As a travelling emergency, George Horlin-Smith likes to keep his game face on until the opening siren has sounded.

At the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night that professional approach paid off, with the 25-year-old South Australian rushed into Geelong's line-up only minutes before the clash against Port Adelaide.

Tom Hawkins had pulled out of the game with back spasms and the SOS call came when Horlin-Smith was still in the change rooms.

Earlier in the evening he'd prepared as if he were playing, but he admits it would've been easy enough to let the mind wander.

"Maybe I was thinking about eating pies in the stands with my mates, but I wasn't quite up there," he joked.

"When you travel interstate, you need to be ready just in case … for me I was just prepared if the call came, and it did."

Horlin-Smith was determined not to let his teammates down and he more than achieved that objective.

He was one of the Cats' best with 26 possessions and two goals – his second major in the fourth quarter all but sealing the result.

"We used the ball really well going inside 50 and gave ourselves a lot of opportunity," he said.

"So, whether it was me or someone else, it felt as though if we kept on doing the same things we were going to get a chance to put the game away."

Horlin-Smith has played just 15 games in the past three seasons.

The mid/forward has fallen victim to Geelong's depth with some highly credentialed but similar in style teammates above him in the pecking order.

However, perhaps the fortuitous first game for 2018 will finally see him secure a place in the line-up.

Cats coach Chris Scott said he had no hesitation playing Horlin-Smith against Port.

"I think it's really a credit to him the way he's hung in because he's smart enough to know, when he looks at our team, that there had been some players clearly in front of him," he said.

"George hasn't done his chances of staying in the team any harm at all with that performance."

The pies in the grandstand may have to wait.