GEELONG coach Mark Thompson was pleased the Cats were able to take on the Sydney Swans as planned, despite the notable absence of gun onballer Gary Ablett.

Thompson said he expected the Swans would force the match into a tight contest in the first quarter, but was delighted with the way the Cats reclaimed the game and played the rest of it on their own terms.

"We missed [Ablett] but we still played well," Thompson said after the match.

"We played Sydney exactly the way we planned to play them. We knew the start would be like that, it would be tight, and our boys just persevered with what we wanted to do and work on, and we did it exceptionally well.

"To beat Sydney by 51 points at any time is a pretty good performance."

Thompson agreed it was important to win the first quarter after it degenerated into a stalemate in which each side managed just one goal for the term.

"The one thing you know that's constant about Sydney is they play that way and they turn up most games," he said.

"The way they started was exactly the way they wanted to play and I was absolutely thrilled we were able to release the shackles and get on a bit of score and end up kicking 100 points."

He praised the midfield heroics of Joel Selwood and Joel Corey, who combined for 68 possessions, and said Matthew Scarlett's job on Barry Hall justified his reputation as one of the best defenders in the game.

"There was a huge amount of clearances with Selwood and Corey, and Scarlett played a terrific game," he said.

"Tom Harley came back and was trademark, jumping back into space, and Corey Enright as well. Stevie Johnson went berserk early with four goals, so individually, there were a lot of very good efforts.

"The way we played, it would have been hard for Hall to score today.

"Matthew is one of the best defenders to ever play the game and he got a lot of help from his teammates."

Thompson also said he was pleased with the output of young forward Tom Hawkins, who shook off some early nerves and inaccuracy to kick 3.2.

"He was leading to the ball hard, his hands were good, he is kicking the ball well and joining in other parts of the game as well," he said.

"He looks more relaxed and comfortable out there."

He said Johnson should be congratulated for his changed approach to games that involved a more team-orientated focus.

"He's playing more consistently and he's getting a lot of attention playing more consistently," Thompson said.

"He's running well, pulling up well from games and playing more team footy than he's ever played before in his life."