Everyone wants to know what Chris Scott told his players at half time of Geelong’s 82-point win over the Hawthorn on Easter Monday.

The Cats kicked 10 goals to nothing in a third quarter blitz, and question was asked, what could possibly have sparked the onslaught?

But according to Patrick Dangerfield, the message was simply to trust their experience.

"Stick to the process,” Dangerfield told 3AW Football after the game. 

“We haven't been horrendous, but we clearly haven't been winning either. The main message was stick to the process, grind out the game, which was similar to what happened last year for us. We broke teams over four quarters, not just from the very first quarter of the game. 

“It doesn't mean as a player there isn't doubts that creep into your head, but it was pleasing to see our players stick to the principles behind what we want to do and we were able to execute in the second half.”

Dangerfield said the Cats have enough collective experience to know that the game can change and change quickly. 

“But what underpins that is really simple things, like taking the ball cleanly and being good in congestion. We weren't great in that area in the first half, but we ground down the margin and similar to what we did last year, there were times we were able to open to floodgates and expose teams.

“We had some senior guys play some good footy, but I thought it was a really well-rounded performance." 

The Geelong midfield was an integral part of their Premiership run in 2022, matching and beating many of the competition’s top on-ball divisions each week.

Dangerfield spoke on some of the issues the group had faced in the early part of the season, and how they rectified the situation after half-time.

"That's where it starts for us, you have to win it from the source to give your forwards opportunity.

“It is so much more difficult to score, quite clearly, when you're trying to transition the ball from one end of the ground to the other. When you win it out of the middle, you get six against six ahead of the play and we back our forwards above anyone else, we have some incredibly talented players there. 

"It was important for us to assert ourselves around the contest.”

Geelong welcomed back a number of key players for the Easter Monday clash, including Mitch Duncan for his first game of 2023. Duncan had been kept out of the opening three rounds with a calf injury, but proved his importance right from the opening bounce against the Hawks. 

Dangerfield was elated with Duncan’s return, speaking on the importance of his experience in the team. 

"He's one of the few players throughout 16 years of playing football, that I can't remember him having a full pre-season. But he comes in and doesn't miss a beat, he's really unique in that sense. He never loses his touch. 

The captain also heaped praise on Cats star, Jeremy Cameron for his seven-goal performance against Hawthorn. 

"He's the best player in the competition, and it's daylight to second for me,” he said.  

“He is extraordinary and he's starting to build his game out. He was obviously a fabulous player at the Giants, but he had games where he would kick seven and have eight touches. It felt like today he had a lot of the football up the ground and still kicked seven, which is very unique for a key position player. 

“To win that much of the footy, on a consistent basis is very hard to do. I still think we're going to see the best footy of Jeremy Cameron over the next couple of seasons. It's sure nice to have him wearing the hoops.”