These are the seven 'ins' who lined up against Adelaide at Skilled Stadium on Sunday: Shannon Byrnes (had previously played 99 games), Tom Hawkins (69), Allen Christensen (six), Tom Gillies (six), Dawson Simpson (two), Steven Motlop (one) and Mitch Brown (debut).
And this was the final score in the Cats' clash with the Crows: Geelong 19.11 (125) defeated Adelaide 10.13 (73).
The Cats' 52-point victory (they led by 80 mid-way through the last quarter), in which youngsters Brown and Daniel Menzel led the way with three goals each, sums up where the two clubs are at.
A supreme level of confidence permeates Geelong's entire list, whereas the majority of players in the Crows' squad seem bereft of self-belief.
Keep in mind that the home side was also without star midfielder Joel Selwood (suspended) and veteran forward Cameron Mooney, who is returning from injury through the VFL.
If some of the players on the park were unfamiliar to the Geelong fans, the way the contest panned out was not.
With a stiff breeze at their backs, the Cats booted the first five goals, racing to a 32-point lead by the 16-minute mark of the opening quarter (at that stage the inside-50s were 16-2).
By 12 minutes into the second term, the scoreboard read 9.4 (58) to 1.2 (8) and Geelong's 27th consecutive win at Skilled Stadium - also its 13th straight victory in 2011 - was a done deal.
Eight points clear on top of the ladder, Geelong is cruising towards September. Adelaide, on the other hand, is in a place as dark as a Scandinavian winter.
Geelong: 7.3 9.6 14.10 19.11 (125)
Adelaide: 1.1 2.2 4.6 10.13 (73)
GOALS
Geelong: Menzel 3, Brown 3, Johnson 2, Varcoe 2, Christensen 2, Ling 2, Mackie, Wojcinski, Podsiadly, Duncan, Motlop
Adelaide: Reilly 2, Vince, Van Berlo, Gunston, Sloane, Douglas, Dangerfield, Callinan
BEST
Geelong: Enright, Varcoe, Ling, Taylor, Menzel Corey, Christensen, Mackie
Adelaide: Vince, S. Thompson, Callinan, Rutten, Sloane
INJURIES
Geelong: None
Adelaide: Henderson (concussion), Schmidt (hamstring)
SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Matthew Scarlett replaced by Shannon Byrnes at the 13-minute mark of the third quarter
Adelaide: Shaun McKernan replaced by Jack Gunston at half-time.
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Heath Ryan, Stuart Wenn, Shane McInerney
Official crowd: 23, 246 at Skilled Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
