There is no challenge too great for Geelong, says defender Zach Tuohy.

Down to one man on the bench and trailing Fremantle by 19 points at three-quarter time last Sunday, the Cats had their backs to the wall and looked on their way to registering their fifth loss of the season.

Indeed, the Cats were down by as much as 34 points at one stage, yet Tuohy and his 18 other fit teammates lifted to snatch victory by two points.

“It was a funny sort of game,” Tuohy admitted to Triple M’s Hot Breakfast on Monday morning.

“We probably didn’t play our best footy – in fact, we definitely didn’t play our best footy.”

“The group just seems to have this belief that if the margin isn’t ridiculously out of hand come the last quarter, there is this inner-belief in the group that we can always play our way back.”

Despite the Cats’ best efforts, the ball still fell to Docker forward Michael Walters in the dying seconds of the game.

As Tuohy watched on from downfield, Walters’ shot on goal could and would have been the difference – had he not missed to the left.

“I must admit, when I saw that it was Walters having the shot – he might be the best kick in the competition – I felt pretty hopeless. I was up on the wing at that stage and I saw him get the ball, it was just that kind of sick feeling.”

“That’s the way footy goes sometimes. Even the best players and best kicks can sometimes make mistakes.”

Losing captain Joel Selwood in the first minute from a head clash, Geelong then lost Tom Stewart to a significant facial injury and Darcy Lang to a knee complaint.

That those remanning were able to get the job done made for an even more memorable win, Tuohy says.

“We had a lot of guys step up in Joel’s absence. Obviously we had a couple of guys go down [too].”

“Patty [Dangerfield] just did what he does every week but I think Mitch Duncan deserves a lot of credit for the year he’s had. Harry Taylor, Tom Lonergan, these guys were massive yesterday. 

“It was just a good win.”

Tuohy had 28 disposals and kicked two crucial goals to be named one of Geelong’s best.