Headbands rule as Smith, Reid shine in Cats' domination

But Reid, another player sporting a headband in the 30-degree conditions, was outrageous in his AFL debut with four goals in six minutes as Fremantle fought back during the third quarter.

Trailling by 10 goals late in the second term, the Dockers only trailled by 21 points at the final break and were back in the game.

Then the Cats, preliminary finalists last year, flexed their considerable muscle to blow Fremantle away with a 10-goal final term and won by 78 points, 23.9 (147) to 10.9 (69).

As much as it strongly suggests Chris Scott's men will contend again this season, his Dockers counterpart Justin Longmuir had the shattered look of a coach whose team is coming to the end of a long, barren season.

And it's only March

Smith was prominent from the start, racking up a game-high 32 possessions and kicking a goal in the final term to show all the hype is entirely warranted.

It was his first game since he tore an ACL in 2023 while playing for the Western Bulldogs. Smith was traded to the Cats late last year and in AFL terms, he has not missed a beat.

"We liked some things that would have been a little less obvious, that just said to us he's picked up the way we want to play and the things we value," Scott said.

"It's rare a new player can come in, first game, and basically do everything right in our eyes."

Reid, recruited at No.17 in last year's draft, showed his talent by lighting up the game in the third term.

His first goal was outstanding, playing on from about 50m out, baulking around Gryan Miers and then kicking truly.

"I was as happy as you could be, as an opposition coach ... so at the time, not that happy, (but) impressed," Scott said sarcastically.

While happy for Reid, Longmuir noted he - like many teammates - had long periods during the game where not much was happening.

"He played well, I guess, but a bit like the rest of the team. What was his first, and second and fourth quarter like?," Longmuir said.

"I don't want to take any gloss off his third quarter, because not many young kids can come and do that. Hats off to him, but we need a more consistent performance across the four quarters from everyone in the team."

Patrick Dangerfield showed his class, going into the midfield for the last term and playing a major role as they kicked clear.

"It's not the first or last time that I say it - it's nice to have him in your team," Scott said.

Geelong had 13 different goalkickers - Jeremy Cameron led the way with four - as they start life without Tom Hawkins.

For all the worthiness of their fightback, the Dockers were outclassed and Sam Switkowski has a groin injury, adding to their significant casualty list.

"There's obviously a fair bit to get my head around. I just thought after the first five minutes, we weren't tough enough," Longmuir said.

The hot conditions probably influenced the low crowd of 25,372.