IT WAS the type of Hero vs. Villain narrative that almost felt scripted.

Geelong’s angelic Rising Star in Ollie Dempsey could almost be typecast as a Hollywood hero, and so it proved. His explosive and mercurial three-goal performance was as influential as it was fun, proving a decisive factor as the Cats coasted to yet another prelim courtesy of a thrill-a-minute 38-point qualifying final win.

And yet, for so long it looked as though it could have been so different. Brisbane’s Cam Rayner, the man with the Star Wars tattoos, threatened to be the MCG’s killjoy with the type of villainous performance that would have made Darth Vader blush. His antics played a big part in the Lions ever being a chance at all.

In reality, Geelong dominated this September showcase. Its 16.16 (112) to 11.8 (74) victory over Brisbane was a statement performance, the type that reminds every remaining flag contender – not that they needed it – just what type of powerhouse coach Chris Scott has built down the highway.

There was Dempsey’s brilliance. His three goals were complemented by 25 disposals. There was the running power of Max Holmes, who himself had 23 touches and six tackles. There was the prolific Bailey Smith, who notched another 22 disposals and four clearances. And then there was ‘Jez’.

While it was Dempsey who put the nail in Brisbane’s coffin, it was Jeremy Cameron that made this contest seem ominous from the outset. The first term was all about the Coleman Medal winner, as he made every ball his own. Even if those chances weren’t always converted.

He took a pack mark, but missed the shot. He got out the back to snare his first. He marked strongly on the lead to set up Dempsey for his opener. He nearly took a one-handed slips catch, then rushed his shot astray. He took another contested mark, but the resulting shot slapped off the post. It was ‘Jezza Mania’ at its most riveting.

And yet, amid all of that, Brisbane kept plugging away. While Cameron was brilliant, he was inefficient. The Lions were the opposite. The visitors might have made every passage look difficult, but they did enough to stay in touch. In fact, three of their first four entries resulted in goals, ensuring a 12-point quarter-time deficit wasn’t even worse.

It meant that when Brisbane eventually got things on its terms, gaining more control to start the second term and kicking the quarter’s first couple of goals through Kai Lohmann and Jarrod Berry, it was suddenly a two-point ball game. To illustrate the strangeness of the situation, Cameron had racked up six scoring shots on his own by that point. Brisbane had six amongst its entire side.

It was at that stage when Geelong steadied. Sam De Koning and Jack Bowes put through pivotal set-shots to calm the nerves, Dempsey ghosted into an open goal to extend the lead, while Tom Stewart’s long bomb from beyond 50m carved open a 27-point buffer that more or less reflected the overall pattern of the first half.

In the shadows of half-time, the Cats smelled blood. Another centre clearance led to Tyson Stengle marking 40m from home. But, as he lined up for his shot – a shot that could have turned a satisfying first half into a dominant one – came the moment that threatened to change the entire momentum of the contest and set its villain apart.

More than 100m off the ball, inside Brisbane’s goal square, a slight nudge from Mark O’Connor had Rayner on the floor. The contact was minimal, but the umpire was fooled. The ball travelled the entire length of the ground to ringing boos, as the downfield free kick resulted in a Rayner gimme and a significant flashpoint.

As frustrated Cats players remonstrated, Zach Guthrie nudged Rayner once more. Again, the contact was minimal. Again, the umpire was fooled. A second free kick was paid, a second goal was kicked, and suddenly a Geelong lead that should have been bordering on insurmountable was whittled back to being fragile at best.

Unsurprisingly, as Rayner trudged to his customary position in the goal square to start the second half – this time the one housing Geelong’s cheer squad – he was given some unceremonious advice from the Cats faithful. But if you’re going to be the villain you might as well play into the role, and Rayner did just that.

First, he dished it back. Then, when he ran into an open goal to snatch his third in the early moments of the third quarter, he celebrated by following through towards the fence and handing out some friendly feedback of his own. It certainly raised the decibel levels ringing around the MCG, if nothing else.

And, for the Lions, it basically did do nothing else. It was an energetic moment, but it was only a moment. Instead, the Rayner goal was sandwiched between three Geelong majors in a run that was highlighted by Holmes’ brilliant running finish. Perhaps poetically, the Holmes goal also stretched the Cats’ lead back to the 27-point buffer it was before Rayner’s earlier exploits.

Geelong was just about ready to end this match as a contest and its hero, Dempsey, had one last party trick to pull out. After his captain, Patrick Dangerfield, shrugged a tackle and delivered a long bomb to the goal line, the mercurial Cats winger stuck out a leg and produced a half-volley that Mo Salah would be proud of.

For all of the fireworks to that point, Dempsey’s soccer stunner set up a final term played out to little fanfare. If anything, it perhaps gave a crowd previously baying for blood the opportunity to take stock of the background actors – not just the main characters – that that had played such a key role in the contest.

Very few did that as well as Geelong’s Irish duo. While it was O’Connor who kept Rayner to just one touch before his heel turn, Oisin Mullin played an even more defining role on All-Australian star Hugh McCluggage. The gun Lion was held to just 14 disposals, a sign of how Brisbane never really looked likely.

Geelong, meanwhile, has never looked more primed. And even though Dempsey might hog the headlines in the aftermath of this one, courtesy of both his brilliant display and his sublime skill, he is by no means the only Cat capable of providing such heroism across the next few weeks.

Lachie Neale, the man who provided the Lions’ drive through last September, ended the game early with a calf injury in the final term that will have all at Brisbane on edge as they wait for diagnosis ahead of next week’s do-or-die semi-final at the Gabba on Saturday night.

GEELONG       4.6      8.11     13.12    16.16 (112)
BRISBANE      3.0       7.2         9.5         11.8 (74)

GOALS
Geelong: Dempsey 3, Cameron 2, Mullin, De Koning, Bowes, Stewart, Blicavs, Smith, Holmes, Martin, Neale, Atkins, Close
Brisbane: Rayner 3, Lohmann 2, Cameron, Fletcher, Berry, Morris, Bailey, Dunkley 

BEST
Geelong: Dempsey, Holmes, Blicavs, Cameron, Stewart, Bowes, Miers
Brisbane: Dunkley, W.Ashcroft, Neale, Zorko, Rayner 

INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Brisbane: Neale (calf)

SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Clark (replaced Jack Martin in the fourth quarter)
Brisbane: Marshall (replaced Levi Ashcroft at three-quarter time)

Crowd: 86,364 at the MCG