Geelong has crashed Gold Coast's welcome home party at Metricon Stadium with a colossal 85-point victory, as Gary Ablett put together his best game for the season against his old side.
Although the Saturday twilight marked the first game at Metricon Stadium this year, the biggest occasion was undoubtedly that of Ablett coming up against the side he played 110 games for and captained for six seasons.
The ex-Sun performed superbly, with 37 disposals and three goals, and was flanked brilliantly by fellow midfielders Mitch Duncan (32) Joel Selwood (33) and Sam Menegola (30).
Tom Lynch's much-anticipated return was far less stunning than that of his ex-skipper, with just the one goal and 11 touches against his name.
Geelong ran rampant over the struggling Suns, who kicked just four goals for the match and conceded their seventh loss under Stuart Dew.
It began as fitting homecoming for the lively Suns however, with Callum Ah Chee converting off the back of a smooth transition out of defence just a minute and a half into the match.
Although Lincoln McCarthy announced his comeback with the opening goal for the Cats soon after, it was the returning Tom Lynch who stole the spotlight with a major to mark his first game since round six.
With the Suns full of energy and running at a fast pace, it would be a Tom Hawkins major which broke their momentum, before some brilliance from Jordan Cunico afforded Tim Kelly an opportunity to put through the Cats' third.
Fluid ball movement and coast-to-coast football from either side resulted in an exceptionally low tackle count for the term, with both teams finishing the first quarter with a combined 12 tackles.
The high intensity approach from the Suns soon began to falter, and with unforced errors and turnovers becoming increasingly prominent, the Cats pounced upon their opposition's sloppiness.
Ablett racked up eight disposals for the term, while Geelong finished up with 16 entries inside their forward 50 and dominated the stoppages.
Despite wrestling the momentum in their favour, the Cats' accuracy in front of goal proved costly, with their final first quarter figures resting at 3.5.
With the Suns off the hook and trailing by just seven points at quarter-time, the second half did little to improve their situation.
As the visitors dominated all over the ground - thanks mainly to an explosive 16-disposal quarter from Mitch Duncan - the Cats booted a whopping 7.6 opposed to the Suns' solitary behind.
From the get-go, Geelong showed their intentions of burying the Gold Coast early in the term.
The Cats' midfielders in Joel Selwood and Duncan proved their dangerous capabilities up forward with a goal apiece, before a dubious free kick to Hawkins moments later made it three in a row for the visitors.
Gold Coast had their opportunities to bolster their score, yet poor kicking inside 50 combined with sound defensive work from Tom Stewart and Jake Kolodjashnij rendered the Suns close ineffectual in their attacking half of the ground.
As Patrick Dangerfield booted the fourth for the term - and the Cats' fourth from the back of a clearance - the Suns' enthusiasm and confidence plummeted.
It got no better for the home side after Aaron Hall was rubbed out of the game with a shoulder complaint - his absence sorely missed through the flattened Suns' midfield.
Geelong conversely showed no signs of slowing down, with Duncan finishing the half with 22 touches while Hawkins slotted through another to take his tally to three.
As Jamaine Jones and Sam Menegola similarly got in on the action on the cusp of half-time with a goal of his own, the margin ballooned out to a whopping 54 points at the main break.
With plenty of work to do going into the third term, the Suns begun in ideal fashion following a skilful goal from Sam Day just 47 seconds into the quarter.
Despite the home side showing glimpses of fight, the Cats' class proved to be far superior as they continued to move the ball with relative ease and find themselves with more and more space.
Ablett drove an early dagger into the Suns' hearts, after the ample space afforded to him allowed the little master to slot a sublime goal on the run against his old side.
With McCarthy pushing the margin further in Geelong's favour with a goal of his own, Gold Coast continued to endeavour yet were let down by their woeful set shot kicking.
Their tally sitting at 4.10 at three-quarter time, the Brandan Parfitt made sure to punish the opposition with a final Cats' major.
The Suns' injury woes carried on into the third term, with just two men left on the bench following an ankle injury to Aaron Young midway through the term.
Touk Miller remedied what was an otherwise disappointing term for the Suns with a goal in the dying seconds of the game, cutting the margin back to 58 points at the final change.
As the margin reached 64 points just seconds into the term following another Kelly major, Ablett proved he was all class with his second phenomenal goal from the forward flank.
The ex-Sun soon went back-to-back after being awarded a free kick, with the few Geelong fans in the stadium silencing the boos of the Gold Coast crowd.
Turnovers continued to plague the tiring Suns in the latter stages of the game, with 10.14 kicked against them from such errors - many of which were unforced.
As Menegola put through his second, the home side continued to drop like flies after Steven May rolled his ankle, and left the Suns with just man on the bench.
While the Cats fell just short of the mythical triple-figure thrashing, their efforts nonetheless placed them in fifth position on the ladder, in conjunction with a handy 10-point percentage boost.
Geelong will be back on their home turf to face North Melbourne, with the battle of the Scott brothers the most-anticipated contest of next Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Gold Coast will hit the road for the tenth time this season to take on fellow expansion club, Greater Western Sydney, in another Saturday twilight at Spotless Stadium.
GOLD COAST 2.4 2.5 4.11 4.12 (36)
GEELONG 3.5 10.11 13.15 17.19 (121)
GOALS
Gold Coast: Miller, Ah Chee, Lynch, Day
Geelong: Ablett 3, Hawkins 3, Menegola 2, McCarthy 2, Kelly 2, Selwood, Jones, Parfitt, Duncan, Dangerfield
BEST
Gold Coast: Miller, Holman, Ainsworth, May, Harbrow
Geelong: Ablett, Duncan, Selwood, Dangerfield, Menegola, Stewart, Hawkins
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Hall (shoulder), Young (ankle), May (ankle)
Geelong: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. THE LITTLE MASTER CRASHES THE PARTY
There's always that one guy at any party who ruins it all for the hosts; that man was Gary Ablett, and did he do it in style.
For those who thought the Little Master didn't have enough in the tank to slot back into the Geelong side, just remember he is Gary Ablett
The ex-Sun's 37 touches, three goals, 13 score involvements and five inside 50s all but obliterated his former side, with no one able to slow down the superstar.
Ablett's pace was just as impressive, with the 34-year-old showing off his flair and unrivalled lateral movement on several occasions to outclass the young Suns.
The prodigal son is in fine form - expect another colossal game when he's back on his home turf next week against North Melbourne.
2. SUNS SLIP DESPITE BIG STARS RETURNING
After 11 gruelling weeks on the road, Gold Coast finally had the opportunity to return to Metricon Stadium and put together a compelling display in front of their home crowd.
The game was already marked as a big occasion due to Gary Ablett facing off against his old side, giving the Suns further motivation to put out a dominant performance.
The home crowd roaring, their former skipper defeated and their theme song trumpeting with every goal - Gold Coast couldn't imagine anything better.
Unfortunately, none of it actually came to fruition, with their club song only blaring through the PA four times - each to mark the number of goals they kicked for the entire game.
Completely outclassed, outplayed and outrun, the Suns could only wallow in what was a pitiful return to Metricon Stadium.
19 of the 22 Suns on the field failed to register above 20 touches, including Tom Lynch, who failed to fire in his return with just the 11 touches and one goal.
Stuart Dew still has some work to do.
3. GEELONG MIDFIELD WORKING LIKE CLOCKWORK
One man who can rest easy this week is Chris Scott, as his team's midfield fired in spectacular fashion and put the question of whether they are "too stacked" to bed.
Gary Ablett was by far best on ground following his masterful 37-disposal match, but was aided beautifully by his fellow midfielders, who each played their own pivotal roles in destroying the Suns' homecoming.
Skipper Joel Selwood racked up an impressive 33 touches, while Mitch Duncan and Sam Menegola found themselves with plenty of uncontested ball to register above 30 touches.
Patrick Dangerfield's grunt around the contests similarly saw him finish with 28 disposals - 15 of which were contested - while mature-age recruit, Tim Kelly, was just as prolific with 11 contested possessions.
Most importantly, the Cats were allowed to run free and unleash their damaging capabilities, indicative through the uncontested possession count of 189-311 and the final disposal count 297-436.
Often criticised for a loaded midfield, Geelong finally found the synergy between all the major ball-winners, silencing claims the Cats were unsure of their own game plan.
Sharp, precise and moving like clockwork, the Geelong midfield is on the prowl.
4. GEELONG YOUNGSTERS AMONG THE BEST IN THE COMPETITION
Although brimming with A-grade stars, it is the Cats' younger players who are just as vital to the side's success.
Challenging the Swans in terms of young jets of the competition, Geelong's youngsters in Jordan Cunico, Lincoln McCarthy and Tim Kelly will undoubtedly be stars of the future line-up.
All playing less than 50 games combined, the trio each enjoyed superb outings on the Gold Coast and each booked their place in the line-up for another week.
The returning McCarthy stepped in with two goals to the fill the void of crowd favourite, Esava Ratugolea, following his horror injury last week.
His strong presentation was on par with he efforts of Kelly, who was also as potent on the scoreboard with to majors to go alongside his 24 touches.
In just his eighth game of AFL, Cunico also racked up 24 disposals and will continue to grow with more game-time in the senior side.
Add Brandan Parfitt, Wylie Buzza, Jake Kolodjashnij, Jamaine Jones, Lachie Fogarty and Jack Henry to the mix, and that's some phenomenal talent in the years to come.
5. ANOTHER GOAL OF THE YEAR CONTENDER
Take a bow, Sam Menegola.
It will take something pretty special to knock off Menegola's incredible Goal of the Week contender, with his major capping off a superb afternoon for the Cat.
Running at full pace and with Suns hot on his tail, Menegola somehow managed to squeeze the ball out from the forward pocket with a skilful banana, which spiralled high and through the big sticks.
A spectacular major and one indicative of how well was going for the Cats on their Saturday away.
Anything can happen in football, but with just the three games to come on Sunday, Menegola will be liking his chances of taking out the weekly honour.
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