Geelong showed early in the game that they have lost none of there zing from last season. Totally dominating the Port midfield and solid in defense, it looked at one stage like we might be seeing another shilacking. To the Powers credit they rallied hard and applied ferocious pressure on the Cats in the second half. The game evolved into a typical dour 'Boo Park' struggle, with the Power gradually reducing the deficit, to get within a real sniff of victory late in the game. The Cats piled too many numbers in the Port defense to allow this and managed to hang on and win by 9 points. It's hard to guage fitness levels at this early stage and I suspect Geelong ran out of condition not long after half time. Port have lost none of their last season form and look like they will again be a real contender in 2008. As for the Cats, they are still the team to beat in 2008 and as match conditioning increases are going to pose an insurmountable challenge for all other teams. I don't envisage many teams knocking the Power off at home this season either, which will ensure they are well entrenched in the eight at season end.