IT WAS a vintage performance that lived up to the promise.
In his first game against the Gold Coast, Gary Ablett reminded the football world of his genius with a stunning 37 disposal (10 contested) and three goals game.
Ablett's star turn helped the Cats to an 85-point win over the club he once captained.
CATS IN A CANTER Full match coverage and stats
Geelong coach Chris Scott said the man of the match performance from Ablett was his best since returning to the blue and white hoops.
"He did deliver. I thought he played really, it's the best game he's played for us, clearly," Scott said.
"I said during the week that it wasn't unexpected that after two hamstring issues, that he might take a little bit of time to build his way into the season.
"Even if he's in good health and prepared well, there is a settling in period with a new system. We play a different system to the one he had got used to at the Suns - different teammates - but his craft really shone through.
"I thought he had a big impact on the game."
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Asked if the Suns gave Ablett too much latitude despite knowing better than anyone his abilities after 110 games at the expansion club, Scott said his midfield ace was just too strong on the inside.
He said cameos form the Cats' other midfielders helped Ablett break the shackles.
"I thought he was pretty good inside the contest, and he can be hard to collar when he's in that sort of mood," Scott said.
"I thought he looked quite strong in the contest and showed a bit of zip to get away from their pressure.
"To be fair to the opposition, Mitch Duncan was pretty hot in the first half, so they probably prioritised him with a bit more of a hard tag.
"Hopefully what we're trying to build is a midfield where it is difficult to know who to put the most time into. In today's footy, if you do spend too much time defending inside, you just can't win the ball yourself."
WATCH Chris Scott's full post-match media conference
Scott said after a poor performance against Essendon a fortnight ago and a dour struggle against Carlton last week, he was pleased to see the Cats execute their game plan better.
"We just weren't playing the style of footy that we've been working on," he said.
"So that's where it becomes a real challenge as a coaching group, when you're working on things during the week and you're not seeing them on the weekend.
"At least we saw some more of those things, particularly with our work around the contest and we were able to attack more but still not open ourselves up too much."
While Scott said it wasn't "exactly the team that we forecast we'd be playing at the midpoint of the season", he was pleased with the progression of their slightly older but inexperienced AFL recruits in Tim Kelly, Tom Stewart and Sam Menegola, along with their youth brigade of Lachie Fogarty, Jack Henry, Brandan Parfitt and Jordan Cunico.
