Geelong coach Chris Scott will be amazed if there is a repeat this Saturday of the spite that marked their last AFL match against Fremantle.

The Cats will host the Dockers in an elimination final at the MCG.

Their last clash was in round one in Perth where Fremantle won by four points, Geelong gave away six 50m penalties and Dockers pest Hayden Ballantyne sucked Matthew Scarlett into a blow that earnt the Cats defender a suspension.

“I don’t think ‘if’ discipline failed in round one – it absolutely did,” Scott said of his team’s performance in that match.

But he added the stakes this time are too high, with the two teams entering the finals series in red-hot form.

“Ross (Lyon) was quite explicit in his comments post that game, that he’d prefer Hayden to play footy, because he’s an exceptional young player,” Scott said.

“I would be amazed if players from either side thought they could get inside the other’s heads in a game that means this much.”

Geelong overran Sydney in the second half on Saturday to earn the home final and confirm their strong form.

No team in the current finals system has won the flag outside the top four, but the reigning premiers feel they are capable.

“We think we’re playing a lot better than we were two months ago and that we’ll play our best footy at the right time,” Scott said.

“Whether or not that’s good enough is yet to be seen – it’s more challenging from outside the four, but it’s not impossible.”

Scott also heaped praise on the Dockers, who have flourished in their first season with Lyon as coach.

“There’s no doubt, based strictly on win-loss, they’re the form team in the competition, really,” Scott said.

“I’m sure they’re not exactly where Ross and Freo think they will be in 12 months, but that’s a little bit scary for the rest of the competition, because those guys are going pretty well as of now.”

Fremantle suffered a blow when they lost tall defender Luke McPharlin with a hamstring injury.

But Scott said Antoni Grover or Alex Silvagni would be capable replacements as the Dockers try to control Cats key forwards Tom Hawkins and James Podsiadly.

“He (McPharlin) would be in the best two full backs in the competition right at the moment,” Scott said.

“I don’t think they’re too badly placed for key defenders, probably better than most teams.”

Geelong ruck-forward Nathan Vardy played his first AFL game of the season on Saturday and Scott said his return was a significant boost going into the finals.