1. Tomahawk's Coleman bid falls short
Geelong spearhead Tom Hawkins entered the game four goals behind Richmond counterpart Jack Riewoldt in the race for the Coleman Medal and looked set for a big one given the lowly opposition, his inexperienced direct opponent in Jack Leslie, and the fact he'd piled on 20 goals in his previous three outings at the Cattery. Hawkins kicked two but might have had a few more if he wasn't such a team man – he was responsible for three goals assists and handed off several other scoring opportunities. Leslie hurt his knee early and didn't return, which probably made Hawkins' task more difficult because he was then marked by Suns captain Steven May. The big Cat continued to win possession but was often outside range, and missed a couple of gettable shots. Down the highway, Riewoldt kicked five against the Western Bulldogs.

CATS IN A CANTER Full match coverage and stats

2. 'Danger' dominant but not so deadly early
Patrick Dangerfield was one of the catalysts for the Cats, and he was also one of the reasons they didn't get full reward for their early efforts. In the first term the 2016 Brownlow medallist had nine possessions but was unusually wasteful with his set shots, spraying two behinds and sending the other out on the full. Admittedly, they were tough shots – two from outside 50 and the other from the boundary on the 'wrong' side for a right footer – but this was most un-Danger-like. Then came an even more bizarre occurrence when Dangerfield received a free kick for high contact and, despite being within scoring range, he handballed off to Selwood, who then missed badly himself. In Dangerfield’s defence, he was still rattled from the head knock. He missed another shot in the second term but normal programming returned when Danger kicked four second-half goals in a best-afield performance as the Cats posted their second successive triple-figure win.

GAMEBREAKER Dangerfield on the hunt

3. Concerns after two-Cat collision 
There was a sense of inevitability about this clash, with most experts predicting the eventual landslide victory to Geelong on a beautiful late winter’s day at the Cattery. The only real fear for the home side was escaping the game with a clean bill of health. So there were a few hearts in mouths when two Cats defenders appeared to suffer injuries when they collided in the opening seconds. The ball hadn’t cleared the centre square after the first bounce when a burrowing Kade Kolodjashnij was collected by teammate Lachie Henderson. Initially it seemed Kolodjashnij might have hurt his neck or sustained concussion, but he left the field with blood streaming from his right eye and received stitches, returning soon after. Henderson also shook off his rib rattler but copped another heavy hit in the third term after taking a courageous mark, before also returning.

Blood streams from the head of Kade Kolodjashnij after heavy collision. Picture: AFL Photos

SHOWREEL Tomahawk tremendous in rout

4. Ablett plays the hostile host
Gary Ablett faced his former Gold Coast teammates at Geelong for the first time and marked the occasion with a typically industrious performance. The revered veteran was tracked by Gold Coast stopper Touk Miller – who last round continued his running battle with Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko – and the pair tangled on numerous occasions in a niggly contest in the first half. Ablett immediately dragged Miller forward, breaking clear in the second term to collect nine possessions and slot two goals. A series of Suns rotated on the 'Little Master' in the second half – to no avail. Ablett, who spent seven years with the Suns, will now play finals for the first time since 2010.

5. Blicavs' blunder
If the Cats just miss seventh spot on percentage, they might well rue an inexplicable kick-in error by star defender Mark Blicavs. Just before three-quarter-time, with Geelong 79 points in front, the usually dependable Blicavs casually kicked in from the goal line but his attempted short pass to a teammate in the corridor was easily intercepted by Suns big man Brayden Crossley, who just as casually sent the ball back over Blicavs' head for his team's fourth goal.