren
After having dealt with the rueful Roos, Geelong will now set its sights on docking Fremantle.
The performance against North Melbourne is much closer to what the Cats have been aiming for since the middle third of the season.
It will stand Geelong in good stead as it attempts to counter the memory of losing the first ever final at Kardinia park last year to the Dockers.
For two sides that have spent friendly pre-season training sessions, there was an awful lot of niggle in the Saturday night clash.
The third quarter was again Geelong’s weakest but there were signs that the Cats were more aware of the state of the game and adjusted accordingly.
It certainly got the crowd riled, but in the end Geelong was the team that kept its eye on the ball and brushed aside the physicality.
There’s no doubt James Kelly’s teammates dug a bit deeper in the final quarter to make sure his 250th was a winning one.
Cam Guthrie continues to impress with his bullocking pack work matched to his elusive pace, Josh Caddy likewise, Allen Christensen is almost back to his best and Mitch Duncan was best afield in the eyes of many judges.
