Garry Lyon was left surprised by Geelong’s inability to exploit Tom Hawkins’ match-up on Melbourne utility Adam Tomlinson.
Demons defender Steven May was substituted out of Sunday’s game with a bloodied eye after copping an accidental elbow from Hawkins in the second quarter.
It meant Tomlinson was tasked with stopping the 2020 Coleman Medallist in May’s absence and did a serviceable job as the Dees made it four straight wins to start the season.
Melbourne finished +12 for inside 50s and had 10 more scoring shots with Hawkins taking five marks and booting two goals.
“This is what I was surprised with,” Demons great Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“When Steven May went down then all of a sudden for Melbourne supporters it was, ‘Oh lord, now Tom Hawkins is going to get a hold of us’, and they never really asked the question just because of the way they play.
“They play a bit conservatively, we know that, they try and protect the turnover.
"I would have thought they would have tried to exploit, and I thought (Adam) Tomlinson competed really well against Hawkins, but I don’t know whether the Cats tried to exploit that as much as I would have thought.
“In the end, watching it as a Melbourne fan, you’re thinking, ‘Thank god’. They never really got asked a serious question with Hawkins on Tomlinson.”
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Geelong will welcome back star Patrick Dangerfield from suspension for this week’s match against North Melbourne, while recruit Jeremy Cameron (hamstring) is also chance to make his long-awaited debut.
Chris Scott’s side sit 2-2 after four rounds and are yet to hit their straps, but Lyon isn’t writing off last year’s runners-up just yet.
“I’m holding fire on the Cats,” Lyon said.
“You throw Cameron back in, you throw Dangerfield back in, you throw (Shaun) Higgins back into that side … I’m just reserving (my judgement).”
Geelong are next in action against the winless Kangaroos at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday.
