Reigning premiers Geelong sent an ominous warning to the rest of the competition with an 82-point demolition of Hawthorn in their Easter Monday blockbuster.

The Cats, who were out to avoid a 64-year low as the first premiers to start 0-4, piled on the pain in a second half “blitz” to blow Hawthorn away.

Despite trailing by nine points at the main break, Geelong kicked 10 goals to none in the third term before running away 19.13 (127) to 6.9 (45) winners.

“I think what we’ve seen today is going to scare a lot of teams moving forward,” commentator Luke Hodge said.

Cats star Jeremy Cameron had a day out with seven goals, after earlier keeping Geelong in the contest when the Hawks had all the run in the first half.

The only sour note for the Cats was the concussion to Jed Bews and the “dangerous tackle” applied by Gary Rohan that’s sure to draw Match Review scrutiny.

But it was a disappointing result for Hawthorn, who kicked just one goal after half time, with their 6.9 the club’s worst performance against Geelong since 1980.

QUARTER BY QUARTER MATCH REPORT

Hawthorn’s sole veteran left on their list Luke Breust got his side off to the perfect start within a minute.

After Will Day took the clearance, Breust drew the in-the-back free kick and slotted it off the left.

“Goal number 486 for that man, great start by the Hawks,” commentator Cameron Ling said.

And the Hawks had a second just a minute later in a brilliant fast start.

The Hawks simply kept the ball alive at half-forward, opting to run a chain of hand passes with composure.

“This will worry the Cats,” Brian Taylor said.

“They just kept their head and found a spare,” Luke Hodge added.

Jai Newcombe could have extended the Hawks’ advantage, but put it out on the full from just outside 50.

It mattered little as Breust kicked a second and all of a sudden it was Geelong without any answers.

And the match just got worse when Cat Mark Blicavs was assisted from the field after a brutal ruck collision with Hawk Lloyd Meek.

Meek’s knee slammed into Blicavs’ ribs in a sickening blow that left the big Cat down on his haunches for a number of minutes.

“Geelong weren’t too happy when that happened to (ruckman Rhys) Stanley in the ruck a couple of weeks ago,” Hodge said.

“If you’re jumping up to protect yourself (it’s OK) … but that was just a clear knee up.”

“Blicavs can hardly stand up straight – it was a very clear knee to the ribs,” commentator Abbey Holmes added.

But the luck started to turn Geelong’s way first when Tyler Brockman ran into an open goal and missed from 15m out and Fergus Greene’s mark inside 50 was overturned for an off-the-ball free kick.

Blicavs was able to return to the contest and Jeremy Cameron snapped the first in a positive couple of minutes for the Cats.

Cameron then added a second to keep his side in the contest.

Youngster Cam McKenzie got too close to the man on the mark and blew another opportunity for the Hawks as his set shot was partially smothered.

More Cameron brilliance ensured it was Geelong trailing by just a point at the first change 21-20 when he set Max Holmes up 15m out, directly in front.

“Geelong looked really shaky the first 15-20 minutes of that quarter,” Fox Footy’s Leigh Montagna explained.

“Thank God for Jezza. If it wasn’t for Jeremy Cameron, you just wonder if the margin would be as close as it is.

“The first 20 minutes, it looked like it should have been a bigger margin.

“The Hawks probably should have had a few more on the board.”

Hawthorn started the second quarter like the first with two quick goals to open up a 13-point lead but once again it was Cameron proving the Hawks’ biggest headache.

Cameron closed his side to within seven-points as he kicked his third midway through the second term.

“He’s just a class player,” Taylor praised.

Max Holmes coughed up a silly free kick to Changkuoth Jiath when he knocked him over across the boundary line.

Tempers then threatened to spill over when Gary Rohan was penalised for a dangerous tackle on Jiath.

Play was then stopped after a shocking head clash between Hawk Conor Nash and Cat Jed Bews.

“That is horrible to see!” Taylor said.

“Both players coming straight from the ground. Nash with the blood streaming down,” Holmes added.

“That was a clear head knock and both of those players will be assessed.”

The scoring dried up for both sides when play recommenced as the rain began to fall.

Bews was cleared to return to the contest in good signs for Geelong with just three and a half minutes remaining in the half.

By the main break it was Hawthorn leading 36-27.

The third quarter was just a complete domination by Geelong as their “flexed their muscle” to pile on a 10-goal term.

The only downside for the Cats was confirmation Bews was subbed out of the contest with concussion – despite returning six minutes after that nasty head clash.

But the third term was the best we’ve seen from Geelong since their grand final win as they dominance clearance, inside 50s and territory to completely demolish the Hawks in just 30 minutes.

Tom Hawkins closed Geelong to within two points before Ollie Henry, freshly subbed on for Bews, thought he’d put the Cats in front when he pounced on some brilliant Tyson Stengle pressure that saw the Hawks cough up the footy in the goalsquare.

But the score review determined there was insufficient evidence to overturn the umpire’s call of a behind for the ball hitting the post.

It mattered little as Hawkins got the better of Sam Frost and won the free kick, with Cameron getting the advantage to kick his fourth goal.

Henry then got his first with a contested mark 20m out directly in front.

“You just knew this was going to come,” Hodge said.

“Geelong in the last part of that second quarter were just able to hold them at bay.

“They are too experienced a side to not have a charge at some stage.”

The Cats had 12-0 inside 50 count within the opening 10 minutes of the quarter in a show of their dominance.

Brad Close got his first for the day as it was simply “pouring out of the middle” when Hawkins kicked another – making it six straight goals for the Cats.

And the pain didn’t stop there for Hawthorn.

“They are officially away,” commentator James Brayshaw said.

“Everything falling the way of the Cats.

“Floodgates really starting to open up.”

When Tyson Stengle intercepted in the middle of the ground, he was the player to get on the end of it and slot Geelong’s sixth goal for the quarter.

In a sign the Cats’ early season worries were officially over, skipper Patrick Dangerfield chased down Newcombe and wrapped him up in a ball and all tackle.

And it was Cameron once again cashing in as he kicked his fifth goal to open up a 37-point lead – and put himself equal at the top of the Coleman Medal tally.

“For a team that’s been struggling, he’s been just superb,” Ling praised.

Brayshaw described it as an “unbelievable blitz” from the Cats as they piled on a 10-goal term.

“It is an avalanche,” Taylor said.

The fourth quarter was just a formality as the Cats had locked in the four points.

In a worrying sign for Hawks coach Sam Mitchell, Hawthorn coughed up their second 13-goal run in just four games – after the Rd 2 blitz from the Swans.

It was 70 minutes between goals for Hawthorn when Breust added his third but there was little to celebrate for the Hawks on a dark day.

Hawkins gave a gift goal to Stengle before Cameron added a sixth goal for the day.

His seventh came very late in the contest, but ended with a shocking collision with a boundary umpire mid-celebration.

Cameron headed to the bench to sit out the dying seconds as the Geelong chant rang out at the MCG.

THE 3-2-1 …

3. ‘SCARY’ RECORD-BREAKING BLITZ THAT MIGHT’VE SAVED – AND LAUNCHED – CATS’ SEASON

Blast-off.

Geelong’s 2023 campaign has finally launched.

It took three losses and a horror, alarming first half against Hawthorn, but the Cats’ premiership defence seemingly got back on track during a breathtaking third-quarter blitz that might’ve just saved their season.

Statisticians were reaching for the record books at halftime on Easter Monday, with the Cats in disarray and staring down the barrel of a 0-4 start. If that’d come to fruition, they would’ve been the first reigning premier since Collingwood in 1959 to begin a season with that win-loss record.

“They’re getting smashed everywhere across the ground – and that’s been the case for a month now – so what is this version of Geelong? They look confused, they look tentative, they’re failing the toughness test,” dual premiership Kangaroo David King told Fox Footy at halftime.

Cue a record-breaking Cats blitz, with Chris Scott’s men slamming on 10.5 to 0.0 in a thunderous reminder of why many believed they could go back-to-back this season.

The 65-point quarter was not only the biggest by any team so far this season, but also the equal-12th biggest third quarter win in VFL-AFL history, per colleague Max Laughton.

The third quarter numbers were astounding: +57 disposals, +16 marks, +23 contested possessions and +10 clearances. The Cats had 22 inside 50s to helpless Hawthorn‘s 1 in the third term alone – and they scored from 15 of those 22 entries.

Their recruits stood up. Jack Bowes had nine disposals for the quarter, while Ollie Henry – who was subbed into the game for the concussed Jed Bews – made an immediate impact with 2.2. Tom Hawkins and Brad Close added two goals each, while Cameron Guthrie came alive with three clearances for the quarter.

But the captain was truly inspirational.

After three weeks of subpar performances in his new role vacated by Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield produced a colossal third term, putting his team on his back with eight disposals, four contested possessions, three tackles and two clearances, while going at 100 per cent by foot.

“He plays with an anger that says ‘follow me’. I think this is absolute leadership here,” King told Fox Footy at three quarter-time.

“I don’t know if the Cats have awoken from their slumber, but it’s great to see.”

The powerless Hawks simply had no answers.

A game that initially looked like 17th against 18th on the ladder quickly turned into the wooden spoon favourites against the reigning premier.

“This is a scary sight for teams about to play Geelong,” four-time premiership Hawk Luke Hodge told Channel 7.

2. PAY CATS’ $4.5M MAN MORE

It’s not farfetched to suggest Jeremy Cameron’s value has increased so dramatically that he’s now worth more than the three first-round picks Geelong sacrificed to acquire him from the Giants two-and-a-half years ago.

For if it wasn’t for Cameron during the first half on Easter Monday, the Cats probably would’ve trailed by a lot more than nine points. And if it wasn’t for Cameron across the first three rounds of the season, the Cats would’ve lost their three games by a lot more.

At times during Geelong’s horror first-half display it genuinely looked like it was Hawthorn against Jeremy Cameron, such was the lone-hand he was seemingly playing for Geelong. It wasn’t the first time a Geelong No. 5 had kept his side in the game against Hawthorn at the MCG, either.

At halftime, Cameron had kicked three of Geelong’s four goals – while he directly set up the other goal to Max Holmes – in a fascinating duel with Hawks skipper James Sicily.

“Thank God for Jezza, for if it wasn’t for Jeremy Cameron, you just wonder the margin wouldn’t be as close as it is,” dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna told Fox Footy.

Triple Coleman Medallist Jason Dunstall added: “He is the one shining classy player out on the ground that stands out. If he wasn’t there, this would be an abominable performance in the first half from the Cats.”

King was a touch blunter, declaring: “If Cameron wasn’t there, they wouldn’t have scored.”

Luckily for Cameron, he had some helpers in the second half on Monday as Henry, Close, Hawkins, Gary Rohan and Tyson Stengle found the goals as they benefited from the team’s dominance around the ball.

But Cameron kept on presenting and delivering, finishing with 7.1 from 22 disposals, nine marks and five inside 50s.

He was so pumped with his seventh and final goal that while celebrating, he accidentally collided with a boundary umpire in comical scenes.

Sicily was awarded the nine AFLCA MVP votes in the corresponding Easter Monday game last year for his game on Cameron. But on Monday, Cameron not only walked away surely with 10 coaches’ votes, but also the mantle of the best player in the AFL.

1. HAWKS CAN’T CAPITALISE ON FAST, FIERY START

Same match-up, same occasion, same fast Hawthorn start, different year.

And, in the end, different result.

It was a case of early Easter Monday déjà vu for Geelong, who conceded the first three goals of the game to Hawthorn within the opening nine minutes. Twelve months ago, Sam Mitchell’s side slammed on the first three goals of the match within the opening six minutes.

The Hawks had the first six inside 50s, as well as four of the first five clearances, of the game.

And like they were across the first three rounds, the Cats were exposed at the coalface; well down in contested possessions and clearances at quarter-time.

“The Hawks’ start was very impressive and Geelong looked really shaky in the first 10 to 15 minutes of the quarter. They just couldn’t get their hands on the footy,” dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna told Fox Footy.

“The clearances gave Hawthorn more field position too.

“Certainly in the first 20 minutes, it looked like it should’ve been a bigger margin. The Hawks probably should’ve had a few more (goals) on the board.”

The Hawks continued to pile on the pressure in the second quarter, dominating the bigger Cats’ bodies at clearance.

Montagna said the Hawks were playing with great energy and effort and intensity around the ball. However the fact they could only muster 2.3 from 13 inside 50s and lead by nine points at the major break always spelled danger.

“The Cats are hanging on by a thread, really. They have been dominated by the Hawks in this first half,” Montagna said.

“The Hawks’ workrate is standing out. They’re outnumbering Geelong at every contest.

“I love what Hawthorn are doing, but they’re just not quite good enough to absolutely blow them away.”

Dunstall added: “That’s what Geelong have got going for them. Hawthorn just lacks a little bit of polish at the moment.”

Ultimately, that lack of polish proved costly as the Cats clicked into a scary top gear and blew Sam Mitchell’s side away in a blistering second half.

Despite the final score, Will Day was a star for the Hawks, finishing with 22 disposals, 14 contested possessions, eight tackles and six clearances. He was a huge reason behind his club’s fast start.