A retro-inspired Geelong has moved into the top-four following an explosive final term to run over the top of North Melbourne by 37 points at GMHBA Stadium.
Although tight in the opening stages, the Cats continued to find that extra gear to push past their opposition, with a five-goal final term capping off a superb outing for the home side.
Gary Ablett thrived in his 200th game for Geelong with a game-high 34 disposals and a goal, while Mark Blicavs (18) and Tom Stewart (26) held together the back half of the ground to allow the Little Master to dominate.
Tom Hawkins too was impressive up the ground with 23 touches, three goals and 11 marks, while Joel Selwood racked up 21 touches in the second half after copping a hard tag from Ben Jacobs.
With both sides presented with an opportunity to further solidify themselves in the top-eight and even push themselves into the top-four, the Cats and Roos each came out with an ideal, pressure-laden opening.
North seemed to have the edge early on, unsettling the home with their forward half pressure, consistent tackles and zippy ball use.
But the Cats steadied soon thereafter, forcing the Roos to shift their attacking approach into that of a defensive one as Geelong continued to rack up uncontested ball.
Nevertheless, Shaun Higgins still proved to be a danger all around the ground, carrying on his superb efforts from last week with four clearances, 10 touches and the first goal of the game - kicked at the 11-minute mark of the term - before quarter-time.
Higgins' influence, although pivotal, wasn't quite near that of his opposition counterpart in Ablett, whose midfield mastery and nine touches for the quarter paved the way for the next four Geelong majors.
Ablett was directly responsible in assisting the Cats' first through James Parsons, before a skilfully intercepting a North Melbourne kick-out to give Mitch Duncan an easy major to put the home side in front.
The Roos had ample opportunities to negate the Cats, yet were wasteful in front of goal with 1.6 for the term opposed the 4.4 of their opposition.
Geelong truly found themselves on top as Wylie Buzza and Patrick Dangerfield added their names to the scoresheet to make it four consecutive majors, ending the term 16 points in front after a Mason Wood shot after the siren shied away to the right.
The second quarter resumed to being a tight affair early on, with it soon becoming a 10-point ball game after Kayne Turner hearkened back to North Melbourne's fast start after dribbling through the first goal of the term.
The intensity from both sides was nothing short of commendable, yet Geelong seemed to thrive off the high-pressure situation far better, outscoring the Roos' two goals to one.
Some clever work from Ablett once again resulted in a major to the Cats, this time to Tom Hawkins, after the Little Master drew Ben Jacobs away from the tagged Joel Selwood - who had just the six touches at half-time - before finding himself with space and hitting up the Geelong spearhead.
Dangerfield too lived up to his damaging potential deep in the Cats' forward line, slotting his second after hanging on to a one-handed mark in a contest with Jack Ziebell.
As the Cats continued to flood their forward 50 with repeated entries, North Melbourne struggled to move the ball from half-back, and subsequently failed to capitalise when the ball ended up their end of the ground.
Scoring just the two majors from 25 inside 50s, North's inability to find targets up forward and subsequent inaccuracy proved to be costly, resulting in a 25-point deficit at the major break.
It didn't look to be all good news for the Cats, with Tom Stewart going down with a suspected ankle injury on the stroke of half-time.
The star defender later returned in the third term, yet was unable to fully quell a surging North Melbourne outfit, who gave themselves a real chance to clinch a miracle win in the latter stages of the quarter.
Wood got the Roos off the the start they so desperately needed, swinging onto his right boot before putting through the first major of the quarter from outside 50.
But the moment was soon soured after Jamaine Jones provided the perfect reply and whipped the home crowd into the frenzy with a perfect set shot from the left flank.
The injury concerns struck Geelong once again, after Aaron Black hyper-extended his knee in a marking contest down back, allowing Jack Ziebell to immediately hit back with a goal of his own.
Although the Cats managed to pile on two more through Hawkins and Zach Tuohy, the Roos found themselves with all the momentum in the final stages of the term.
Stronger around the stoppages and utilising their pace to great effect, North managed to catch the visitors off-guard, yet only squeezed through the two majors in what was a period with potential for many more.
Leading the clearances for the quarter 16-4, the inside 50s 15-4 and the hit-outs to advantage 9-2, North still were unable to assert themselves on the contest, with Geelong's defensive efforts and pressure telling on the visitors.
Blicavs was solid down back, while Jed Bews too was flanked brilliantly by Stewart, the trio of which stifled North's press forward and forced long kicks into the forward line.
With Trent Dumont and Ben Cunnington the scoreboard beneficiaries, the margin sat at just three straight kicks with one quarter left to play.
Two successive behinds to open North's final quarter seemed to continue the story of wasted opportunities, yet Todd Goldstein stepped up the the plate soon after, slotting a massive set shot off the back of a 50m penalty to cut the margin to just 10 points.
But North only managed to kick one more major, with the visitors swamped by an avalanche of five Geelong goals in what was an comprehensive final quarter.
The 11-gamer in Jordan Cunico oozed class and composure akin to a 200-gamer, coolly slotting a goal from the right flank off the back of some courageous efforts from Dangerfield and Brandan Parfitt.
As Hawkins and Tim Kelly well and truly steadied the ship with goals of their own, it was Ablett who stole the show and iced the game.
Finding the ball at half-back, Ablett tore through the centre of the ground before finding himself 40m out and capping off his 34-disposal game with an incredible major, much to the delight of the Geelong faithful.
Jed Bews too found himself on the scoreboard, before Higgins kicked a consolation major in the dying minute of the game to bring the margin to a final 37 points.
North Melbourne will have a chance to rest with their bye scheduled for next week, while Geelong will be set for another massive clash, this time against Richmond at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.
GEELONG 4.4 6.7 9.8 14.12 (96)
NORTH MELBOURNE 1.6 2.6 6.8 8.11 (59)
GOALS
Geelong: Hawkins 3, Dangerfield 2, Jones, Kelly, Bews, Ablett, Duncan, Parsons, Tuohy
North Melbourne: Higgins 2, Wood, Turner, Dumont, Cunnington, Goldstein, Ziebell
BEST
Geelong: Ablett, Hawkins, Blicavs, Stewart, Selwood, Cunico, Dangerfield
North Melbourne: Higgins, Cunnington, Tarrant, Ziebell
INJURIES
Geelong: Black (knee)
North Melbourne: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. CHRIS GETS BROTHERLY BRAGGING RIGHTS AS CATS MOVE INTO THE FOUR
Perhaps the most anticipated clash of the game was that between Chris and Brad Scott, who each led their team in to battle in an attempt to secure a top-four position.
Teammates on the field for the Lions for a decade, two two twins have no doubt become rivals in the coaching scheme of things, with Chris' record better than that of his brother.
It was no different today as Chris' Cats edged out Brad's Boomers by 37 points, making it the third consecutive time Geelong have defeated North Melbourne.
Brad has a little bit of groundwork if he wants to level the playing field, with the wins between the two in favour of Chris 7-5.
Perhaps a semi-final between the two sides will help to close the gap... or extend it.
2. ABLETT AMAZING, AGAIN
A 37-disposal game last week on the road, and now a 34-disposal game at home to follow it up - and people say the Little Master doesn't have the ability to turn the tide of games...
Gary Ablett has been absolutely phenomenal over the past two weeks, and was once again best on ground for the Cats.
16 contested possessions, 11 score involvements and a remarkable goal to boot, Ablett brought not only himself into the game, but also his teammates who all benefited from his influence.
Most notable was Ablett bringing Selwood into the fold, with the former drawing Ben Jacobs to him, allowing the Geelong skipper to win the clearance and rack up two quick possessions.
Up until that point, Selwood had only four touches against his name.
Who's to say Ablett won't be able to string together another sound performance against the Tigers in front of a jam-packed MCG?
We're certainly not ruling it out.
3. SOLID CATS IN ALL AREAS OF THE GROUND
Gary Ablett may have been the best Cat on the field, but he was surrounded by an equally potent litter who were just as instrumental in downing North Melbourne.
Mark Blicavs put together a sound defensive effort, finishing with seven intercept marks and 18 disposals, while All-Australian candidate, Tom Stewart, pieced together a solid 26-disposal game after an injury scare just before half-time.
Geelong spearhead Tom Hawkins had influence not only on the scoreboard, but up the field, finishing with 23 touches, most of which were accumulated in the centre of the ground.
With Hawkins absent deep, Patrick Dangerfield took his place and gave the North defenders more than a handful with his two majors.
Youngster Jordan Cunico and skipper Joel Selwood too had brilliant outings through the middle of the ground, with the latter breaking free of Ben Jacobs' tag in the second half and finishing with 27 touches.
4. NORTH'S INABILITY TO CAPITALISE ULTIMATELY COSTLY
Although the final margin showed was indicative of a telling victory, the stats sheet would have suggested otherwise, with North Melbourne on top in several areas despite their 37-point loss.
Leading the clearances (27-36), hit-outs (22-40) and free kicks (18-32), the Roos were still unable to stamp their authority on the contest, with limited, albeit spirited patches of play throughout the game.
Bringing the margin back to 10 points at the start of the second and fourth terms, North weren't able to take it any further, failing to cut the deficit to below single figures.
Even in the third term, the Roos only mustered two goals from their manic 10-minute patch of play, in which they dominated the inside 50 count 16-4.
Although level in the inside 50 count (51 apiece) at the end of the game, North were wasteful in their entries with a final 8.11, often going long and deep rather than picking off shorter targets.
Chances, but ones North Melbourne weren't able to fully grasp.
5. SELWOOD MANAGES TO FIND A WAY
Ben Jacobs' tag was no doubt standing head and shoulders over his opponent in Joel Selwood, with the tagger keeping the Geelong captain to just six touches at half-time.
It's not often that Selwood has minimal impact on the contest, with the Qualifying Final in 2010 the last time he was kept to single figures by the major change.
Yet there's no rubbing out the skipper's determination, who broke free of his shackles and accumulated another 21 touches to finish as the Cats' second highest ball-winner.
Just goes to show there's no tying Selwood down for long.
6. LED SIGNAGE CAUSES CARNAGE
LED lighting certainly looks great, but as Jack Ziebell found out, it doesn't look to great when you run into it.
The North Melbourne skipper ran into the signage surrounding the ground in the third quarter, and was soon forced from the field with the blood rule after having his knee sliced open.
Ziebell was kept from the field for eight minutes as he got his leg patched up, in what was a potential opportunity for the Roos to cut down the three-quarter time margin.
Brad Scott was scathing post-match, and Ziebell similarly expressed his disdain with the lack of protection surrounding the state-of-the-art displays.
It's not the first time it's happened, with similar instances befalling Zach Tuohy and Mark Blicavs at Optus Stadium in the clash between West Coast and Geelong.
Not a good look.
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