Matthew Scarlett will write exclusively for geelongfc.com.au regularly throughout the 2008 AFL season. This, his first column, was penned in the aftermath of Geelong's victory in the Grand Final re-match against Port Adelaide in round one.

IT WAS a great start by the boys.

It was always going to be difficult having to head interstate and play our first game against Port Adelaide.

They were always going to be fired up after last year’s Grand Final, so to go over there and beat them again was a very good win in the circumstances.

Bomber and the coaching staff were pretty happy with how we played, despite our second half not being as good as our first.

We got off to a good start to the game but just got a bit tired towards the end there, but still, it was a great way to kick off the year.

I think we probably went in with a few blokes a little bit underdone. I haven’t played a lot of footy, while Gazza’s (Gary Ablett's) preparation wasn’t as solid as it could have been either.

But it definitely wasn’t a fitness issue. We’ve had a really hard summer and we’re well prepared again for another good season.

It was just a matter of having a few guys underdone and we couldn’t really run out the game as well as we would have liked, which is to be expected when a couple of guys have had shorter preparations.

Port is such a skilful side. They’ve got a good forward line and a super-quick midfield, so I think they’ll definitely challenge strongly for the top four again.

It’s hard to know how much you can take out of the first few rounds though. It’ll probably take about a month before things settle down and you get a bit of a gauge on who’s going to be up near the top and who’s going to be lower.

I think Port will definitely finish near the top of the ladder again.

I’m not really expecting there to be any major movers, although St Kilda might be a bit of an improver. I think most of the sides that performed well last year will be around the mark again.

I think Port Adelaide will be strong, Hawthorn will be up there this year and Collingwood are always competitive.

Most people are expecting us to go all the way again, which is certainly a bit different to 12 months ago. And it’s fair to say there is a different feeling around the club than at the same time last year.

The monkey is off the back but, still, our own expectations are just so high. While there’s talk of outside pressures, we don’t worry about that. We’ve got massive expectations on ourselves for this year.

The confidence in the group is just enormous. There’s just a different mentality at the club now. We just expect to win every week.

But while we now know what it takes to win a flag, that hasn’t changed how we approach any game. This week, we’re only focussed on the first quarter against Essendon.

I watched the Bombers at home on TV and they looked very good, very quick. They’re going to be a handful.

Scotty Lucas not being out there for the Bombers might result in a few less headaches for our backline. Although having said that, Essendon still kicked 19 goals and looked pretty dangerous going forward.

You never like seeing an opposition player injured, and you love to play against the best each and every week. Scotty, a former Geelong Falcon like me, is a great player and his loss is unfortunate for the Bombers as he’s done some damage against us in the past.

Still, they’ve got Matty Lloyd and a fair few others capable of kicking goals.

I’m sure it’s going to be a fantastic game.