There have been plenty of other sides over the years who have started their season with eight straight wins. We're not that sure there have been many luckier.

Geelong is a very good side. Let's make that perfectly clear at the outset and to ward off those who would reckon we have it in for the Cats.

But it can't be denied that the Cats have ridden their luck pretty hard so far in 2011. In round one, an inexplicably poor option from St Kilda's Jason Blake to switch the play into the corridor with only a few seconds to go, led to a turnover and a Darren Milburn goal almost on the final siren. Cats by a point.

The next week at Subiaco, Freo's Michael Walters fumbles the ball on the goal line, costing his team the go-ahead goal. The Cats by a couple of goals.

Last week, Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury is denied the go ahead goal with two and a half minutes to go after an admittedly-wrong decision by the umpire not to pay advantage. Cats hold on to win by three points.

Then Friday night at Etihad. With his team trailing by three points, Carlton big man Robbie Warnock misses a set shot from 15 points and the Cats hold on again. This time, by two points.

That's four lives already for Geelong in 2011. The Cats could conceivably be 4-4 but instead, they're 8-0. And Chris Scott continues to count his incredible luck at getting the Geelong coaching job when he did.

At the same time, he and many others among the Geelong fraternity would be hoping that the Cats haven't used all their good fortune for the season inside the first two months of the season.

Given the events of the week, a narrow Geelong win to honour the late, great Bob Davis was the fitting result. Bob was a great entertainer and this game lived up to that billing. You can just imagine Davis breaking into a great big smile as the Cats walked away with the points once more.

The Blues will be shattered. So many Blues played well and for once Chris Judd - despite a brilliant left-foot snap in the final quarter - wasn't front and centre - as the Blues rattled home.

They won the key stats - contested possessions, clearances and inside 50s - but couldn't get the points. It could come back to haunt them, because they would appear to be in it right up to their necks - with traditional rivals Essendon and Hawthorn, and perhaps Sydney as well - in the battle to join the Cats and Collingwood in the top four at the end of the season. A top four, by the way, that if it stayed the way it is, would have the MCG packed to capacity for the penultimate weekend of the season and leave the AFL salivating.

The stated goal at Carlton at the start of the year was to at least go better than the last two years - by winning at least one final. You would have to think the Blues are well on track to do that.