Geelong and the first match after a week off. Name a less iconic duo.
The Cats came into Friday night's elimination final against Melbourne with a 1-11 record in their last 12 matches after a bye and that didn't look like changing in the first half at the MCG.
Chris Scott's side were left in the blocks as the Demons stepped up to the stage in their first taste of finals football in 12 years.
It took until nine minutes into the second term for Geelong to register their first goal as Melbourne's forward targets in Sam Weideman and Tom McDonald caused plenty of headaches for the Cats' backline.
Were it not for poor kicking in front of goal in the second quarter from the Dees, they would have taken more than a 23-point lead into the main break.
For Cats fans, it felt like a familiar story.
Geelong's last three finals losses have all featured sluggish starts, and they once again gave themselves plenty of work to do.
Cats 1.2 vs Crows 6.3 (2017 preliminary final)
Cats 0.4 vs Tigers 2.4 (2017 qualifying final)
Cats 0.5 vs Swans 7.2 (2016 preliminary final)
Cats 0.2 vs Demons 5.2 (2018 elimination final)
GEEL have now had a goalless quarter in each of their past 6 finals campaigns
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) September 7, 2018
2012 v FREM EF
2013 v FREM QF
2014 v NTH SF
2016 v SYD PF
2017 v RICH QF
2018 v MELB EF
Their last one before that was in 1976
@GeelongCats @melbournefc #AFLDeesCats @AFL #AFLFinals
As it turned out, Geelong couldn't match it with the Dees' manic pressure, bowing out of the 2018 season with a 29-point loss.
The Cats threatened to close the margin at times, but costly errors at key moments let them down.
For Melbourne, they go into a semi-final with Hawthorn next week with the knowledge that their brand of footy is cherry ripe for getting results in September.
