The old saying goes, the harder you work the luckier you get.

And Geelong coach Mark Harvey was quick to acclaim the fortune before the fortitude as his Cats found ways to come back twice to pip the Dockers by one point in an Anzac Day thriller in Perth.

Deficits of 39 points in the third quarter and 25 points at the start of the last were swallowed up by the indomitable Cats, with Joel Selwood epitomising his team's will with 14 final term possessions.

Thompson candidly admitted his side had not deserved to maintain their unbeaten record - but was proud of they way did.

"We probably didn't deserve to win but we end up going away with the four points," Thompson said.

"I enjoy winning by a big margin but when you win the close ones it's also fantastic, especially when we didn't deserve it. Let's be honest, Fremantle probably played the best.

"Fremantle were fantastic, they threw everything at us and we were just a little bit off.

"We had two fantastic quarters where the game opened up and we scored easy goals. I'm very, very proud of the fact that we've gone away with the four points.

"I think there's a deep down belief and a will. Belief they have the ability to do it and a will that they have the desire to play to win the game."

With Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel both subdued by a dogged Fremantle, Joel Corey and Corey Enright - with 59 possessions between them - and Selwood stepped up.

And Thompson said what he admired about his Selwood was that he was willing to learn quickly.

"The beauty about him is he has great role models and great people around him," Thompson said.

"When you see Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel, who are both exceptional players, when they were playing their first few years they didn't have much support around them."

"It's easy to say Joel Selwood is a fantastic young player, and he is, he's exceptional in everything he does and he's going to be a star.

"But he's got some good people around him who are helping him be that sort of player."

After Geelong were pushed as close as they have since their last loss, against Port Adelaide in round 21 last year, Thompson said his team were put off the game that had seen them so dominate last year and this.

"I certainly wouldn't like to play like that every week," Thompson said.

"I didn't think we really thought about our game enough tonight as well as we are capable of doing so. I talk about the will, it's great, but we would certainly like to play better.

"We were just a little bit off because of their pressure and the way they played, but to still come away with the victory is sweet."

And Paul Chapman said the memorable Anzac Day clash was an illustration of how shocks can easily happen.

"That's AFL footy for you, isn't it? If you're off ten per cent - five per cent - you get found out," Chapman said.

"You look like you're not trying and all of a sudden, the other team should be in the top four, and that's the way they looked in the first quarter."

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