Should the Cats worry as the Lions flex their midfield muscle?
Throw in Zac Bailey galloping through the middle and Darcy Wilmot and the veteran Dayne Zorko and the depth extends to all areas of the ground.
Fagan was most impressed with Rayner, the No.1 pick who is delivering. After years of nearly being there is now a great player, his strength and confidence growing. He had five clearances and kicked three goals, two of them coming at the start of the third and fourth quarter to extinguish any hope the crowd might find voice.
'We have come to understand him and his strengths. It has taken us a little bit of time and how it all fits in with our system but in the last couple of years we have discovered that,' Fagan said.
He led the way along with Will Ashcroft and Dunkley as Neale, a dual Brownlow medallist, was kept quiet by a gallant Tom Atkins who tried to lift his team.
The question now is what Scott can plot to overcome the weight of numbers that is turning the tide the Lions way.
The Cats remain in good shape and they are a strong chance to meet the Lions again in September.
Geelong can point to poor kicking and an off-night and be right. But the biggest cat in the AFL jungle flexed their muscle on Friday night to take the Lions back into the top two.
Fagan even admitted they have been at their best when facing the biggest of challenges this season. This was the last hoodoo of his reign. Beating Geelong at Geelong was something they had not managed since 2003.
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The signs are good with more than half the season over.
'When we got to the bye last year we were 13th. When we get to the bye this year we're second,' Fagan said.
'I'm pretty pleased with where we are at, but it's a hard competition so you have to keep going, don't you.'
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