He might be alone, but Sam Mitchell understands Geelong coach Chris Scott's 'Mission Accomplished' declaration from the their last meeting with Hawthorn.
The Hawks and Cats open the AFL finals series on Friday night with another mouth-watering MCG contest, just a fortnight from their last meeting.
Despite winding up 23-point losers on the night, Scott was happy to claim the high ground, saying it was a step forward in his side's September preparation.
Whether Scott's mutterings end up as proof of his genius or not, Mitchell said the strange sentiment made sense.
"I understand exactly why he said that because they did murder us in the first half," Mitchell said.
"They really had our number early in the game.
"A few things changed after halftime and we probably played a little bit better.
"I'm sure both teams looked closely at that game, learned a lot about how we can combat each other."
The Mission Accomplished match was another chapter in the great rivalry between the two sides, rebooted by Hawthorn's 2008 premiership win.
Geelong's long winning streak over the Hawks was branded a "black mark" by Mitchell, and the four-time club champion clearly relishes playing the Cats.
Mitchell is also eager to get stuck into another September campaign.
"Finals footy, they're mostly arm-wrestles," he said.
"We're going to be ready for a high-scoring game, which is probably unlikely, or the arm-wrestle with 10 goals versus 12 goals.
"We're ready. We've got the experience to handle any type of contest when finals come."
Hawthorn overcame another slow start against Collingwood on Friday night before easing to a 65-point win, with Mitchell saying the issue was not a great concern.
"We've had a little bit of a chat about it, not being able to get the game on our terms early," he said.
"We work pretty hard and run hard, and sometimes it's due to the workrate that you can break the opposition down over time.
"So it can be hard to do it early."
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