Hawthorn will have to face Geelong after Port Adelaide's fadeout at the MCG

TO borrow a line from their theme song Hawthorn was one very happy team at half-time of the second semi-final.

2nd Semi-Final Geelong v Port Adelaide

TO borrow a line from their theme song Hawthorn was one very happy team at half-time of the second semi-final.

Their nemesis was on the ropes after copping some heavy blows from a young upstart team who seemed intent on causing consecutive boilovers.

Geelong was unrecognisable in the first half against Port Adelaide.

At homes spread throughout Melbourne, Hawthorn players would have been on their couches unable to hide their smiles.

The Cats have owned the Hawks for the past five seasons so if they could avoid having to deal with the Kennett curse in seven days’ time then it would be massive.

Geelong was 23 points down as they moved into position at the start of the third quarter.

2nd Semi-Final Geelong v Port Adelaide

Chris Scott had been busy during the break to try and get a dysfunctional forward line and sloppy midfielder operating properly.

Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly and Steve Johnson all started forward with Paul Chapman in the middle alongside Allen Christensen while Travis Varcoe had moved from half-back to the wing.

In the next seven minutes those six players were influential in a Geelong blitz that changed the complexion of the match.

2nd Semi-Final Geelong v Port Adelaide

When Tom Hawkins, who’d been unsighted, kicked his second goal for the term at the 17-minute mark the inside 50m count was an extraordinary 15-1 the Cats way.

At three-quarter time their lead was seven points and there had been many heroes in the blue and white hoops.

Captain Joel Selwood did a good impersonation of Chris Judd from last week by carrying his team back into it.

2nd Semi-Final Geelong v Port Adelaide

He had 10 possessions in the third term as did Kelly, Mathew Stokes came to life with 14 in the term while Andrew Mackie was brilliant at half-back.

It kept rolling in the final term and by midway through the preliminary final match-up everyone wanted was in the bank.

Port Adelaide had been brave and again didn’t go away, battling to the very end but they were helpless once the Cats flicked the switch.

So what did last night mean for the preliminary final?

If Geelong serves up anything like the first half they will be beaten by 12 goals.

But if they bring the intensity and mindset of the second half then it’s game on.

They have to somehow get the forward line functioning. Hawkins improved in the second half and Nathan Vardy got better late but it was too bad to be true in the opening two quarters.

Paul Chapman was the most influential Cat in the first half and finished with four goals but he faces an anxious wait with the match review to look at a high bump on Port’s Robbie Gray in the third quarter.

2nd Semi-Final Geelong v Port Adelaide

The absence of Corey Enright, who is likely to be missing again, was alarming early in the game and looms as a massive issue again next week.

What is fact is that Geelong’s best is good enough but can they produce it for long enough to prevail against an in-form Hawthorn machine is the million dollar question.

Form would probably say no but the curse would suggest they like doing it in honour of that man Kennett.