GEELONG coach Chris Scott is relatively confident forward Tom Hawkins will escape suspension – but may be fined – for a late high hit on Sydney’s Jordan Dawson. 

Dawson took an overhead intercept mark in front of Hawkins, who collected the young Swan late with a raised left forearm in the final term.

The Swan recovered quickly from the shock and ran off to take advantage of the 50m penalty awarded by the umpire.

CATS TWO CLEAR ON TOP Full match coverage and stats

"I have had a look at it and I'll say it again, my opinion is irrelevant. I'll just give them the objective facts as I see them and correct me if I get them wrong," Scott said.

"The umpire was right there, they have the capacity to pay match day reports, he clearly chose not to.

"That's got to be instructive, but again, I try to stick to the objective facts. If you consult the chart, it's a really good guide, and really, the only guide the MRO can use.

"I don't think there's a person on the face of the planet that thought the action was intentional. If it's careless, that's the worst it is, and it's high (contact) and it's low impact, then it’s a fine. But again, I think the umpire was in a pretty good position to make the decision."

TOMAHAWK IN TROUBLE? Cats forward could be under MRO scrutiny for hit on Swan

Hawkins kicked his fourth consecutive haul of four goals in the Cats' 22-point win over a dogged Sydney side.

Geelong had two bursts of five unanswered goals in the match that proved to be the difference.

The second of those saw four of the five goals kicked after half-time, when star midfielders Tim Kelly, Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield started in the centre-square.

The Cats rolled other players including Brandan Parfitt, Cam Guthrie, James Parsons and even Luke Dahlhaus through the middle at various times.

WATCH Cats' midfield class on display

"It was important to get the players that we thought were up and going in there (the centre). The start of the third quarter was going to be crucial and they absolutely delivered," Scott said.

"What we have been trying to build for a long period of time is a group of guys who can step up in those moments. We've tried at various times of the year to look past the name on the magnet and focus more on what we were seeing in the moment."

"A lot of the time, that has meant we have gone to guys other than Selwood and Dangerfield – and Kelly's in that mix, clearly – but tonight I think it was those guys. They probably haven't had a lot of credit over the last couple of weeks, so they're back in the frame."

Ruckman Rhys Stanley was a late withdrawal with an adductor injury, the same muscle that saw him pull out two weeks ago against the Western Bulldogs.

Scott is confident that it's not a significant issue, despite the injury being in a slightly different spot to the first complaint.

WATCH Chris Scott's full post-match media conference

Geelong will be taking on Richmond next Friday night at the MCG, and Scott is expecting to be facing a very different opposition.

"The last two games we have played were against teams that play quite a similar style and Richmond is almost the polar opposite.

"But good teams adjust. Even more than that, good teams don't need to adjust too much because their game styles stacks up irrespective of the way teams are playing.

"Watching the game last night, Richmond at Marvel is a different proposition to Richmond at the MCG."

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