After jumping out to a 29-point lead mid-way through the second quarter against the Power, the Cats were reeled back in and went to the main break just 10 points clear.
It was a slender margin considering the Cats had the run of play and were enjoying the bulk of possession.
The reigning premiers, not pleased with what unfolded in the final minutes of the first half, quickly made amends when play resumed after the interval.
Their 11.7 to 1.0 for the term equalled their best third quarter and increased a 10-point margin to a whopping 77 at the long break.
The Cats would eventually won 23.21 (159) to 10.4 (64).
Thompson said he didn’t give his players a spray at the main change.
“They knew at half time that they’d probably not played their best footy the last 10 minutes of the second quarter,” Thompson said after the game.
“We just realigned ourselves and refocused on the things we wanted to focus on and [it was an] outstanding third quarter, wasn’t it?
“18 shots at goal, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
The Cats coach was rapt with the form of Steve Johnson (six goals), while he believed rotating Gary Ablett (37 possessions, three goals) and Paul Chapman (28 disposals, two goals) between the midfield and attack was working well.
Defender Josh Hunt and ruckman Mark Blake - who “needed to play well” - were others singled out for praise
“Everything worked today for us,” he said.
“We just put a bit of pressure on them (the players) during the week to play the sort of footy we wanted to play and … for the game to be played out the way we want it to be played and when that happens it enables people to play great footy.
“I’m not sure why it doesn’t happen all the time.”
Another player to shine in a team of contributors was defender Harry Taylor.
The coach agreed the left-footer had taken his game to another level in 2010.
On Sunday Taylor negated Power veteran Warren Tredrea while accumulating 30 possessions - 15 of which were contested.
“It’s only his third year and he’s a quality person … week by week he just gets the job done,” Thompson said.
“We’re very happy that he’s in a Geelong jumper and we really thought he played terrifically well on Tredrea today.”
