We all know the drill when it comes to watching pre-season matches.

If Geelong is playing well, the game is full of meaning. It is clearly an indication that we’re going to have a big year.

If the Cats are playing poorly, it’s irrelevant, meaningless, a bit of kick and giggle.

It was a case of the latter when our boys trailed Hawthorn by 41 points at half-time in Friday night’s JLT Community Series clash at the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston.

I imagined Cats fans around the nation telling family and friends why it was fine to take no notice of the score: the Selwoods weren’t playing; Cameron Guthrie was already in his tracksuit after suffering a minor lower leg injury; Lachie Henderson was off with a sore hip; Harry Taylor was still getting used to playing up forward; Jackson Thurlow was playing his first game for 12 months; and we had a heap of kids in our team.

Still, there was some cause for concern. Conceding 11 goals in a half (in a shortened game, no less) is never a great look.

Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed. Inspired by a host of new players, the Cats piled on eight unanswered goals during the third quarter and stormed into the lead.

Former Carlton defender Zach Tuohy, who had been outstanding in the first half, continued to provide brilliant rebound from the backline, while ex-North Melbourne forward Aaron Black had the ball on a string up forward.

The Cats’ No. 1 pick in last year’s national draft, Brandan Parfitt, who was called Brayden by Patrick Dangerfield in his pre-match interview on Fox Footy, found plenty of the ball.

Meanwhile, mature-age draftee Tom Stewart showed plenty of poise, while rookies Jack Henry and Zach Guthrie caught the eye with their courage, skill and youthful looks.

WATCH: Young Cats lead the way

On the Fox Footy coverage, Dermott Brereton remarked that Guthrie appeared to have been left on the field after the Auskick game.

“He looks like he’s too young to drink a Big M!” Brereton joked. “He looks about 12. He’s going to get asked for ID everywhere he goes as an 18-year-old.”

Yet Brereton was also full of praise for the way Guthrie put his head over the ball and read the play.

And it wasn't all about the new kids. Amid the third-quarter onslaught, Tom Hawkins chipped in with one of the most unlikely goals of his career.

WATCH: Tomahawk's crazy goal

Of course, matches between Geelong and Hawthorn, even those played during the pre-season, almost never just peter out to a ho-hum conclusion.

So it was yet again. The Cats led until the final minute when Hawks youngster Kade Stewart took a mark and held his nerve to slot the winning goal right on the final siren.

Stewart allowed himself a fist-pump, but the reactions from the players on both sides were far different from the moments following the famous 2016 qualifying final.

There were no wild celebrations like the crazy lap of the field that Harry Taylor ran after Isaac Smith missed his set shot, and their were no tears from the losers.

WATCH: Forgotten Harry's crazy run after the win over the Hawks last year?

For both clubs, it was just about the perfect pre-season game.

The kids played well, the recruits looked the part, and the scoreboard told a decent tale.

As Matthew Knights said in his post-match press conference, "There were plenty of positives out of the game from our perspective."

Here’s hoping for plenty more when the Cats travel to Adelaide to take on the Crows on March 5.