The scene is set for a blockbuster game when the Cats meet the Power at Metricon Stadium on Friday night.

Both sides enter the game in red-hot form after Geelong dismantled the Saints and Port Adelaide proved their premiership credentials with a win against Richmond.

VIEW MATCH DAY GUIDE

For and Against: Played 33 games | Won: 22 | Drawn: 1 | Lost: 10

Last time they met: R14, 2019 – Geelong 8.8 (56) def by Port Adelaide 9.13 (67)

Broadcast & Match Details

Friday 14 August from 7.50pm AEST.
Watch: Channel 7, Fox Footy, Kayo
Listen: K Rock Football

The Great Wall of Geelong

The Misfits have been outstanding for the Cats in recent weeks, with sides struggling to penetrate their setup behind the ball.

Across the past four games the Cats have only conceded 26 goals and recently kept St Kilda goalless for an entire half of football.

Mark O’Connor is in All Australian contention after adding Dan Butler to his impressive list of players he has done the job on this year.

Lachie Henderson has fitted in seamlessly alongside Harry Taylor in the key defensive posts, allowing Chris Scott the luxury of playing Mark Blicavs up the ground.

Throw in the attacking game of Tom Stewart and the flexibility of Jed Bews, Jack Henry and Jake Kolodjashnij and you have a well-rounded group capable of shutting down any opposition.

What is making them so important is not only the way they can defend but rebound the ball through the middle of the ground. Something former premiership Cat Mathew Stokes highlighted on this week’s podcast.

“When we got a hold of them (St Kilda) defensively is when I thought we took control of the game,” Stokes said.

“They really held up amazingly well in the game with the quickness of St Kilda - to be able to hold up that wall and then be able to just go fast through the midfield into our forward line that gave Paddy, Hawk and Gary Rohan one-on-ones.”

Tight at the top

The Cats are in a healthy position after 11 rounds sitting third on the ladder with a sizeable percentage after their big win against St Kilda.

Only four points separates third from eighth, so a win against Port Adelaide is important as it will not only cement Geelong’s place inside the top four for another week but keep the Cats within striking distance of the Power who sit on top of the ladder.

Blast from the past

You don’t have to think far back to a time when it was all about the opposing key forwards.

Tom Hawkins and Charlie Dixon are two players you could have imagined lining up at full forward in the 80’s and 90’s and using their strength to outmuscle their opponents in the goal square.

On Friday night we should get a 2020 version of just that. Both men have been in great touch this year. Hawkins is equal leader in the Coleman Medal race with 24 goals for the season, three ahead of Dixon is in equal third.

Hawkins also leads the competition for goal assists and is number one for ground ball gets amongst key forwards this year.

Dixon is a contested beast. He is number one in the competition for contested marks, 12 ahead of the next best, averaging three per game. 

TOM HAWKINS has put Geelong on his broad shoulders with a virtuoso performance to dismantle Port Adelaide by 10 goals at Metricon Stadium on Friday night. 

Hawkins kicked six goals and set up two others in arguably the most dominant power forward display this season, leading the Cats to a 14.7 (91) to 4.7 (31) victory against the competition leaders.

Geelong now sits in equal second with Brisbane, four points adrift of Port, whose third loss of the year was a bad one. 

The Cats kicked seven goals to one in the final term to drive home their commanding victory. 

Hawkins was on-song from the opening quarter and was too big, too strong and too skilled for undersized Tom Clurey, taking a whopping seven contested marks for the night. 

The 32-year-old has raced to the sole lead in the Coleman Medal, six clear of West Coast spearhead Josh Kennedy. 

Geelong's midfield gave Hawkins fantastic service – whether it was over the top of Clurey who played in front most of the night, or hitting his chest on the lead. 

Patrick Dangerfield (24 disposals and three goal assists) was magnificent, using the ball with penetration and precision, while Cam Guthrie (27) and Sam Menegola (21) were also prolific.

Port was never really in the contest, with two of its four goals coming via 50m penalties.

While Hawkins had a bumper evening, his counterpart Charlie Dixon had a night he'd rather forget, totally blanketed by Harry Taylor, who kept him to just three disposals and no shots at goal.

Are the Cats now the flag favourites?

What a week – or four days - it's been for Geelong. They thumped second-placed St Kilda by 59 points at the Gabba on Monday night and have now put a huge dent into Port's premiership credentials. While West Coast has surged into calculations and Brisbane – who the Cats also beat handsomely last month – keep on keeping on, Chris Scott's men look the complete deal at the moment with one of the competition's stingiest defences, a deep midfield, and the Coleman Medal leader in its forward line. Oh, and Gary Ablett to return. 

Questions on Port's key defence

Hawkins' mauling was not the first time Port Adelaide's defence has been exposed for height this season after Brisbane's tall forwards got the better of them earlier in the season. While Port's shorter defenders – led by skipper Tom Jonas and Clurey – have had magnificent years, it might be a chink opponents look at as the importance of the matches increases. Could there be regret over trading Dougal Howard in the off-season?

Cats dodge a bullet

Sam Simpson hobbled off with a hamstring injury early in the third quarter, but things could have been so much worse for Geelong. Midway through the second term veteran Harry Taylor collided with teammate Jake Kolodjashnij, sending both crashing to the turf. Port kicked the ball inside its forward 50 where the two met at top speed. The tangle of bodies left both men on the ground for some time afterwards. Taylor eventually hobbled off awkwardly favouring his hip, while Kolodjashnij limped around for the rest of the quarter. Luckily though, both played the game out. 

GEELONG        2.3       4.3       7.7       14.7 (91)
PORT ADELAIDE          0.1       1.6       3.7       4.7 (31)

GOALS
Geelong: Hawkins 6, Rohan 3, Atkins, Fogarty, Guthrie, Henderson, Menegola
Port Adelaide: Farrell, Georgiades, Lycett, Woodcock

BEST
Geelong: Hawkins, Dangerfield, Blicavs, Guthrie, Menegola, Taylor, Bews
Port Adelaide: Boak, Amon, Houston, Powell-Pepper

INJURIES
Geelong: Simpson (hamstring)
Port Adelaide: Nil