Geelong's physical and psychological hold over Essendon has continued after midfield gems Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood guided the Cats to a season-opening 31-point win at the MCG on Friday night.
The Cats secured their fifth-straight win over the Bombers since 2005 with a nine-goal burst that straddled the third and final quarters to reinforce why the defending premiers will again be a force this season.
The Bombers threatened with two major bursts through the night, the second leading to a 23-point buffer eight minutes into the third term.
But from there the Cats took over as the likes of Selwood (23 possessions), Bartel (29) and Ling, who again shut down Jobe Watson (18) while collecting 29 touches of his own, were rampant.
Gary Ablett was able to shrug off the almost hysterical speculation about his playing future by amassing a game-high 37 possessions on Andrew Welsh, including two goals.
The Cats struggled for touch early on but eventually worked over their opponents with sheer muscle and class.
The Bombers would have been happy that ruckman David Hille emerged unscathed in his comeback from a knee reconstruction, but he now faces a nervous wait after being reported for charging Bartel from behind in a marking contest early in the last quarter.
The Bombers were led by Brent Stanton (33) and Brent Prismall (22) but lacked a match-winner when the game was in the balance.
Leading by 23 points, the Bombers lost momentum – and effectively the match - when big forward Jay Neagle, running into an open goal, was tackled from behind by Harry Taylor.
Not only was a five-goal lead squandered but Neagle was forced from the field with what appeared to be a knee injury.
He later returned to the field but the Bombers weren’t the same, allowing the Cats to kick the final three goals of the term to trail by just six points at three quarter-time.
The Cats clearly resolved to play “risk and reward” football in the final term, with players backing themselves to win the contested ball, run in numbers and dash forward of the ball when the opportunity arose.
That resulted in six straight majors, with Selwood sparking the burst 90 seconds into the term.
That was in contrast to the opening half when the Cats appeared slow and struggled to penetrate the Bombers’ zone defence and some canny coaching from Knights, who turned Watson’s struggles on Ling into a win when he sent Watson forward and watched as the skipper drilled his second goal.
Aaron Davey came to life for the Bombers with successive goals in the second term – the first a cute snap from in front, the second after smothering a Josh Hunt handball.
But just when the Bombers threatened to really kick on, the Cats – for the first time - lifted their physical intensity and almost bullied their way back into the contest by dominating possession 49-25.
The magic of Ablett and Stevie Johnson and the growing maturity of Tom Hawkins also helped.
The Cats slammed through the next five goals to reclaim the lead. One was a typically silky snap from Johnson in the pocket, another was an Ablett gem when, from just inside the boundary, he pierced the needle.
The Bombers were now on the ropes but were able to breathe a little easier at the main break after a fierce Neagle tackle on Paul Chapman resulted in a crucial goal.
GEELONG: 2.5, 8.7, 11.8, 19.11 (125)
ESSENDON:2.3, 7.9, 11.14, 13.16 (94)
GOALS: Geelong:Essendon: Watson 2, Davey 2, Zaharakis 2, Monfries 2, Riemers, Neagle, Fletcher, Stanton, Howlett
BEST: Geelong: Ling, Selwood, Chapman, Enright, Taylor, Ablett
Essendon: Stanton, Prismall, Zaharakis, Howlett
INJURIES: Geelong: Nil
Essendon: Nil
REPORTS: David Hille (Essendon) for charging Jimmy Bartel in the last quarter.
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: Vozzo, Farmer, Meredith
CROWD: 57,772 at the MCG