GEELONG coach Chris Scott has applauded his side’s focus after it responded from a quarter-time melee in the best way possible - on the scoreboard.

The Cats trailed a physical Port Adelaide by four goals on the quarter-time siren, when Power defender Tom Jonas crashed a pack and incidentally kneed Patrick Dangerfield in the back.

A fiery brawl ensued with most players on the ground involved, and then re-sparked when Jasper Pittard bumped Tom Ruggles to the ground.

It had Port’s home supporters at fever pitch but they were emphatically silenced after the break, as the Cats brought about a stunning turnaround.

Geelong kicked 15 goals to three in the final three quarters and simply dominated the contest, winning the praise of Scott.

“The messaging that we were receiving (during the week) was that they (Port) were under siege a little bit and they were going to be fired up and they certainly played well in the first quarter,’’ Scott said.

“The message for us and the talk out there once the scuffle broke up was just to make sure that we remained focused.

“Clearly the blood pressure was up but we were really pleased with the way that our boys played pretty clinical football.

“There’s always the potential that you play a little bit angry after a scuffle like that but I didn’t think the game was played with much spite at all.”

Tellingly, Geelong won contested possession by 38 after quarter-time, as best afield skipper Joel Selwood led from the front, while fellow midfielders Dangerfield and Cameron Guthrie followed his lead.

The Cats kicked six goals to nil in the second term.

“Our guys around the ball in the second quarter were fantastic,’’ Scott said.

“We thought their intent in there was terrific, led by the captain (Selwood), Dangerfield and Guthrie in there. We just thought they were really strong over the ball.”

Scott said he was comfortable with how his side was travelling, but added it still needed to find a higher level in order to remain with the top sides.

“It’s still a bit hard to get a feel on where we sit, relative to the competition,’’ he said.

“I suspect that we need to improve to keep up with the top teams. Hawthorn have clearly got better post the Easter Monday game (which the Cats won).

“We’re giving ourselves a chance by putting wins together but we’ve got a pretty tough block in front on us.

“We came here wanting to defend really strongly and come away with the four points anyway we could. We’re really happy. I think they showed in patches tonight, our best footy is really hard to stop.”