Geelong kept alive its dream of back-to-back premierships on Friday night when it survived a massive scare from the unfancied Western Bulldogs to win an engrossing preliminary final by 29 points at the MCG.

In front of 70,140 fans, the Cats booked a berth in next Saturday's Grand Final with a 12.11 (83) to 7.12 (54) triumph but it was far from the one-sided affair many had been predicting.

Like last year in the corresponding match when pushed to the brink of oblivion by Collingwood, the Cats, so dominant this season, tested the nerve of their fans who had come to the ground expecting a cakewalk.

Their blood pressure would not have dropped until 11 minutes into the last quarter when Max Rooke, a player whose courage is revered at Geelong, won the match's most crucial contest in controversial circumstances.

Bulldogs fans were ropable after the men in yellow ruled Brad Johnson had not been unfairly impeded by Rooke in a marking contest after the reliable Dale Morris' gambled by chipping the ball in board.

Rooke crashed into Johnson, spilling the ball free, then received a handball from Tom Lonergan before snapping truly from 20 metres out to give the Cats a 22-point lead.

As Cats fans celebrated, Johnson lay in the foetal position at centre half-back, writhing in pain. The image told a thousand words.

If their fate had not been sealed, then a goal from Steve Johnson 22 minutes into the last quarter did.

That several Cats players threw their arms up in joy on the siren illustrated just how much of a challenge they had been thrown by the gallant Bulldogs.

The win spoke volumes about the Cats' character and tenacity, areas which had been considered weaknesses until 2007.

The triumph came without dominant performances from Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel, who still made valuable contributions but were a shade below their damaging best.

The star, however, was Andrew Mackie, who nullified many of the Bulldogs' forward thrusts in the second half.

He finished with 29 possessions and received considerable support from skipper Tom Harley, who kicked an important goal in the second quarter.

The Cats' midfield tyros were Joel Corey and Cameron Ling, the latter adding another scalp by holding Bulldogs dynamo Adam Cooney to only 16 touches.

The Bulldogs will be ruing their yips in front of goal. Their inaccuracy in the second half, when they kicked 2.7, prevented them from transferring their around-the-ground ascendancy onto the scoreboard.

Normally reliable