JOEL Selwood's brilliant last quarter was motivated by the skipper's sense he owed the team for a poor start to the game, Geelong coach Chris Scott says. 

It wasn't a view Scott shared, but he was happy to reap the benefits as Selwood willed himself to 12 disposals, a goal, four tackles and three clearances to help the Cats over the line against Greater Western Sydney.

"His [Selwood's] comment was that 'Well, I needed to do something because I started poorly'," Scott said. 

"I didn't think he started poorly but he was better towards the end than he was at the start."

Scott said the win eventually became a test of character for Geelong, with its ascendancy in play not translating to the scoreboard. 

Even the coach had to fight hard not to let his nerves get the better of him when the Giants drew within two points midway through the final quarter, despite losing contested ball and inside 50 count by huge margins. 

"I try to ignore those feelings," Scott said. 

"I think that's human nature. The supporter in you comes out a little bit and you start worrying about 'have we blown our chance?'"

No sooner had Scott turned his attention to worrying about what he could influence than Tom Hawkins had the ball in his hands 50 metres out from goal. 

Hawkins kicked straight to snuff out the brave Giants' final resistance, relieving most of the anxiety within the coach's box. 

Scott said afterwards that the way the Cats responded after finding themselves in that position was a positive sign. 

"We're a new team and with that come some question marks with cohesion when the game is really on the line [or] when you need to adjust things. I thought tonight was a step forward," he said. 

The skipper was not the only influential individual for Geelong, with recruit Zac Smith being the best big man on the ground. 

With Rhys Stanley missing through injury, Smith was given the big task of quelling Shane Mumford's influence and he did so in style with 10 clearances and a goal. 

Scott was effusive in his praise for the ruckman who joined the club from the Gold Coast at the start of the season. 

"We were really proud of him," Scott said.  

"We thought he was great."

He also paid tribute to Lachie Henderson who showed his mettle under pressure with some game-saving marks and he was pleased with veteran defenders Tom Lonergan and Harry Taylor, who defeated Jonathon Patton and Jeremy Cameron. 

However Scott once again bemoaned the Cats' inability to convert their chances. They had 28 more inside 50s and 10 more scoring shots than the Giants, yet the margin was just 10 points. 

He said the Cats were continuing to work on reversing the trend that was proving costly as the season went on.