THE RESOLVE of the Geelong players to push through a day full of adversity is testament to the side's character, coach Chris Scott says.
Trailing by 34 points in the second term and then 19 points at the final change, with three players injured and out for the game, the Cats dug deep to pull off a stunning two-point win.
Joel Selwood was knocked out in the opening minute, Tom Stewart suffered a facial fracture, Darcy Lang could hardly run, and the Cats were producing their worst football of the season against a young and buoyant Fremantle side on the verge of one of the upsets of the year.
Add to the fact Jordan Cunico (ankle) was a late withdrawal, and there were doubts over Zach Tuohy's fitness leading into the game, and Geelong could have been forgiven for thinking it was not its day.
"I think I would sum it up by saying it was a day where a lot of things went wrong for us," Scott said.
"We had some (issues) pre-game and then we had some in the first minute and they just kept on coming, so that in combination with the way we were playing, which clearly wasn't at our best, (was frustrating)
"And then at half-time and three-quarter time things didn't look good for us. We kept losing players and we had players out there that were sore and had to play through it."
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With things stacked against them, Scott praised his side for fighting back despite being severely undermanned.
"One thing you can't accuse our players of, right at the moment, is giving up. When things were going against us we just found a way to stay in the game," Scott said.
"We think it was a win full of merit, not in terms of skill execution, but in terms of will and mental application."
WATCH: Chris Scott's full post-match media conference
Cats defender Andrew Mackie acknowledged that he and his teammates were out on their feet at three-quarter time.
Geelong kicked the final three goals of the match, and had to wait nervously as Michael Walters' snap from 25m out directly in front sailed to the left as the game expired.
"It shows a lot of character," Mackie said.
"We learned a bit about a few players and to walk away with a win. Given where we were at half-time, it's a really significant victory for us.
"We won't have our head in the sand, because we've got a lot of work to, but as I stand here now I'm pretty proud of the boys' ability to come back and win the game."
