Geelong's resounding 38-point win over Brisbane should've been more.
The Cats rightfully claimed the premiership favourites mantle after dismantling the reigning premiers, leapfrogging Collingwood and minor premiers Adelaide as the flag fancies.
There is no surprise that Chris Scott is lauded as one of the modern coaching greats, but Friday's performance has been hailed as an absolute masterclass.
Scott is a tactical genius and is usually playing chess when the rest of the competition is playing checkers.
His impressive reign as Geelong coach has yielded 13 finals series in 15 seasons. Within that, there are seven top-two finishes and a pair of flags.
But the effort against the Lions was arguably his best during his tenure.
Oisin Mullin was deployed against Hugh McCluggage. Mark O'Connor was sent to Cam Rayner. The tall trio of Mark Blicavs, Shannon Neale, and Sam De Koning were all given ruck duties throughout various stages of the game.
Max Holmes and Bailey Smith would switch from the wing to the midfield. The two Jacks (Bowes and Martin) would flip from half forward to half back.
Oliver Dempsey did as he pleased, teaching 2025 Rising Star favourite Levi Ashcroft a lesson on how to play on the wide spaces of the MCG.
Let's dissect.
First up, Mullin, a former Gaelic superstar whom Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield believes is the equivalent of Nick Daicos in the Irish sport.
The 25-year-old was sent to Brisbane's firestarter McCluggage, and after a maiden All-Australian blazer following four inclusions in the squad but no nod, it was no shock Scott put time into the star Lion.
The Brisbane on-baller was limited to 14 disposals, his lowest tally since Round 1, 2023, against Port Adelaide. However, 10 of those were handballs.
Mullin himself had seven possessions and one goal in the first term, and was swarmed by teammates as they knew what it meant.
Now, let's turn to O'Connor, another Irishman who has been Scott's "Mr. Fix-It" among a team of stars. He was tasked with curbing Rayner's influence, which was firmly in the minds of Cats fans from last year's preliminary final.
The former Pick 1 did kick three goals, but ask any football fan who watched the game, and two of those were gifts from the umpires. He narrowly avoided a staging fine.
But Rayner was largely placed inside the goal square and rarely left, as he lacked impact further up the field. As a result, he recorded 7.6 player rating points, according to WheeloRatings. He was expected to hit 10.9.
In the ruck battle, Geelong lost Rhys Stanley to a hamstring concern and, like they have done many times, shuffled the board around.
Darcy Fort, albeit in strong form, wasn't deemed too much of a worry, despite getting his hand to 52 stoppages from 99.
Blicavs, De Koning and Neale combined for 39 hit-outs, and the former added six clearances as well.
Fort spent 89 per cent on the ground and was outworked by the Cats trio, who even spent time in other positions on the ground.
And those points were just the tip of the iceberg.
Scott's ability to add controlled chaos must be praised.
The constant switching between Holmes and Smith, getting the explosive midfielders to the wing, proved too strong for every punch Brisbane threw.
The versatility of Bowes and Martin was invaluable, despite combining for 28 disposals and two goals.
Jack Henry's 13-touch game was as influential as you could possibly get, falling second in intercept possessions (nine) to Tom Stewart (11), which played right into Geelong's hands.
The Cats clogged up the corridor to force Brisbane down the line, but also prevented their intoxicating kick-mark game that won them the premiership last year.
It's no wonder the Cats are into another preliminary final.
