When the 2008 AFL fixture was released last year, it's doubtful the word "masterstroke" was used when league officials saw a four-month wait before Geelong played Hawthorn.

The inequities of the AFL fixture meant the Cats and Hawks - widely regarded as two of the major contenders this year - had to wait until round 17 to square off.

A Friday night at the MCG in the middle of winter could have produced an anti-climax for the game and the attendance, given the long wait.

But after months of this game being billed the grand final preview, the match lived up to the hyperbole, as 86,179 fans attended and the match whetted everyone's appetite for the coming finals series.

In fine conditions, the Cats remained on track for successive premierships by winning 12.16 (88) to 11.11 (77).

The match was far from the greatest of all time, but it was tight, tough, see-sawing and packed full of incident.

Lance Franklin captivated the crowd as only he can and Luke Hodge put pending fatherhood on hold as his pregnant partner waited.

Cameron Mooney conceded successive 50-metre penalties in a second-quarter brain snap and Chance Bateman conceded one goal through an unlucky free kick, but another through a horrendous kick across goal.

There were mistakes and a lot of free kicks paid.

But there were moments of brilliance too.

Travis Varcoe ran down Hawk skipper Sam Mitchell and Ryan Gamble earned Geelong a goal with a courageous attempt to mark.

Franklin threaded a banana kick from 40 metres out to bring Hawthorn within a kick and Cyril Rioli took a screamer on centre wing.

Then in the final quarter, the drama increased. Hawthorn could not seize their moments, but Geelong's Steve Johnson did with the sealing goal.

The attendance would have been greater save for a large bank of empty seats in the Melbourne Cricket Club.

But there won't be too many seats when next time the Cats and Hawks play.

On form, it could be in the grand final.

Nineteen years after their 1989 epic, that would be great, and that's no discredit to the second-placed Western Bulldogs.

A Cats-Hawks grand final would ensure one thing. There would be no long wait before they played in 2009.

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