Now the money is coming for Geelong in a torrent. Unloved and friendless six weeks ago, as they struggled with injuries and a minor crisis of confidence, the Cats have now been reeled into $1.62 with TAB Sportsbet to beat St Kilda in Saturday's Grand Final.

The agency reported a flood of bets - big and small - for the 2007 premiers since last weekend. The Saints have eased, as a consequence, from $2.10 to $2.25. The same Saints who won 19 matches in a row at the start of the year and looked virtually impregnable.

Those numbers may not mean much to non-punters but they reflect a general feeling in the AFL community that everything is moving in the right direction for Geelong. The biorhythms are right, the planets are in alignment, and the force is with them. To confirm the shift in momentum, and the promising omens, Little Gazza last night took out the Brownlow Medal, winning the count in a canter.

But after the Cats' round-19 loss to Carlton, the picture was far less rosy at Kardinia Park. It was their third defeat in six rounds and, frankly, they were on the nose - like a tin of sardines left out in the sun. Many people, including one or two at The Toy Department, thought skipper Tom Harley had just about had it, Brad Ottens was no chance to be fit in time for the finals and Steve Johnson was also a questionable September proposition. The forward line at this time had all the potency and aggression of an arthritic poodle.

At TAB Sportsbet in late August, Collingwood was equal flag favourite with the Saints to win it at $3.30, with Geelong on the third line of betting. At the time, the agency's spokeman Gary Davies said Geelong was unwanted by his clients in the flag market thanks to its run of injuries, and poor form.

What does Mr Davies have to say now, four days out from the Grand Final? "I can't recall a bigger, more one-sided move for a team so early in Grand Final week," he said. "It hasn't been big punters, just weight of money. The general punting public thinks the Cats are over the line."

Over the line? Now them's fighting words.

And the sort of brash talk that Geelong supporters will cringe at. For it was only 12 months ago, as if they needed any reminding, that they were victims of a daylight mugging from Hawthorn on the big day. So no-one at Catland will be getting ahead of themselves this time.

But, with Harley, Ottens and Johnson all back in harness, a devastating semi-final performance under their belts and Ablett now confirmed as the game's finest player, they will be harbouring a sneaking optimism that 2009 might provide them with the vindication that this indeed is one of the best outfits to have ever graced an AFL arena.