It was the ominous warning shot that has Cats fans brimming with excitement; the sight of Shannon Neale taking control of a game and putting the opposition to the sword. 

With Geelong trying to stage a comeback after a slow start, Neale made his presence felt with a barnstorming second half, kicking four goals from five disposals and plucking three big contested marks. 

The big Cat kicked three consecutive goals in the third term and had a big influence in a significant momentum shift, ultimately equalling his career-high with a five-goal haul to help down the Dockers. 

Neale admitted that he was looking to bounce back after struggling in Geelong's season opener, heading into the clash with a number of important boxes that he wanted to tick. 

"I was really disappointed in myself after the Gold Coast game as an individual," Neale told Cats Media. 

"I don't think I helped the team, but I didn't really help myself with my own confidence and I just didn't go after what I needed to go after.

"I had two or three key points I wanted to take into this week's game.

"Aside from the amount of goals I kicked, I'm just glad that I was able to help the team get over the line and go after my role."

After conceding a substantial lead to Fremantle in the opening half, Geelong responded strongly and got the game on their terms, staging a brilliant comeback that had GMHBA Stadium rocking. 

The Cats kicked 10 of the last 13 goals in the match, holding the Dockers goalless in the final term as they closed out their first victory of the 2026 season. 

It was a monumental turnaround after giving up 52 points in the first quarter, Geelong were then able to restrict Fremantle to just 48 points through the final three quarters combined. 

"We made a meal of it really, didn't we?" Neale said. 

"So we will take momentum from this win, there is certainly some things that we need to go over.

"But it is great to build some momentum and have a bit of a break, then attack Adelaide Thursday week."

A motivational discussion and a team-wide mindset were the catalyst behind Geelong's momentum shift, Neale providing insight into the quarter time break and how the Cats were able to hit the reset button. 

"I won't repeat too much of that quarter time address," Neale said with a smile. 

"But we weren't going after what we needed to go after, everyone agreed that we weren't doing what we needed to do.

"We fed into them a bit, so we dialled it up and we went after the intensity. The intensity was the main part of the first quarter, we just weren't quite at the right level.

"We got where we needed to be and then just started to slowly peg it back. We will take momentum, but we have got some things to work on."