Geelong are one step away from back-to-back AFL premierships after prevailing 12.11 (83) to 7.12 (54) against a tenacious Western Bulldogs in their preliminary final at the MCG.

As in last year's five-point preliminary final win over Collingwood, the Cats were given a much sterner test than most expected of a side that has dominated the competition all year and was coming off a fortnight's break.

The Bulldogs were rank underdogs entering the game, but right up until deep in the last quarter they gave their supporters hope they could pull off a famous victory.

But they hurt their chances with some poor kicking for goal at crucial stages and an inability to find a reliable target in attack, ending the game with their lowest score of the season.

They jumped the Cats early, kicking four of the first six goals to push to an 11-point lead 20 minutes in, after a Jason Akermanis snap.

Dogs' Small forward Shaun Higgins was providing some early problems, kicking two goals in the first 15 minutes, before having starting opponent Darren Milburn moved off him.

The Bulldogs' defence was holding up superbly, with Brian Lake, Dale Morris and Ryan Hargrave all having excellent games.

But the Cats seized control with a period of total dominance from 20 minutes into the first quarter until about the same stage of the second.

They kicked three goals in a five-minute burst late in the first quarter, then three more in the first 21 minutes of the second term to build a 27-point lead.

Their control was built on a weight of possession in the centre of the ground, with midfield stars Joel Corey, Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood and Cameron Ling all having a significant influence.

The 'Dogs' struggles to find a way to pierce the strong Geelong backline gave a feeling of inevitability to the Cats' gradual stretching of the lead as they accumulated goals during the second term.

The Bulldogs were struck a galling blow midway through the term, when Geelong skipper Tom Harley kicked his first goal of the season, after Hargrave gave away a 50m penalty, by crashing into him after arriving late at a marking contest.

But after Nathan Eagleton snapped truly late in the half, the 'Dogs were still within 21 points at the long break.

And they continued to claw their way back in the third term, with young speedster Jarrod Harbrow kicking two goals in three minutes midway through the quarter to cut the margin to 15 points.

But, while the 'Dogs took over the ascendancy in general play late in the term, with Daniel Cross and Ryan Griffen performing well in the midfield, a series of missed shots stopped them from getting much closer.

Eagleton, Will Minson and Mitch Hahn all missed gettable shots, before the Cats made them pay by racing the ball to the other end for an easy goal to Cam Mooney, his only major of a forgettable night.

Trailing by three goals entering the last term, Matthew Boyd and Minson both missed early shots, before Max Rooke struck the killer blow.

He was fortunate not to give away a free kick to Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson, after crashing into him front-on in a marking contest, then rebounded quickly to grab the ball off the ground and snap it home.

It gave the Cats an unshakeable 25-point lead, before Steve Johnson provided the icing with the final goal of the game.

The Cats will play the winner of Saturday night's Hawthorn-St Kilda preliminary final in next Saturday's grand final, while for the Bulldogs a drought of grand final involvement which has lasted since 1961 continues.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson said his team had carried great external expectations into every match they played this season and had continued to handle it well.

"It's been a pretty pressurised year, it really has, the longer it's gone the more pressure people are putting on us," Thompson said.

"The expectation to win, our supporters are expecting to win every game they play, the media, all the other people from all the other clubs and that's a hard thing to carry.

"I think our guys have just handled it terrifically well, we'll just stick our head down this week, go about our business and give ourselves the best shot to play the best footy we can next week."

Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade said his team could take a lot of heart from their performance and their win over Sydney last week, despite being disappointed to fall short of a grand final.

"There was a lot of pride and a lot of spirit in their efforts," Eade said.

"A lot of people wrote us off two weeks ago and we showed last week and this week that there's a fair bit of spirit within the group.

"I think this season we've made quantum strides forward, the biggest jump of any team, 13th to third, and I think we've made quantum strides as an organisation both on and off the field."

He was confident the pain of losing would help spur them to work towards taking the next step in 2009.

"Close enough is not good enough and there's no prizes for second, or third as we're going to finish," he said.

"We just need to probably recognise there's a couple little holes that we need to work on over the summer.

"I've got no doubt this group will probably stew on that a bit over the summer, like last summer, we'll come back with a focus of taking those extra steps forward."

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