There was certainly something special about the 2007 Cats, widely regarded as one of the best and most exciting seasons ever produced en route to premiership glory. 

They lost just once in their last 20 games of the year, Geelong snapped a 44-year premiership drought and brought so much joy to Cats fans that had endured plenty of heartache along the journey. 

What impressed most was 'Bomber' Thompson's implementation of the 'play on at all costs' style, which saw Geelong become a scoring juggernaut with an average of 118 points per game, while winning 12 games by 50 points or more. 

Despite how the season ended, few remember that the Cats were very slow out of the blocks in 2007 with just two wins from their first five games, a loss at home to North Melbourne in Round 5 leaving many pondering where the club was at. 

As three-time premiership ruckman Brad Ottens remembers, the Kangaroos were certainly a strong team during that era and it made for some exciting games on big occasions between the two clubs. 

"Obviously I came here at the end of '04 and they were pretty strong throughout those years, it was always a tough game against them," Ottens told Cats Media. 

"It was always good playing the Melbourne teams that we played down here, because a lot of the teams like Collingwood we always played in Melbourne.

"I remember a lot of good games against them, they were always a really strong team. There were a lot of really good match-ups against them."

Ottens watched on from the sidelines in that pivotal Round 5 clash against the Kangaroos, as Geelong looked to find a spark and ignite their season in front of a packed Kardinia Park crowd. 

But after an even start to the match, it was the visitors that put the foot down with a run of 10 goals to two through the middle of the game, leaving Geelong as far as 45 points down with loyal supporters preparing for another potentially disappointing season. 

The final siren sounded, the Cats cut the deficit back to 16 points but it was a loss that had big ramifications, bringing a feeling around the club and the town that this team was not up to the standard of the competition's best. 

Despite not featuring in the match, Ottens reminisced on the fallout of the result in the immediate aftermath, but also how it proved to be a significant turning point in the club's history.  

"There definitely was expectation heading into 2007. 'Bomber' and 'Cookey' had gone through the review process of the whole club," Ottens said. 

"I am not sure how close we were to changing coaches, but I think that it was pretty close so there was a lot of pressure going into that year.

"I remember at 2-2 as you said, it was a pretty rough start to the season. I didn't play in Round 5 against North Melbourne, but I remember the game didn't pan out the way we had hoped.

"We got beaten pretty convincingly and I remember there was a pile on, the media piled on and there was a crisis sort of feeling within the club around here.

"There were some pretty honest discussions and round-circle chats within the playing group, the coaches and it proved to be a real turning point. We lost convincingly that day but then we only lost one game for the rest of the year.

"But it was definitely against a really good team, we knew we were up against it and it was like sharks in the water. They got a hold of us, but to turn the season around after that was pretty special."

Sitting outside the top eight and seemingly with a mountain to climb in order to enter premiership contention, the Cats were searching for answers with a trip up the highway to face Richmond looming. 

Ottens provided more insight into the discussions following the North Melbourne loss, describing how the words of a past player and future AFL coach would be the catalyst to set the club on the right path. 

"I remember a conversation in our meeting room," Ottens explained. 

"We had done a lot of work in that off-season with Leading Teams, with 'Lingy' and 'Harls,' that leadership group at the time. We had worked a lot with trying to get the team playing together, we had a lot of talent so it wasn't like we hadn't done a heap of work already, but the results weren't quite coming.

"We had a meeting around this area where we are now, with these old plastic seats and there were some honest truths.

"We had a really honest discussion, Kenny Hinkley, I remember him saying that you guys don't realise how close you are and the opportunity that you have got as a team. You are good enough to be the best in the competition, but you are just not playing for each other and you are not playing the right way.

"I remember being struck a little bit by it, because I probably didn't appreciate where we were at as a team. When you look around at that team now, it was full of guys that were genuine Hall of Famers. There was definitely a moment there where I think it clicked a little bit.

"Then that Richmond game, I don't know what we won by but it was some sort of record, the season kicked off from there. But it definitely started down here against North Melbourne, that is for sure."

Ottens returned to the Cats' line-up to take on the Tigers in what proved to be a memorable outing, as Geelong kicked their fourth highest score in the club's history, while also handing Richmond their biggest ever loss in a 35.12 (222) to 9.11 (65) point thumping under the roof at Docklands. 

Few saw the result coming and even fewer knew what would follow, as the Cats turned their fortunes around and went on an incredible 15 game winning streak, which included a victory over the Kangaroos in Round 20 as they ascended to the top of the ladder and into premiership favouritism.

They would stumble only once in Round 21 against their eventual Grand Final opponents, but it was a sensational run to end the home and away season as the Cats claimed the minor premiership, finishing three games clear on top of the ladder. 

The culmination of all their hard work came in the first week of Finals, as Geelong faced North Melbourne once again in a blockbuster Qualifying Final at the MCG. 

It was a chance for the Cats to prove how far they had come since that Round 5 defeat against the Kangaroos at home, but the pressure was ratcheted up as the club searched for that drought-breaking premiership. 

As Ottens remembers, tensions boiled over before the opening bounce but it resulted in another memorable outing for the Cats, as they took a monumental step towards the last Saturday in September with a dominant performance. 

"It was amazing, that season we just grew and grew in confidence, towards the end of the year and that Finals series when it came around," Ottens said. 

"I remember the warm-up, for some reason the two teams back in those days, we used to do a lap around the square as a whole group.

'Moons' being Moons, he was coming off an All-Australian season and he had the chest puffed out. For some reason he beelined outside of our huddle a bit, just pretty much ran through the middle of the North Melbourne huddle.

"It turned into a little bit of a fracas, it was a bit of push and shove in the end but it was a pretty funny start to the game, it created a fair bit of energy leading into the first bounce.

"We had come a long way in the space of that season, but North were playing really well to finish in the top four that year. The way we were able to turn it around was pretty special, but it definitely created a little bit of a rivalry with those sorts of things."

After a relatively even opening quarter, Geelong flexed their muscle and fired an ominous warning shot to the remaining Finalists, pulling away to win by 106 points and recording 41 scoring shots to North Melbourne's 10. 

Paul Chapman and Cam Mooney kicked five, Gary Ablett Jr ran amok through the middle, while Brad Ottens also kicked two goals and dominated the ruck battle in a scintillating display. 

It highlighted the incredible turnaround in 2007 for Geelong, the same team that trailed against the Kangaroos by 45 points at home in Round 5, all of a sudden running away with a triple-figure victory against the same opponent on the biggest stage. 

As Ottens reminisced, it was a timely reminder for the Cats of just how far they had come and it paved the way for what would come a few weeks later, giving Geelong the confidence to be able to go all the way to the pinnacle of football. 

"I remember towards the end of the season, we kept winning but then we lost to Port Adelaide in Round 21 down here. But leading into the Finals, you could feel the expectation building throughout the season.

"Internally, a lot of people were talking about keeping a lid on it, there was that throwaway line of keeping a lid on things. People didn't want to get too carried away with the history of losing Grand Finals, those sorts of things that people and Geelong supporters had been suffering through for a long time.

"There was definitely a feeling of expectation leading into that Finals series and to win that first Final, to get the monkey off the back and to get a bit of momentum, there was a big deep breath moment after that.

"It had been such a long build up heading into the Finals that everyone was expecting big things, so just to get the series off to a start like that was great for the confidence.

"The momentum carried on from there throughout that Finals series."