When Geelong fell 38 points behind at the end of the first term, it looked like the season was hanging by a thread. 

The Cats were fighting for a place in the top six on the ladder, made possible by last night's result in Perth, hoping to avoid the Wildcard Round and to put themselves in the box seat for a home Elimination Final. 

With so much on the line, it looked like an almighty mountain to climb at the start of the second quarter, but Geelong's response was swift and powerful as they roared back into the contest. 

Not overawed by the occasion, the Cats piled on nine goals of their own in the second term to flip the early deficit into a half time lead, a remarkable momentum flip that paved the way to victory. 

Tanner Bruhn said that remaining calm and composed under pressure was the secret for Geelong, quickly arresting the flow of play and making a powerful statement in a barnstorming quarter of football. 

"The message was just to not panic," Bruhn told Cats Media. 

"They came out really hot, I think an easy thing to do is go into our shells.

"We were on the back foot early, so we had to get our game going and go back at them. Credit to our boys, we did.

"A number of boys really stood up in that second quarter and got us going. I mean, it was almost like a Final out there.

"It is hopefully going to hold us in good stead, the boys will rest up and go again."

Bruhn played an instrumental role in Geelong's resurgence on Saturday afternoon, collecting 28 disposals and 588 metres gained, entrusted as one of the prime distributors to help get the Cats rolling after quarter time. 

There will be plenty of positives to come from the win over the Kangaroos such as Geelong's remarkable scoring prowess, with 10 individual goal-kickers helping to contribute to the Cats' third biggest score of the season. 

Geelong struggled to contain Tristan Xerri in the first meeting between the two sides this year, but they found ways to influence the contest this time around, with Mark Blicavs and Mitch Edwards combining to kick five goals. 

Bruhn said it was a true test and battle for the Cats throughout Saturday's game, but it was ultimately the result they needed. 

"It was a tough game for four quarters, it took us the whole game to really get over the line there," Bruhn said. 

"Credit to them, they are a good side and like I said, it took us right to the very end.

"It was nervous times out there, but credit to the lads.

"We stuck to it, a really good win and hopefully it'll put us in a good spot."