He was facing one of the tallest tasks in football, figuratively and literally, but Mitch Edwards can be proud of his efforts after doing a commendable job against Max Gawn on Friday night. 

Able to utilise his athleticism in the middle of the ground, Edwards collected an equal game-high seven clearances against the Demons which is a new career-high for the young Cats, including four centre clearances to help drive Geelong into attack. 

The 21-year-old finished the night with 10 disposals, five inside 50s and 15 hit-outs, but he also eclipsed Gawn's total of five clearances which was well down on his season average. 

Although the Demons star won 47 hit-outs, Edwards was able to restrict him to six score involvements and three inside 50s, which helped the Cats to limit Melbourne's scores from stoppage. 

Equally as important was the ability to stop Gawn from pushing into defence and impacting the contest, with the ruckman finishing Friday night's game with no intercept possessions, the first time that has occurred since Round 16 of the 2024 season. 

Edwards said that there was plenty of work that went into the match-up during the week, helping him to prepare for the task that awaited on Friday night. 

"I sat down and went through the vision, did a bit of study on him I guess," Edwards told Cats Media. 

"He is just a great ruckman, I knew there was going to be moments where he got on top of me.

"He is one of the greatest ruckmen of all time you could say.

"I just thought that if I could halve it, or arrest the momentum when he has got it, that will help to get us over the line. Hopefully it did."

Just 15 games into his AFL career, Edwards has already taken on some of the biggest challenges in the game, excelling in a brilliant debut season at the elite level. 

Having squared off against the likes of Tristan Xerri, Luke Jackson and now Gawn, Edwards is trying to draw from the experiences to help further his development heading forward. 

"Nigel [Lappin] says it to me every week, it is just a massive year of learning," Edwards said. 

"I have come up against some amazing ruckmen, 'Gawny' is obviously one of the best.

"You get so much learning and experience from that. It is amazing."

In his third outing on the hallowed turf of the MCG, Edwards finally tasted victory for the first time as the Cats stormed to a 20-point victory over the Demons on Friday night. 

With a tight tussle unfolding in the race to September, it looks to be a monumental victory in the context of Geelong's season as they draw back within one game of fifth and sixth position on the ladder. 

Friday night did not go all Geelong's way, with Melbourne racing out of the blocks in a dominant first quarter, but the Cats fought back and found plenty of avenues to goal, particularly in a brilliant second term. 

Edwards said the message was simple from the coaches at quarter time and the playing group kept a level head, helping to flip the momentum quickly in the Cats' favour. 

"We just went back to the way we wanted to play a bit more," Edwards told Cats Media. 

"We were playing into their hands a bit early, so Scotty just said boys if we can do this, we can win.

"Then the boys stuck to it, we scored a lot which was really good."