The focus at Geelong throughout this NAB Challenge has been largely on one man – Mitch Clark.

Cats supporters were looking to see just how quickly the former Melbourne big man could settle back into life at the elite level and, more importantly, the elite Geelong way of doing things.

Could he somehow become again the player who was once considered one of the game's most feared big men and, thus, turn out to be the best value-for-money recruit of the season?

In his first two games, Clark did plenty to show what his body and mind were capable of, emerging as the (almost) match-winner in the final quarter against Gold Coast and then kicking six goals in a telling effort against Adelaide.

But, as Geelong supporters discovered on Sunday, that was only one side of the coin. At Etihad Stadium against Carlton they saw the other side – what Clark's presence will do for the other members of Geelong's forward line.

More to the point, they saw what benefits there might be for their go-to man Tom Hawkins once Clark forces the opposition to spread their focus even wider.

Hawkins ran around like a big kid on Sunday, relishing the chance to take on his direct opponent one-on-one for most of the day and by the end there were several Carlton players given the difficult task.

A leaner and fitter-looking Hawkins kicked five goals, ripped down 12 marks and grew in confidence as he went on to front the Cats' 19-point win over the Blues, 0.17.9 (111) to 2.10.14 (92).

Carlton's evolving defence is not yet as formidable as that of Hawthorn's or Sydney's, but the positive signs for Geelong were that it didn't really seem like anyone could have done much more to stop Hawkins.

This was not the "gorilla" forward who stood deep in attack and rag-dolled undersized opponents (like Kyle Cheney that day against the Hawks not too long ago). With Clark providing an option the Blues defence had to respect in the goal square, Hawkins ran up the ground, then back again, then sideways and got several of his shots at goals from beating his opponent on the lead, and even looked dangerous at ground level.

Then, when it came time to steer the ball safely home, Hawkins seemed to do it easily – something that has not always been the case.

Combined, Hawkins and Clark seemed more like old hands going through the motions before another campaign together, rather than a duo trying to create some chemistry before their first.

It must have made Cats supporters – maybe some pessimistic about just how long their club can hang around as a legitimate premiership contender – feel a bit more assured about the season, as would the performance of Joel Selwood.

Last year, the 26-year-old received the ultimate praise from an opposition coach when he seized the moment and kicked a clutch goal to win a game against Carlton. Blues coach Mick Malthouse was in awe of Selwood's leadership and ability to come through when his team needed him the most, saying: "If you had to choose a player to have in your team, I would pick Selwood every day of the week", not counting his own players, of course.

On Sunday, on the same ground, Selwood had 19 disposals, five clearances and a goal by half-time and, as much he would have been focused on the markers his team needed to hit in their last pre-season hit-out, the thought of Selwood's greatness must have again passed through Malthouse's mind. Going through Cats supporters heads might have been this question: is this the year our captain wins the Brownlow Medal his career seems to so richly deserve?

Selwood went into last year's count as favourite but was upstaged by West Coast star Matt Priddis. As of Sunday, the Cats inspirational leader was third favourite for this year's award and might come in shorter if some smart punters jump on him at his present $9 odds following his performance on Sunday.