Heading into Thursday night's game, there was one key threat that Geelong were certainly wary of and that was St Kilda superstar, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. 

But the Cats had a plan, and that plan was to send the game's best lockdown tagger to him, with Oisin Mullin doing a sensational job in nullifying the impact of the star on-baller in the Round 19 clash. 

Mullin restricted Wanganeen-Milera to 21 disposals, his lowest total since Round 1 and breaking a run of seven consecutive games with 31 possessions or more, while also keeping him to just 52.4% disposal efficiency. 

The Saints star finished the night with just three score involvements, while Mullin was able to win 12 disposals and three clearances of his own to impact the game offensively. 

But in his traditional humble manner, Mullin credited the team around him for helping to succeed in that area on Thursday night, noting that keeping the role simple is the key to achieving a positive result. 

"There is no special method to it. It is a pretty straightforward game plan, it is just stop him getting the ball I guess," Mullin told Cats Media. 

"You can't overcomplicate it too much, but it does take a collective effort. Obviously the opposition try and get him free as much as possible, with screens and stuff like that.

"The boys around me were a massive help too, it is a whole team performance.

"Obviously it looks like it is narrowed down to one-on-one individual from the outside, but there is so many times where the boys help me out and stuff like that. It helps my role massively."

There was plenty of conversation on Wednesday night as Geelong unveiled a vastly different looking side, making seven changes at team selection with a mix of youth and experience added to the squad. 

A combination of factors went into the changes, but it saw the likes of Gryan Miers (three goals, four goal assists) and James Worpel (24 disposals, seven clearances) earn a recall, while Jhye Clark (25 disposals, 12 intercept possessions) was also among the Cats' best. 

It also paved the way for emerging forward Jay Polkinghorne to make his AFL debut, with the talented youngster kicking two goals and looking lively all night, despite drawing a tough matchup against star defender Callum Wilkie. 

Mullin said that it was a testament to Geelong's list depth, helping to cover injuries and providing the opportunity for some fresh faces to get valuable playing time at the elite level. 

"Obviously seven changes is a massive part of the match day squad," Mullin said. 

"It just shows the quality of the list. Obviously the VFL have been going so strong this year, and that calibre was shown when all those boys came in.

"They did a job and got the result we needed, so it is great for everyone involved."