All the talk after the Cats' narrow loss to Collingwood in their NAB Challenge opener at Simonds Stadium was about Patrick Dangerfield's outstanding debut in the hoops.

This was no surprise. The Danger-man finished the game with 28 disposals and three goals and was clearly Geelong's best player.

READ: Danger happy with Cats debut

However, we couldn't help but be a fraction surprised by the way a few other boys performed Friday night.

Lincoln McCarthy's performance up forward early in the game was outstanding, and his strong contested mark on the lead during the first quarter had the wags in the crowd yelling, "Long bombs to Linc!"

Daniel Menzel also lit up the game at various stages. It was great to see him dodging and weaving and crashing into packs.

Menzel and McCarthy might well form a very potent combination at the feet of Tom Hawkins this season.

'Menz' racked up 19 disposals, 81 AFL Fantasy points and kicked a goal against the Pies, while McCarthy finished with 11 disposals, five tackles and a goal.

WATCH: Linc McCarthy's post-match interview

Mitch Duncan was also impressive on Friday night, although we've come to expect such solid performances from him.

The impressive effort from George Horlin-Smith was perhaps more of a surprise, while Sam Menegola was showing some great signs before he suffered a knee injury (we'll have news on the injury right here on the Cats' website later on Monday).

Both Horlin-Smith and Menegola had been outstanding performers on the training track during the pre-season, which goes to show that great training form leads to great form when the games begin.

Cory Gregson was another livewire performer. Was that a surprise? Maybe not, given his tremendous debut season. It seems the second-year blues won't be an issue for him.

There were some solid efforts from the big blokes as well, with Zac Smith giving the midfielders some great service and Nathan Vardy kicking a couple of late goals.

WATCH: Zac Smith's post-match interview

Perhaps the most surprising thing that happened in the game was when the boys went to sleep in the third quarter and conceded 11 goals, a lapse that turned a 27-point half-time lead into a 27-point deficit at the final change.

But credit to the Cats for firing up again in the last quarter and kicking five of the last six goals.

Now it's your turn to tell us what you think. Check out the poll below and vote for your surprise-packet performer.