Reigning AFL premiers Geelong were too classy for Essendon, breaking clear in the second half to win their opening-round encounter by 31 points on Friday night at the MCG.

Joel Selwood was outstanding for the Cats as they ramped up their workrate in the third term to win 19.11 (125) to 13.16 (94).

From 17 minutes into the third term through to midway through the final term, Geelong outscored Essendon nine goals to one behind.

Cats star Gary Ablett showed the intense speculation about whether he will go to Gold Coast will not affect his form this year.

He had a game-high 37 disposals and kicked two goals, while fellow Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel also starred for Geelong as Shannon Byrnes and Cameron Mooney kicked three goals apiece.

Midfielder Brent Stanton impressed for the Bombers, but team-mate David Hille was reported in his first match since suffering a season-ending knee injury on Anzac Day last year.

Hille, who otherwise did well in his comeback game, crashed into the back of Bartel as the star Cat marked during the final term.

Trailing by four points at halftime, the Bombers jumped Geelong at the start of the third term, kicking four goals and bolting to a 24-point lead.

Halfway through the quarter, Jay Neagle took a mark well within range of goal, but he played on and Harry Taylor brought him down in a fierce tackle.

Neagle limped off with a knee injury as the Cats rebounded and James Kelly kicked a crucial steadying goal.

As unlikely as it seemed at the time, Kelly's major was the start of the Cats' decisive goal-kicking spree.

The injury to Neagle initially looked serious, but he was back on the ground for the start of the last term.

Geelong also kicked the last two goals of the third quarter to trail by only six points at the final break.

The Cats were scratchy for much of the first term and are unlikely to hit top form for several weeks, after they deliberately held some experienced players back in the pre-season.

In a battle of the league's two new captains, Geelong tagger Cameron Ling was superb early on Jobe Watson, racking up 12 touches in the first term and restricting the Essendon skipper to only two.

But Watson worked hard throughout the match and while Ling was high among Geelong's best, the Essendon midfielder was also among his team's better players.

In a game marked by scoring surges, Essendon kicked four goals in a row during the second term to lead by 18 points.

But the Cats hit back with five-straight majors.

Cats star Paul Chapman gave away a stupid 50m penalty with 20 seconds left in the half and Neagle goaled to break the Cats' run.

It was a rare brain snap from Chapman, who was particularly prominent in the first half when the Cats were in trouble.

Cats coach Mark Thompson said it was a tough game and his team had done well to overcome Essendon's challenge.

"The players are exhausted and I think so are the coaches," he said.

"The first game of the year is really hard, you don't know what to expect and we battled, we battled our way through it.

"We had a style of play that wasn't working against Essendon, which normally does ... so a lot of credit to Essendon.

"In the end, it was our experience and maybe our strength - maybe they got a bit tired - that allowed us to get back into the game.

"In the end, it doesn't matter if you win the first game by a point, you take it."

Thompson praised Byrnes and also defender Tom Lonergan, who had a strong game on Scott Gumbleton.

The details of Hille's report were not available, but it is understood he was booked for charging.

Bombers coach Matthew Knights said there were many pleasing aspects of the match, but was left ruing a poor final term.

Apart from Neagle's mistake in the third term, there were two or three other instances in the match where the Bombers botched scoring chances at crucial moments.

"When an opportunity comes knocking, you've got to be able to go through those opportunities," Knights said.

"When they have been beaten in the past, it's because teams were good enough to take their opportunities on a big stage.

"Physically, we matched them for three quarters, but then they just got on top in so many areas in the last quarter and had their own way."

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