Sunday's match between St Kilda and Geelong was exactly that.
It was an incredible exhibition of footy and that was due to the pressure that the Saints and the Cats were able to put on the opposition when they didn't have the ball in their hands.
The game was won in the first 10 minutes when St Kilda kicked the first four goals and forced Geelong into making uncharacteristic skills errors. Even though the Cats got back on even terms and could have won it, that opening period when the heat was on and the energy levels were high belonged to the Saints.
St Kilda was determined to get numbers into the centre square so that if the Cats were to attack they had to go wide.
They forced Geelong into turnovers that we don't normally see them making, which was all about their pressure on the ball carrier.
All of the stats say that St Kilda is very good at keeping opposition scoring to a minimum, but I think the Cats were equally as good at pressuring the opposition player with the ball, which meant there was no such thing as a cheap stat.
Geelong always handballs a lot, but so many of those possessions were executed under enormous pressure because the tackling of the Saints was extremely good, which it needed to be.
The Cats' pressure in return was almost at the same level, which meant that both defensive units were often in control. Many of the goals kicked on the day were from outside 50, which meant that to actually score, something special had to happen.
The hardness around the ball was just awesome, with Joel Selwood's game a perfect example of that. The way he hunts the footy, just forcing himself to it at a contest, and the way he is able to shrug off a tackler is just unbelievable.
His play in that regard was a highlight, but what made this game special was that everyone on the ground was doing that.
Going into the match the thought was: 'Can the Saints do to Geelong what they had been doing to everyone else?' The answer after the game is 'yes', but the Cats can look forward to regaining Steve Johnson and Brad Ottens, who are two of their best half a dozen players.
We know what Geelong is capable of doing because it has been doing it for three years, but I think what this match said to us was that St Kilda is also able to play at that level against high-quality opposition.
Sunday was just an incredible day at the footy and the Saints were worthy winners, but I think next time these two teams meet it will be anyone's game.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
