The AFL website went into corporate spin overdrive on Friday afternoon, trumpeting that the wait for the Geelong-St Kilda grand final re-match had been worth it.

Twelve rounds into the season, the Cats and the Saints were sitting one and two on the ladder. Not playing as well as last season, but seemingly head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.

Was it worth the wait? Probably not. It was an interesting game, but no classic. The conditions were remarkably similar to the flag decider last year, but a game in the first month or so of the season would have seen both teams in better shape and given the likelihood of finer weather, a better spectacle.

Still, there was much to commend the Saints on that performance. It was always going to be a dirty night for tall forwards, so the smaller types had to take every opportunity and they did. Nine of St Kilda's 10 goals came from small forwards - Stephen Milne, Adam Schneider and the bloke whose name reminds you of a 90s Aussie rock star, Jack Steven.

Playing just his fourth AFL game, the boy from Lorne kicked three third-quarter goals as the Saints took control of the game. Trailing by 14 points at the long change, the Saints kicked five unanswered goals in the third term to take control of the match.

It was Schneider who kept them in touch early, and Steven who swung the game their way when it mattered late.

The Cats were kept scoreless in the third term and goalless for the entire second half, and were left to rue a series misses late in the second term, when they were dominating all over the ground. A 16-point lead at half-time could, and probably should, have been five goals which in the conditions would have been enough for the win.

The Channel Seven boys were all over these two sides being the best in the competition in the post-game show and when you consider who needs to return for each side - Nick Riewoldt, Jason Gram and Zac Dawson for the Saints and Paul Chapman, Joel Corey, James Kelly, Max Rooke, Brad Ottens and Tom Hawkins for the Cats - it would appear that Geelong and St Kilda are on track for a second straight grand final match-up.

It is hard to mount a counter argument and the body language from the Cats post-match seemed to suggest the same. It was a case of 'you won this battle, but we'll decide the war in September'.

That being the case, bring it on.