GEELONG made it four straight victories with a 38-point Round 19 win against Richmond at the MCG on Sunday.

The result catapulted the Cats to second on the ladder, putting them in a strong position with four rounds remaining in the home and away fixture.

Here are some statistics that stood out, presented by Deakin’s Centre for Sport Research.

Ratugolea’s Repeat Efforts Rewarded

Coach Chris Scott was full of praise for Esava Ratugolea post-game describing his performance as one the 'highlights of the game'.

In his 50th AFL match Ratugolea produced arguably his most influential performance to date with a career-high four goals. However, it was his aerial presence that made Geelong's senior coach most proud.

When the game was there to be won in the second quarter Ratugolea's feat in beating multiple Tigers in the air after being out positioned to bring the ball to ground resulted in goals to Tom Hawkins and Gary Rohan and set the Cats on a path to victory.

"I thought that he competed really strongly in the air, especially when he was outnumbered and that’s been a strength of Richmond’s for so long," Scott said post-game.

"The way Esava was able to attack the contest and bring the ball to ground when it was well out of position I thought was a highlight of our game."

Ratugolea's repeat efforts in the opening half setting up his teammates saw him rewarded with three second half goals and capped off a big week for Esava who celebrated his 23rd Birthday and signed a new two-year extension.

Danger Leads Dominant Midfield Display

Chris Scott was also pleased with the way his team were able to assert themselves in the contest early, both in winning the football and applying pressure.

The Cats won contested possessions (143 to 117) and clearances (42 to 34). 

"I thought particularly when the heat was on early our work in the contest against their mids was a real highlight and I thought that contributed to the way that we defended as well.

"I thought our defenders back there did really well, but the pressure on the ball needed to be strong because when they do get the momentum and surge the ball forward, they can be really hard to stop."

Patrick Dangerfield was the standout in this area for the Cats returning to his very best with a game-high 18 contested possessions, eight more than the next best player on the ground.

He was simply unstoppable winning the football and finished with 28 disposals, 518 metres gained, 12 ground ball gets, six score involvements and three contested marks.

The Super Sub 

He may have played the fewest minutes on the field but Quinton Narkle had a high impact in his 34% playing time after coming on to replace Joel Selwood who was subbed out with a quad injury.

Narkle recorded a game-high eight clearances and was second only to Dangerfield in contested possessions with 10. The two also combined for a Narkle goal in the final term.

The 23-year-old made every disposal count too with his 12 disposals coming at 91.7% efficiency.