The murmurs had been around all summer: Geelong would lack the appetite for another season-long scrap in 2010. They'd become self-satisfied after their two premierships in three years and complacency was setting in. Milburn, Scarlett and the like were a year older, and then there was the distraction of all the Gary Ablett-to-Gold Coast talk.

In no time, the Cats were on the nose. Only three of the 16 AFL premiership captains polled before the season thought the premiers would make the grand final; one captain - I wonder if we'll ever find out who it was - had the temerity to suggest the Cats would miss the finals altogether.

And there were signs in tonight's match against Essendon at the MCG, when they fell three goals behind in the second quarter and then four goals adrift midway through the third, that they had lost their edge; that their lustre had dimmed somehow.

Gary Ablett gave away a stupid 50-metre early which gifted Jobe Watson a goal and then his left-foot pass to a teammate sailed out of bounds on the full. Shannon Byrnes missed three sitters and Joel Selwood was easily outmarked by David Zaharakis in front of the Essendon goal.

But then something clicked. Maybe it was Harry Taylor's tackle midway through that third quarter, when things were threatening to spin out of control, that sparked something within the team. Bombers' forward Jay Neagle marked on the lead with his side leading by 23 points and instead of taking the set shot from 45 metres directly in front, he played on and was tackled and dispossessed (and injured) by Taylor - (in an incident pictured above.)

While Neagle was being treated by trainers, the Cats whizzed the ball down the other end where James Kelly goalled. A possible 29-point deficit had become a more manageable 17, and that was the kick in the pants the premiers needed.

They kicked nine unanswered goals from that moment until the 17-minute mark of the fourth - against the Bombers' solitary point - to put the contest beyond doubt. And maybe put the obituaries on hold for a couple more weeks.

Essendon's endeavour couldn't be faulted. The Bombers had ''come to play'', in the tiresome vernacular, but that wasn't enough. In the end, they were steamrolled by one of the great sides of the modern era.

Geelong's list of contributors had a familiar look about it. In fact, Best Players at Kardinia Park might easily be renamed Usual Suspects. Cameron Ling shut down Jobe Watson, Matthew Scarlett kept Mark Williams goalless, Ablett bobbed up with 13 kicks and 24 handballs after his slow start and .... you get the picture.

So mark down another win for the Cats, and a poke in the eye for the pundits silly enough to decry their claims to another flag.