GEELONG coach Chris Scott has paid tribute to the “fight and strength of character” of his players after the Cats defeated reigning premiers Collingwood by three points in a thrilling, intense match at the MCG on Friday night.

After eight rounds of the 2011 season, the win places Geelong at the top of the ladder, and the Cats are now the only side yet to taste defeat (7-0). Still, Scott expects improvement from his players, saying they are yet to put in the perfect performance.

“We didn’t get it right for the whole game,” Scott said after the match.

“Our ambition, our aspiration, is to get it right for 100 per cent of the game.”

The Cats dominated the opening term against the Pies, but couldn’t convert in front of goal. They kicked eight behinds before Matthew Stokes booted their opening goal of the night, and had 11 scoring shots to two in the first quarter. Despite their early dominance, Geelong allowed Collingwood to control the middle patches of the game.

Scott said he neither panicked nor criticised his players for their poor execution, describing the inaccuracy as “glass half-full”.

“We were getting the shots, the game was being played up in our forward half, we thought we were dominating the game and quality players tend to turn around those skill errors very quickly,” he said.

“I am not sure we turned it around completely - we need to make sure we turn it around during the week - but the pleasing thing is we were getting the shots and we were playing the way that we want to play, expect for the goal kicking.”

The rookie coach praised his team’s tenacity after the Cats fought back from a 17-point deficit late in the third term and prevailed in the final quarter arm-wrestle.

“They are just really tough, they follow instructions to the letter,” Scott said of his players.

“We thought we almost needed to pull a few things back at quarter-time because you ask them to do something and they just do it.”

The coach also paid tribute to Joel Selwood, who starred with 28 disposals and amassed 16 contested possessions in his 100th game. Scott admits he continues to marvel at the midfield champion.

“You see it so often you tend to be less and less amazed and you just expect it,” he said of Selwood.

“What he gives on the field is huge for Geelong, but the way he is around the club and the way that he demands that type of play from his teammates is almost as valuable.”

Scott admitted after the match that he had erred in hastily substituting Cameron Ling out of the game in the third quarter after the Cats’ skipper suffered a shoulder injury in a tackle by Collingwood’s Travis Cloke.

Ling left the field nursing his right shoulder in his jumper, but re-appeared on the bench just eight minutes later seemingly bemused that he had been substituted for Allen Christensen.

Scott admitted to making a “coaching error” by substituting Ling so quickly.

“I put my hand up there, but it helps him out next week,” Scott said.

“He has got a sore shoulder. We think it’s fine (and) it’s not as bad as it looked, but we need to wait a couple of days to get an assessment.”