What geelongcats.com.au will be keeping an eye on when we face the Saints on Friday night.

All Eyes On… The Darty Party

It’s impossible to ignore the impact Dartmoor’s finest export has had on the Cats since his debut against the Eagles in RD6.

On a personal level, he’s kicked 12 goals in three games, including six against the reigning premiers last week, to which he added eight marks and 22 disposals. His presence alone has freed up Gary Rohan to get off the leash, making the Cats’ infinitely more dangerous forward of centre.

His ability to be the link-up man up the ground and fold back into the forward 50 will be giving Brett Ratten and his coaching staff some sleepless nights this week for the pressure his constant run puts on the defence.

Take a look at these numbers: +115 disposals, +18 i50s, +13 clearances, +34 contested possessions, +91 uncontested possessions, +41 marks and +9 tackles. It’s a small sample size, and it’s not all attributable to Cameron, but the Cats are clearly a much better outfit with him on the park.

And we didn’t even mention Tom Hawkins.

All Eyes On… The Hawkins Way

With all the talk about Cameron and Rohan, it’s almost been missed how immense Tom Hawkins has been. In fact, you can make an argument that he was the most dominant player on the field against the Tigers.

Without Hawkins’ team-first approach to sharing his space with Cameron, Jezz wouldn’t be thriving the way he has, and the Cats wouldn’t be as good. It’s that simple.

These numbers alone tell a pretty compelling story: 20 disposals at 75%, 16 score involvements, 11 contested possessions, seven marks and 4.1. And since 2016, Hawkins is ranked #2 and #3 in score assists and score involvements respectively. There may not have been a more selfless key forward in the history of the game.

Next time you’re in the stands, watch the movement of the Geelong forwards – even Chris Scott said that he was surprised about how quickly this group has jelled, but with a team-first operator like Hawkins setting the tone, perhaps we shouldn’t be.  

All Eyes On… The Engine Room 

If the forwards aren’t getting the footy, they’re not scoring, and the Geelong mids have been straight bullying their opponents over the last month.

Over the first four rounds of the season, the Cats ranked 13th in the competition for contested possession differential. They’re now ranked number one. Clearance differential? They’ve gone from 10th to second.

A tip of the hat goes to Joel Selwood here whose fierce attack on the footy set the tone against the Tigers; finishing the game with a team-high 11 contested possessions. Unsurprisingly, his 11.9 per game mark is leading the team, just ahead of Cam Guthrie and Sam Menegola.

The good news is we’re seeing the reward for effort – the Cats are averaging an extra five goals a match in that time.

All Eyes On… Marvellous Marvel Stadium

Cats fans of a certain vintage will have mostly fond memories of the epic tussles with the Saints a decade or so ago. 26 September 2009 comes to mind.

Since then, it’s been mostly the way of the Cats. We’ve won 9 of the last 11 –  the outliers being a three-point loss and a draw in 2015/16 region, both at Docklands.

But history says they are indeed outliers, with the Cats having won far more than they’ve lost over the last decade – (the record is 24-1-8) on the expanses Marvel Stadium, which is a full 13 metres wider than GMHBA Stadium.  

It’s tough to get a read on the Saints this year, but there’s been an uptick in their form as they’ve welcomed back a few of their prime movers, but if you’re a tipster and you’re looking for something extra to hang your hat on, the Cats are 65 wins from 98 games since the doors swung open back in 2000.

IN A game defined by its skill errors more than its slick passages, it seemed fitting that the key moment of Geelong's win over St Kilda was delivered after a butchered kick from the Saints.

It was first (St Kilda) gamer James Frawley's attempt to clear the backline early in the last quarter that opened the floodgates for the Cats, with the veteran defender's smothered kick coolly grabbed by Sam Menegola who banged home the goal from near the boundary line. 

Nothing better summed up the class differential between the sides, with the Cats booting the next two goals – one from the boundary line, the next an on-the-move ripper – to set up their 21-point win at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

The 10.8 (68) to 5.17 (47) victory was far from assured until the final term flex, with the Saints' wastefulness costing Brett Ratten's side from a genuine shot at its third consecutive win and to move ahead on the ladder ledger.  

But they blew it, with the Cats, despite not playing their best throughout the game, able to grind out the win – their fourth from their past five games with their only defeat in that period a two-point loss to Sydney at the SCG. 

Cam Guthrie deserves plenty of the credit for Geelong's win, with the All-Australian and reigning best and fairest stepping up in the second half and finishing with 36 disposals and a goal. Mitch Duncan was also terrific with 30 disposals, while Isaac Smith grew into the game with 27 and plenty of dash.

Brad Crouch was St Kilda's best with 28 disposals and five clearances while co-captain Jack Steele had seven clearances to go with his 23 touches, but the Saints will rue what could have been. They also will count the cost of the defeat, with ruckman Rowan Marshall going down with a suspected foot injury in the third term. 

The story could have been so different. The Saints dominated the first quarter, but went into the opening break a goal behind due to their inaccuracy. 

Simple misses to Marshall, Max King and then Tim Membrey in the opening minutes set the tone for a nervy Saints' line-up, which registered seven behinds without a goal in the first quarter. The Cats were more efficient but the scoreboard flattered Chris Scott's men, who showed vulnerable signs in defence. 

It took the Saints two more behinds until they broke their drought after King converted his pack mark. It gave his side a shot of belief, with the Saints edging ahead when Dan Butler slotted his shot later in the second quarter.

St Kilda went into the main break with a slender three-point lead but had significant control on the contest, with Geelong under pressure throughout and a far cry from the side that steamrolled reigning premiers Richmond in the second half last week. 

But the Cats' experience wrestled the game back on their terms in the third quarter, with their midfield, led by the in-form Guthrie, lifting and Duncan getting more involved. The overlap run of Geelong appeared, having been missing in action for the first half, and they took a five-point lead into the final term.  

They extended from there, with St Kilda's inability to finish proving as costly as it looked like it would early in the game. It was death by a thousand misses, with Geelong beneficiaries of the self-sabotage near goal. 

Tuohy's long bomb

Geelong defender Zach Tuohy pulled out a party trick in the first term. Under the Marvel Stadium roof, Tuohy took one of the Cats' kick-ins, wandered out of the goalsquare and unleashed an enormous torpedo punt that travelled past the centre circle in the middle of the ground. As the kick took lift-off, the crowd's roar grew as the ball continued its rise and then descent, with the Cats nearly capitalising on the long bomb as they whisked the ball forward and Quinton Narkle missed a running shot at goal. Tuohy's kick-out was reminiscent of former long-kicking Cat Ben Graham's famous left-foot barrel that sailed past the centre line at Geelong. 

More injury concern for Saints

Ruckman Rowan Marshall was substituted out of the clash in the third quarter with soreness in his foot, with the club choosing to take no risks with the important backman given his history with the injury over the pre-season. It looms as a real concern for the Saints given Marshall's hobble post-game. His exit from the game coincided with Geelong's charge, but the Saints were left one short when only moments later recruit Brad Crouch left the field to have a cheekbone injury assessed. Crouch missed the second half of the third quarter as he was checked in the changerooms but he returned from the dugout to play out the final quarter. 

ST KILDA                             0.7      3.11       4.13      5.17 (47)
GEELONG                            2.1       4.2       6.6       10.8 (68)

GOALS
St Kilda: Membrey 2, Butler, King, Steele
Geelong: Close 2, Hawkins 2, Rohan 2, Cameron, C.Guthrie, Menegola, Narkle

BEST
St Kilda: Crouch, Ross, Billings, Sinclair, Membrey
Geelong: C.Guthrie, Tuohy, Duncan, Smith, Stewart, Close

INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Geelong: Dahlhaus (late change replaced in selected side by Jordan Clark)

SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Long (replaced Marshall in the third quarter)
Geelong: Holmes (unused)