For the third time in four weeks the Cats will line up for a game that’s been labeled the match of the round, and so it should be.

The Blues have become a different team under Michael Voss and the Carlton army has emerged from what feels like a decades long slumber, setting up what should be a genuine heavyweight clash at the MCG on Saturday night.

If you thought recent games against Richmond and Melbourne had that finals feel, then this one surely fits the bill with the Blues only dipping below a crowd of 50,000 once at an MCG game this year, and that was back in Round 5 before they were really cooking,

So cancel your plans and let’s hear more of that noise we heard last Thursday night at GMHBA.

Here are a couple of things to look out for on Saturday night when the ball is bounced at 7.25pm.

The Form Line

Both Chris Scott and Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin have recently floated the idea that playing Geelong was a kind of audit on where your club was at as if Geelong were a kind of gatekeeper of the top 4. Carlton will likely feel the same way. 

While the Blues eventually kicked away against the Eagles last week in Perth, their ledger since Round 10 has been L-W-L-W-L-W for a record of 3-3. So where are the Blues at? We will know more at about 10pm on Saturday night. 

Midfield Matters

You know the TV cameras will follow Tom Hawkins, Jeremy Cameron, Charlie Curnow, and Harry Mckay from the moment they get out of their cars on Saturday night.

Then we’ll hear from a couple of ex-key forwards about how we might be in for an old fashion shootout with the top three in the Coleman Medal race, and four of the top 10, roaming the forward half.

Let’s hope they’re right - between the four they've kicked 175 goals this year - but that’s only half of the story. Your key forwards are only as good as their supply so as always, the key battle will be in the middle of the ground where first use will be key. 

However, if one side gets off the leash the defenders will be earning their money, that's for sure. 

Stakes Are High

September is coming and only four points separate 7th and first place, so we can expect ladder positions, double chances, and home finals to shift around a lot over the next six rounds. In short, every game counts.

Geelong currently sits in top spot, but a loss could mean they fall to at least fourth with five rounds to go. And Carlton, a win keeps them in touch with the top two, but a loss could see them fall as far as seventh. 

Whatever the result, if this game is played at a level anywhere near as fierce as the two men in the opposing coaches' boxes played it we’ll be in for a treat. 

Is it Saturday yet?

GEELONG has made an emphatic statement, dispatching Carlton by 30 points to consolidate their position on top of the ladder.

Apart from a brief period in the first quarter, the Cats had the Blues' measure at the MCG on Saturday night to canter to an eighth-straight victory.

Geelong (13-4) have not tasted defeat since losing to St Kilda in round nine, making it back-to-back wins against finals teams after a convincing triumph over reigning premiers Melbourne last week.

Geelong had 27 fewer possessions than Carlton but used the ball more efficiently across every area of the ground to record a 12.13 (85) to 8.7 (55) win.

The Cats' star forward duo Jeremy Cameron (three goals) and Tom Hawkins (two) had the better of their eagerly anticipated match-up against Carlton's forward twin towers Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay.

Curnow played his part with three goals to be arguably the Blues' most influential player, but emerging Geelong defender Sam De Koning blanketed McKay (0.1, nine touches) in another classy display.

AFL Round 18 Statistics - Geelong vs Carlton

Cameron delivered the knockout punch when he snapped an extraordinary goal-of-the-year contender in the pocket late in the third quarter to give Geelong a 29-point buffer at the final break.

After booting four goals in a hurry late in the first term the Blues managed just four more for the rest of the game.

Carlton's fierce pressure, a trademark of most of their best wins this season under coach Michael Voss, was lacking.

Star midfielder Sam Walsh (33 possessions) worked tirelessly, but skill errors cost the Blues dearly.

The only downside for Geelong was winger Sam Menegola being subbed out with concussion early in the game.

The result leaves Carlton (11-6) a game and percentage outside of the top-four with five games to play as it attempts to secure a finals spot for the first time since 2013.

Geelong will travel to the Adelaide Oval for a clash with the resurgent Port Adelaide next Saturday, while the Blues will host Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.

 It's not just about goals for Cats guns, but then again ...

The battle of the competition's top key-forward pairings occupied a lot of media space during the week, and in the end the roles played by the spearheads were vital, but not in the way many expected. It was the extra work Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron did around the ball that made the difference. Hawkins and Cameron finished with five goals, 32 disposals, 11 marks and 20 score assists between them, while Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay shared three, 19, seven and nine. But while the majority of the Cats' goals may have come off other players' boots, Cameron's third-quarter snap had a real 'matchwinner' feeling about it.

Cat shades his Blue brother in a fantastic family affair

The other two-sided contest of interest was between opposing twins Sam and Tom De Koning. Both were influential for their respective sides and Carlton's Tom won statistically, but Sam's defensive efforts for the Cats were outstanding, keeping Harry McKay to just one behind and forcing the reigning Coleman medallist to run well out of the forward 50 to find most of his nine disposals. And while brother's on opposite sides can always test a family's loyalties, Tom's final-quarter goal seemed to keep most of his other eight siblings happy.

Seriously Selwood, when will you slow down?

For a man who has put his body on the line in every available contest for the past 16 seasons, Joel Selwood's efforts at the coalface continue to amaze. The 34-year-old was arguably best on ground on Saturday night in as physical a clash as you are likely to see, but then, that's his natural habitat. And Chris Scott knows it. There's no way the Cats skipper will ever move to a forward pocket or back flank for his football finale - it's 'in the guts or on the couch' - and there's no indication he's looking to put his feet up just yet.

CARLTON     4.1    5.1     6.3      8.7 (55)
GEELONG     3.4    7.6    10.8    12.13 (85)

GOALS
Carlton: Curnow 3, Cripps, De Koning, Hewett, Motlop, Silvagni
Geelong: Cameron 3, Hawkins 2, Holmes 2, Atkins, Z.Guthrie, Miers, Stanley, Stengle

BEST
Carlton: Walsh, Docherty, Hewitt, Cripps, Fisher
Geelong: Selwood, Tuohy, Cameron, C.Guthrie, Duncan, Blicavs, De Koning

INJURIES
Carlton: None
Geelong: Menegola (concussion)

MEDICAL SUBS
Carlton: Josh Honey (unused)
Geelong: Jed Bews (replaced Menegola in the second quarter)