THERE was a time, not all that long ago, that an interstate game for Geelong was basically a waste of time, money and effort. Not any more.

Where Geelong used to win on the road as often as Paul Chapman uses a comb, going a lamentable 4-22 between 2002 and 2006, now the Cats are a dominant force when they strap in for take-off and fly to games anywhere around the country.

Since 2007, Geelong is an impressive 19-4 in interstate contests, underlining the Cats as a formidable opponent during that span and as a team that not longer has a phobia about playing away from Victoria.

“We’re confident that we can play anywhere,” Geelong veteran Paul Chapman said. “Probably about six years ago we were one of the more poor travelling teams, but we’ve become such a quality team that you believe so much in your game plan that it doesn’t matter where you play.

“As long as you play to the best of your ability you should be fine and that’s something we’ve spent the past four years or so doing. They’re playing on their home ground, they’ve got the crowd and they know the ground better than us so they’ve probably got a little advantage, but in terms of us being daunted, I don’t think so.”

So the task directly in front of Geelong for the next two games should not pose anything out of the ordinary, except for the travel schedule and extra time in the mid-winter sun.

The Cats play West Coast at Patersons Stadium on Friday night and then fly directly to Queensland for a two-day break and preparations on the Gold Coast before the game against Brisbane on Sunday week.

The elongated road trip means there is no return trip for the Cats between games, which can only be a good thing to reduce travel time and fatigue and put them in the best position to conquer the back-to-back away games.

“It’s something new,” Chapman said. “In 12 years I haven’t done anything like that. It’s going to be good for the boys. We go to the Gold Coast for a couple of days and have a couple of easier days and then get to Brisbane and start our normal week. It will be different, but it will be good for us to have something of a break, I guess you could call it.”

If there is such a thing as an in-season refresher, this could be it for the Cats and the timing could hardly be better as they come off the loss to Essendon that ended Geelong’s 13-game winning streak.

Everyone in Camp Cats has admitted they were outplayed by a more desperate Essendon line-up in the four-point loss, so there is a steely determination ahead of this road double.

Indeed, the acute focus will not be straying towards Queensland until the job is done in Perth against a West Coast team that has put together a 9-4 record and is sitting unobtrusively in fifth place on the ladder.

“They’re in ripping form and it’s going to be a good test for us, especially over there,” Chapman said. “They’ve been really good over there and especially the last four or five weeks they’ve been desperate and really hard at the footy. They put their bodies on the line and do whatever it takes to win and we’re exactly the same despite the hiccup on the weekend. It’s got the ingredients of a good game, I think.

“A lot of people thought they’d be up and down and they’ve been great. They got over Carlton a couple of weeks ago and they need to be respected and we will fully respect them. It will be a hard game and the boys will be up for it.

“We’re just solely focused on West Coast and they’re in some great form so they’re a dangerous team and we’ll just be concentrating on them. The coaches might have had a bit of a look at Brisbane, but I wouldn’t dare take West Coast lightly by starting to look at Brisbane now.”

Quite clearly, the Cats are on a mission to continue their interstate dominance.