But I believe Hawthorn have really made up some ground on the Cats and can make a real game of it this weekend.
Both teams seem to have their best players playing close to their best football at the right time of the year, which is vital if a team is to achieve the ultimate success.
The Hawks will have to play to and dominate at their strengths if they're to upset the Cats.
Their zone will have to work very well. If that breaks down, then they could be in real trouble as I'm not sure that they've got a Plan B.
That's not a criticism. I'm saying that they've been so good and so effective at what they've done this year they haven't worried too much about what the opposition's done.
Their stoppages are going to have to be really constructive, while they'll also need to try to get it into their forward line quickly where Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Mark Williams can do some damage.
While Geelong is also fairly rigid in its 'play-on at all costs' game plan, I don't think the Cats necessarily have to dominate any one area to get across the line.
I believe they've got the ability to win a few more ways.
They could kick a big score, stop Hawthorn from kicking a big score, win the stoppages or possibly hurt Alastair Clarkson's side by rebounding from defence quickly.
Their ability to grind out a game was illustrated when they beat Hawthorn the last time the two sides played. That night they had a few players out and didn't play particularly well, but they were still able to win.
Geelong might have an edge with their grand final experience, but that edge could be nullified by how well Clarko handles the Hawks this week.
If you have a coach that's uptight, that could possibly rub off on the players.
I remember Rocket Eade being pretty relaxed in 1996 before we played North Melbourne, and while we didn't go on to win, we started off really well.
Through the week you've got to switch on during team meetings, train as well as you can, but then you've also got to enjoy getting out on the ground and lap up the atmosphere.
And then when the ball's bounced, you've got to focus on the job at hand.
The Hawks have also got to be cautious and not get sucked into thinking they've got to do anything spectacular to win, just because it's a grand final. Yes, the tempo will go up, but they've got a rock-solid game plan that is good enough to win.
And if they fall behind, they must stay true to it and believe in it, because it's that game plan that got them there.
Geelong, on the other hand, has been there before and that might help them.
I know in 2006, when we fell behind in the first half, the previous year's experience helped us. We had a lot of confidence that we could come back and we could still win.
While we didn't get there against West Coast the following year, we still had that belief and we were able to make a real contest of it. Had it been our first grand final, I'm not sure if that belief would have been there.
I know if the Hawks go on a tear in the first half this weekend then Geelong, with last year under its belt, will still believe they're in the contest at the main break.
If Hawthorn go in behind at half time, they'll just have to draw on their game style and the 22 weeks and two finals they've played, so it might be a little tougher for them.
I think it'll be pretty close for at least three quarters, but the Cats might just get home in the end.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL.
