Hitting the road to take on a young and exuberant team in front of their home crowd is never easy, a challenge that Geelong found out when they took on West Coast in Round 12 last year.
The Cats were vying for a spot in the top four midway through the 2025 season, while West Coast had just one win through 11 games and sat on the bottom of the ladder.
But with a raucous atmosphere and plenty of support behind the Eagles, Geelong had to withstand a strong surge from the home side to come away with the four points.
Behind a stellar performance from Bailey Smith and a late flurry from Jeremy Cameron, the Cats showed that they were a force to be reckoned with in an enthralling contest out west.
Full of running and keen to start well, Geelong shot out of the blocks with a dominant opening term, controlling general play and keeping the Eagles on the back foot early.
The Cats took a handy 15 point lead into quarter time, a solid buffer but perhaps not quite as significant as Chris Scott's side would have liked, considering they registered nine scoring shots to two.
After the first break, they would extend their advantage with three quick goals to push the lead out to 29 points, seemingly starting to capitalise and pull away from their opposition.
But West Coast had other ideas, kicking four of the last five goals in the second term and trimming the margin back to 11 points at half time.
Smith was absolutely incredible early, amassing 25 disposals and five clearances in the first half to go with six score involvements and a goal.
Neither team was able to break away in the third term, Geelong booted two quick goals but that was answered by West Coast, with the margin remaining at 11 points heading into the final quarter.
There were a few nervous moments early in the fourth term as Elijah Hewett nailed the first goal, pulling the Eagles back within seven points before Noah Long missed an opportunity to cut the margin to a solitary point.
But good teams always find a way to respond when their backs are against the wall, and that was exactly what Geelong did.
Ollie Dempsey kickstarted the momentum with his first goal of the night, Tyson Stengle added another and Rhys Stanley followed suit to kick the Cats clear.
Then Jeremy Cameron took over.
After being well held for most of the night, Cameron kicked the final four goals of the game in a 12 minute burst to put the result out of reach.
Kicking seven of the last eight goals, Geelong held their nerve and closed out a 43-point win to record their sixth consecutive victory over West Coast.
Smith claimed the three Brownlow Votes after collecting 38 disposals and eight inside 50s, while Cameron (five goals) and Gryan Miers (26 disposals, two goals) also finished in the votes.
2025 AFL Season - Round 12
WEST COAST 2.0 7.2 9.4 11.7 (73)
GEELONG CATS 4.5 8.7 10.9 17.14 (116)
GOALS
West Coast: Allen 4, Williams 2, Hewett, Kelly, Long, Reid, Ryan 1
Geelong Cats: Cameron 5, O.Henry, Miers, Stengle 2, Close, Dempsey, Mannagh, Neale, Smith, Stanley 1
BEST
West Coast: Reid, Allen, Baker, Kelly, Hewett
Geelong Cats: Smith, Miers, Holmes, Cameron, Stewart
Crowd: 42,501 at Optus Stadium
