Geelong's two-point win over Hawthorn at the MCG on  Friday night will be remembered as something special, ending, almost inevitably, with a kick for goal after the siren.

It was the Hawks' Isaac Smith who took the shot and missed in front of 87,533 fans, a moment which will surely haunt the 27-year-old.

But the form shown by both these teams will be enough to have every other finalist shaking in their boots.

The Hawks ran out without forward James Sicily, who had fallen ill.

He was replaced by 20-year-old Daniel Howe who did not have a big impact on the game - not that Hawthorn were ever likely to lack fire-power in their forward-line.

Take this piece of play in the second quarter.

Paul Puopolo booted a lovely centring kick to the front of the Hawks goal to partner-in-crime Cyril Rioli, who tapped the ball out of the air into the the hands of Jack Gunston.

As if infected with the whatever Puopolo and Rioli had, Gunston was lightning-fast with his handpass to Luke Breust who booted the goal from just metres out.

Where were Geelong's defenders in all this?

They were around, but they were nowhere.

When Hawthorn plays this well, when they seem able to simply sense where their teammates are and respond accordingly, opposition players could almost be excused for simply shaking their heads - that is what the rest of us did.

There were other times however, where Geelong could have done more but were simply caught flat-footed.

Early in the third term Breust managed to break away from a scrambling pack in front of Hawthorn's goal.

He chipped the ball to Gunston, who had been waited alone for at least 10 seconds in the goal score and put the Hawks two goals in front.

The Cats were often the slower team and their defence could not match the dynamism of the Hawks' attack.

Although the scores were close, for much of the game Hawthorn had much more of the ball and many more inside-50s.

It was in the third quarter that they really looked like they were going to slip away, showing on the scoreboard the dominance they had enjoyed around the ground.

Fans of the reigning premiers were on their feet as Rioli flew through the air for a beautiful overhead mark, which set Dunstan up for a goal.

But just when the Hawks seemed like a sure thing, Geelong surged, electrifying the MCG.

Consecutive goals from Daniel Menzel and Lincoln McCarthy, from a brilliant, instinctive snap shot put them back within striking distance, then a third from Mark Blicavs from the goal square had Geelong two-points in front.

A controversial free kick to Breust gave him the opportunity to kick one of the goals of the night - 40m out, from beyond the boundary line and under plenty of pressure, the ball soared through the middle.

But just moments later and with seconds to go until the last break of the game, Motlop returned the favour to put the Cats two points up.

Rioli put the Hawks four points up with a set shot just minutes in and Breust could have extended the lead had he kicked truly from 45m out on a 45-degree angle.

Patrick Dangerfield set Cameron Guthrie up for a quick goal for Geelong, only for Hawthorn's great veteran Shaun Burgoyne to send one scoring through at the other end.

This was edge-of-your-seat finals football, showcasing the skills of some of the best in the game and almost too tense to watch.

Geelong's Josh Cowan hit the post from a set shot, which could have been costly, so too Motlop's miss on the run.

But persistent, dogged teamwork put Caddy just metres on a tight angle and he goaled, the chant Gee-lon, Gee-long erupted around the ground.

What had seemed unlikely at halftime suddenly became a reality - Geelong took victory and Hawthorn would be forced to fight for their place in the rest of the finals.

GEELONG        2.3      5.5      10.9      12.13     (85)

HAWTHORN    1.2      6.6      10.7      12.11     (83)

GOALS Geelong: Caddy 2, McCarthy 2, Motlop 2, Hawkins 2, Guthrie, Menzel, Selwood, Blicavs. Hawthorn:  Breust 3, Rioli 2, Gunston 2, Schoenmakers 2, Burgoyne 2, Hill.

BEST Geelong: Dangerfield, J Selwood, Guthrie, Blicavs, Menegola, Hawkins, Caddy, S Selwood. Hawthorn: Burgoyne, Lewis, Hodge, Rioli, Breust, Mitchell, Whitecross, Birchall. 

INJURIES Hawthorn: Burton (calf), Duryea (hand), Sicily (illness) replaced in selected side by Howe. 

UMPIRES Stevic, Meredith, Margetts. 

CROWD 87,533 at the MCG