GRAND final day, 2001. The Bombers led the Lions by 14 points after Alastair Lynch had kicked a critical goal on the stroke of half-time from a majestic Simon Black play.

I remember it like it was yesterday. The Bombers had surged in the second quarter before the big bloke steadied us.

Yet despite being behind, in our dressing rooms, deep in the bowels of the MCG, it was as calm as it could possibly be. Surreal even. Not a suggestion of worry or panic. Just a total belief that we could do it. I looked across the room at Brad Scott and simultaneously we nodded. I could tell he was thinking the same thing. I knew at that moment we had them.

It is a feeling that is impossible to describe. It wasn't arrogance. It was belief. Winning 15 consecutive games to that point had helped foster this incredible trust in ourselves and one another. We felt that no matter what situation we were in, we had the capabilities to fight our way out of it.

It was a supreme confidence in our running capabilities and an indescribable feeling that no side could go with us for four terms — perhaps three or even three quarters and 25 minutes, but not the full four quarters.

I'm not telling you this to stroke our collective egos but because two weeks out from the 2007 finals, Geelong is in a similar position — on a 15-game winning streak, chasing football history, with only the players' mind-set standing in the way of their first flag in 44 years.

Sure, there's a big test still to come. The Cats must prove they can take their exceptional home-and-away form into the finals, when it's not only four premiership points at stake but an entire season. And more.

Don't let anyone tell you it's not different. It is. Pressure can do funny things. It has the ability to paralyse anyone and it was interesting this week seeing Port coach Mark Williams trying to mess with the mind-set and turn up the pressure valve on the Geelong team ahead of today's first-versus-second game at Skilled Stadium.

It will not have much effect on today's game but Williams has planted the seed. He's suggested the Cats may do just as his own Power side did in 2002-03, winning the minor premiership and heading into the finals with huge expectations before falling at the last hurdle.

There is an expectation among many that Geelong already has won this year's flag, that the horse has bolted and we are playing to decide who'll meet the Cats in the grand final.

That expectation brings a new level of pressure and should at any stage the Cats falter, that seed will turn into an oak tree.

But a prolonged winning streak is the perfect preparation for an assault on the flag. Suggestions that the Cats "need" to lose one before the finals is rubbish.

It's about building confidence and momentum. About setting standards and benchmarks. An inner trust within the group that everyone will play their role and do what they have to do for the team.

There's only one question mark I have. Only once in their 15-game streak has coach Mark Thompson addressed his players when they've been behind on the scoreboard — at quarter-time in round 11 against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. They were level at half-time the same day.

Their strength could be their weakness. Their dominance of the competition could be their undoing. Have there been enough times when things weren't going right for the team or individuals and they found a way to dig themselves out of it? I don't mean week-to-week — I mean quarter-to-quarter.

This may not be necessary. They may be that much better that it may not be required.

Still, it's a question. And nobody knows the answer because they've not been put in that situation. No team has been good enough to ask them to find out.

Sydney has been the epitome of the consistent team performer in recent years. Its good players can have bad days, yet still the Swans find themselves in a position to win. It is remarkable, at times, how they do it. I can only put it down to belief.

Geelong has spent 15 weeks building that this year. The trust and the ability to be consistent and do what is required. The physical and emotional maturity to handle the next step. The belief and self-confidence to set a standard and stick to it.

It's a trust that is developed in a teammate and means knowing that you don't have to worry about him because you know he will do his job. He'll step up when he is asked to or needs to. You're on the same page to such a degree that you almost don't even need to look because you know someone will be there. It's no fluke. It's a sixth sense.

The Cats have strong, mature bodies with plenty of experience, good direction and leadership. It's been a good preparation. They have experienced what finals are all about it, finishing fourth in 2004 and fifth in 2005. Just had a bad 2006.

Only September can tell the story but they can't do more than what they are doing, preparing perfectly for the next step. And as an outsider, they look ready.