It is not very often that three players make their AFL debut in the same game, let alone on the day that a club champion celebrates his 250th game. 

If that was not enough, it is an even more uncommon occurrence for the event to coincide with the return of a favourite son, but that is exactly what happened for Geelong in their opening game of the 2018 season. 

Taking on Melbourne at the MCG, Gary Ablett Junior pulled on the blue and white Hoops for the first time in seven years, while the skipper Joel Selwood reached a significant milestone as the Cats commenced their campaign. 

Tim Kelly, Lachie Fogarty and Esava Ratugolea all lined up for their first appearance at the elite level, facing a Demons outfit that was stacked full of talent and led by the likes of Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca. 

As the afternoon unfolded, the game certainly lived up to the hype and came right down to the final kick of the day, in what was a remarkable contest at the MCG. 

A tight tussle ensued early in the contest and there was no shortage of scoring, with both teams finding multiple routes into attack early in the first quarter. 

Geelong turned to one of their debutants, Ratugolea, who took a nice mark and made no mistake with the set-shot to kick his first career goal, and Geelong's opening goal of the season. 

Fogarty also kicked his first goal in the opening term, before Gary Ablett reintroduced himself to the Geelong faithful with a classic finish streaming through 50, the crowd erupting as the Little Master made his presence felt. 

It capped off a remarkable start for the Cats but Melbourne were also finding plenty of opportunities in front of the big sticks, with Geelong trailing by four points heading into quarter time. 

Clayton Oliver extended the Demons' lead early in the second term and when Harry Taylor was ruled out of the contest, the season certainly seemed like it was not starting the way Geelong had hoped. 

But just when it seemed like momentum was drifting, the Cats turned the game on its head as they piled on seven of the final eight goals in the term, turning the early deficit into a 27-point lead at half time. 

Brandan Parfitt bookended the quarter with a pair of goals, Tim Kelly became the third Cat to kick a goal in his debut, while Ablett and Selwood went to work through the middle of the ground. 

Emerging after the main break, proceedings seemed to be flowing in Geelong's favour and with 80 points scored in the opening half, they looked almost unstoppable. 

But the scoring dried up significantly for the Cats in the third term, as Melbourne made their charge with four goals to one in the quarter, Dan Menzel's third major being the only real positive to come for Chris Scott's side. 

The margin was cut to just seven points at the final break, the tension and noise lifting around the MCG and a big finish was on the cards, the Cats trying to hang on under immense pressure. 

Needing a steadier, Geelong once again turned to Menzel in the final term as he booted the first goal of the quarter, his fourth of the contest, and it gave the Cats a little bit of breathing room. 

But that would prove to be the final goal of the game for Geelong, as they then had to defend grimly as Melbourne surged late and found plenty of opportunities to land a telling blow. 

Fortunately for Geelong, inaccuracy plagued the Demons as only one of their first seven scoring shots in the fourth quarter hit the target, but it still meant that only four points separated the two sides with under a minute on the clock.

Melbourne mustered one final kick inside 50 and Max Gawn drifted across the front of the pack, taking a monumental contested mark only 20 metres out and directly in front of goal. 

The big ruckman went back, the ball left his boot and to the delight of the Geelong fans, it was remarkably dragged wide to the right and only registered a minor score. 

With just eight seconds left on the clock on the restart, the Cats would bring the ball back into play and it would ultimately be enough, hanging on to record a famous three point victory at the MCG. 

Menzel's four goals proved to be a telling factor in the result, while Gary Ablett finished his return with 39 disposals, seven inside 50s and a goal, claiming the three Brownlow votes in a tremendous display. 

Selwood also registered 39 disposals to go with eight clearances in a courageous performance from the captain, while Tim Kelly (27 disposals) and Lachie Fogarty (20 disposals) also impressed on debut. 

2018 Round 1 – Melbourne v Geelong Cats

MELBOURNE       6.1    8.5     12.9   13.16   (94)
GEELONG CATS   5.3   12.8   13.10  14.13   (97)

GOALS: Menzel 4, Parfitt 2, Ablett, Fogarty, C.Guthrie, Kelly, Murdoch, Parsons, Ratugolea, Smith 1

DISPOSALS: Ablett, Selwood 39, Kelly 27, Duncan 36, Tuohy 25, Murdoch 24

BROWNLOW VOTES: Gary Ablett (3), Joel Selwood (2), Christian Petracca (1)

GEELONG STARTING 22
2. Zach Tuohy
3. Brandan Parfitt
4. Gary Ablett
7. Harry Taylor
8. Jake Kolodjashnij
9. Zac Smith
10. Daniel Menzel
11. Tim Kelly
13. Lachie Fogarty
14. Joel Selwood
17. Esava Ratugolea
21. Jordan Murdoch
22. Mitch Duncan
24. Jed Bews
26. Tom Hawkins
27. Sam Menegola
28. Cory Gregson
29. Cameron Guthrie
34. James Parsons
39. Zach Guthrie
44. Tom Stewart
46. Mark Blicavs