The Cats will welcome Hawthorn to GMHBA Stadium for just the third time in 18 years, when the two teams do battle on Saturday afternoon.  

Geelong and Hawthorn last squared off at Kardinia Park in 2020, with no crowd in attendance due to Covid restrictions.  

The game was an arm wrestle in the first half with just six points separating the sides at the main break, before the Cats put the foot down in the third quarter and cruised to a 61 point win.  

Prior to the Covid affected match, the last time the Hawks visited GMHBA Stadium was back in 2006, in a round three clash in front of 24,026.

Kardinia Park looked a little different back then, the Reg Hickey Stand had only been open for a year and the ground had a capacity of 28,000.

The Cats had an incredibly young side on the day, with Darren Milburn the only player over the age of 27 and just two players that had featured in over 150 AFL games.  

Among the Geelong team was 16 players that would go on to play in the Cats 2007 premiership team, with Joel Corey and Steve Johnson performing strongly on the day.  

The clash was close early but the Cats squandered numerous opportunities to build a lead, kicking ten straight behinds to trail by seven points at half time.  

The margin remained at just four points up until the 20 minute mark of the third quarter, before the Hawks pulled away with nine unanswered goals.  

Geelong have played Hawthorn 49 times in V/AFL history at Kardinia Park, only losing 16 of those clashes dating back to the first match in 1941.  

The Cats will host the Hawks once again on Saturday afternoon, with a packed crowd expected at GMHBA Stadium after tickets sold out on Thursday.