It is safe to say that things looked a little different when Geelong took on St Kilda at GMHBA Stadium in 2004. 

Firstly, and clearly the most notable contrast, was that incredible Heritage Guernsey the Cats were wearing which was a nod to the club's first ever jumper, the iconic blue and white hoops still emblazoned across the front. 

The stadium itself looked vastly different to the one we see today, a number of redevelopments were in the pipeline but none had reached the construction stage by that point. 

What about the team?

Shannon Byrnes was in his third AFL game and wearing the number 46, Josh Hunt had the number 41 on his back, Gary Ablett Junior had a full head of hair and Cameron Mooney was a defender. 

Yeah, things were different. 

However, what was clearly the same was the Cats hunger and desperation to win games of footy, putting on a classic clash with St Kilda in Round 18 of the 2004 season. 

With five matches remaining in the home and away season, Geelong were on the cusp of returning to Finals action after a three year absence, sitting in fifth on the ladder but they were facing a St Kilda team that occupied second place and were in the midst of a strong campaign themselves.

The Geelong team that took the field that day against the Saints was quite inexperienced, only five players had featured in 100 or more AFL matches and the team had a combined 1462 AFL appearances between them. To put that into context, the Cats side that took on GWS last weekend had 2912 AFL games between them, very close to double the amount of the 2004 outfit. 

But that Geelong side also featured a number of future champions and premiership players, including the likes of Gary Ablett Junior, Paul Chapman, Jimmy Bartel and Steve Johnson so there certainly was not a lack of talent. 

The stakes were high and the Cats knew it, a barnstorming opening term saw them boot six goals to two to build a 25 point lead at the first break, with Geelong's most experienced player, Ben Graham doing plenty of damage up forward. 

But as you would expect with two heavyweights of the competition, it was never going to be that simple as the Saints charged back into the contest with an impressive second quarter, a run of six unanswered goals putting the visitors two points ahead at the main break. 

After two major momentum shifts in the opening half, both teams struggled to gain the ascendancy and started trading blows in the third term, going goal for goal with Geelong getting their noses in front by a narrow five point margin heading into the final term. 

Perhaps the best highlight from the game came seven minutes into the third term, when Matthew Scarlett pounced on a loose ball inside 50 and toe poked through a sensational goal to give the Cats a two goal buffer. 

Sound familiar? 

That certainly was not the last, or the most famous Scarlett toe poke against the Saints......

Geelong withstood an early barrage at the start of the last quarter, the Saints had all the momentum and managed to kick two goals but their lead only got out to eight points by the 10 minute mark. 

Then the Cats made their big move. 

A Steve Johnson major levelled the scores, before Ben Graham slotted his fourth goal of the game shortly after to put Geelong back in front, a few minor scores eventually pushing the margin to seven points when the final siren sounded. 

Graham lead the way up forward, Jimmy Bartel ultimately received two Brownlow votes for his 19 disposal and six clearance performance, while Steven King dominated the ruck battle to give Geelong control around stoppages. 

It was a significant moment for the young Cats team, setting them up for a September tilt which saw them march through to a Preliminary Final for the first time since 1995. 

But it also paved the way for what happened three years later, with 15 players going on to feature in Geelong's drought breaking 2007 premiership. 

2004 Round 18 – Geelong Cats v St Kilda @ GMHBA Stadium

GEELONG      6.2      8.5     13.6     15.11    (101)
ST KILDA       2.1      9.1      13.1      15.4    (94)

GOALS: Graham 4, Ablett, S.Johnson, Kingsley 2, Chapman, Corey, D.Johnson, King, Scarlett 1

DISPOSALS: Corey 27, Ling, Milburn 25, S.Johnson 20, Bartel 19

BROWNLOW VOTES: Heath Black (3), Jimmy Bartel (2), Steven King (1)

CROWD: 21,673 @ GMHBA Stadium

GEELONG STARTING 22
1. Steven King
2. Tom Harley
3. Jimmy Bartel
7. Ben Graham
11. Joel Corey
16. Charlie Gardiner
17. Tim Callan
18. Kent Kingsley
20. Steve Johnson
21. Cameron Mooney
22. Henry Playfair
28. David Johnson
29. Gary Ablett Junior
30. Matthew Scarlett
35. Paul Chapman
36. Paul Koulouriotis
39. Darren Milburn
40. David Wojcinski
41. Josh Hunt
44. Corey Enright
45. Cameron Ling
46. Shannon Byrnes