A behind to Jimmy Bartel scored after the final siren has earned Geelong an unforgettable one-point victory over Hawthorn - a win as good any the club has achieved during its renaissance as an AFL power over the past three seasons.
In a match played in finals weather before a finals crowd and to a standard befitting a Grand Final, the Cats clawed their way from 28 points down early in the final term to snare the last five goals of the match to get up 15.9 (99) to 14.14 (98).
Appearing to be hampered by the hip injury which kept him sidelined for last week's win over Melbourne Bartel was below his best for three quarters but rose to the challenge in the last quarter with eight critical possessions.
None was more important than his last when he marked a ball scrambled forward in hope by Joel Corey deep in the forward pocket at the Punt Road end a split second before the siren sounded.
From 25 out on the angle Bartel simply had to score and his push to the left was enough.
The result plunges a dagger into the finals prospects of the Hawks who are now 8-9 and provides the Cats with a measure of revenge for their misadventures on the last Saturday of last September.
The Cats had to overcome the early loss of both key defenders, and there was no better talisman for them than the magnificent Joel Selwood who racked up 42 disposals, 10 marks and a match-high 11 tackles.
Sam Mitchell was Hawthorn's best ball-winner with 38 and Lance Franklin finished with five goals but missed two late opportunities to ice the contest for the Hawks in the frantic closing minutes.
The Hawks hit Geelong with everything but the kitchen sink in the opening minutes, winning a string of holding the ball decisions and inflicting some serious hurt while, more importantly, signalling they'd come to play.
Stunned by a heavy knock from Brent Guerra, Gary Ablett took time to find his bearings, but it didn't seem to hamper the Cats who had three goals on the board - two of them to Max Rooke - before the Hawks landed their first at the 22 minute mark, a dribbler from the pocket on his non-preferred by Jarryd Roughead in his 100th AFL match.
When Franklin followed-up with a bomb from where the 50 metre line intersects the boundary in the 'wrong' pocket and Michael Osborne scored with left foot snap direct from the following centre clearance, the Hawks were suddenly in front.
It took a late, long set shot from Tom Hawkins to restore the Cats' advantage at quarter time but Franklin wrested back the initiative with a three second-term goals, two of them from outrageous snaps from hard on the boundary line.
Franklin's task was made easier when Matthew Scarlett hobbled from the field, his game over because of a groin strain late in the term which forced Mark Thompson to opt for 'Plan B' - Harry Taylor on Franklin.
The reigning Coleman Medalist's instinctive finishing highlighted the wastefulness of a succession of dropped marks by Cam Mooney at the other end and provided the Hawks with reward for effort across the field reflected in their 116 disposals to Geelong's 80 for the quarter.
Holding a 14-point break at half-time, Hawthorn extended its lead to 22 by the final change on the back of a tight and torrid five-goal-to-four third quarter.
Franklin managed one of those five before Taylor, like Scarlett before him, tweaked a groin and retired to the bench leaving Andrew Mackie as Buddy's third opponent for the afternoon and the Cats short of interchange options.
When Guerra scored the opening goal of the final quarter, a 28-point break looked to be a winning lead, but three goals in even time to Simon Hogan, Travis Varcoe and Corey gave the Cats a sniff.
Their next, to Mathew Stokes was a while in coming but when Rooke scored in the 24th minute to narrow the gap to one point, the win was there for the taking.
Youngster Josh Kennedy will be forever haunted by his decision to dish off to an under-pressure Franklin rather than take a shot from 30 out when the scores were
level - but one man's nightmare is another's dream.
GEELONG: 4.2, 6.5, 10.6. 15.9 (99)
HAWTHORN 3.3, 8.7, 13.10, 14.14 (98)
GOALS: Geelong: Rooke 3, Mooney 2, Hawkins 2, Ablett, Chapman, Ling, Selwood, Varcoe, Corey, Hogan, Stokes
Hawthorn: Franklin 5, Roughead 2, Brown 2, Osborne, Lewis, Rioli, Bateman, Guerra
BEST: Geelong: Selwood, Ablett, Ling, Mumford, Corey, Mackie, Enright
Hawthorn: Franklin, Guerra, Mitchell, Lewis, Sewell
INJURIES: Geelong: Scarlett (groin), Taylor (groin)
Hawthorn: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: Chamberlain, Jeffery, McInerney
CROWD: 64,803 at the MCG