Chris Scott conceeds Geelong was fortunate to escape with a draw against Sydney although it was Isaac Heeney who snapped a behind to level the scores in the dying stages at the SCG.
The Cats led by the barest of margins when Heeney collected a bouncing ball and threw it on his boot from just outside the goalsquare with 30 seconds remaining to tie the scores at 54 apiece on Friday.
But the scoreline might have been very different for the wasteful Swans who paid the price for inaccurate goalkicking throughout to finish 6.18 (54) to the Cats' 7.12 (54).
"It feels like two points is better than none," Cats coach Scott said. "And none is probably what we deserve for large parts of it."
Robbie Fox looked set to sum up Sydney's night when he ran into an open goal with the hosts trailing by two points at the 23-minute mark of the final term but slammed the ball into a post.
Geelong were less than a minute away from claiming an unlikely victory after being outplayed for much of the contest when Heeney's final intervention meant the two teams shared the four points for the first time in their history.
"I think if someone had said at the start of the year that there is going to be a grand final replay, round 16 at the SCG, and it's going to finish in a draw, you'd be desperate to get a hold of that tape," Scott added.
The Swans troubles near goal started early as they dominated the ball and territory in the opening term to lead 109-65 in disposals and inside 50s (17-9), but were wasteful with their 10 shots.
The Swans went into the first change trailing by nine points and the second term played out much the same way, as Sydney had another 11 shots on goal but only took a 4.12 to 4.4 lead into the main break.
The game was more of an arm wrestle from there as the Cats slowed the Swans' ball movement and tightened up in defence.
"Our first half, we executed exactly what we wanted to do. I thought we were very strong in all aspects of the game, except the finishing," Swans coach John Longmire said.
"That's an important part of the game, and we didn't do it, and if you look at the way the game was played, that first half, we did everything right except finish the work off on the scoreboard."
Zach Tuohy starred for Geelong as he celebrated equalling Jim Stynes' record for the most VFL/AFL matches from an Irishman with 28 disposals in his 264th game.
Gryan Miers was also prolific with 26 disposals and a goal, while Mitch Duncan (25) looked back to his best in a third match since overcoming a hamstring injury.
Co-captains Luke Parker (27 touches, one goal) and Callum Mills (24) were among the Swans' standouts as young midfielders Errol Gulden (26) and Angus Sheldrick (22) impressed.
Spearhead Tom Hawkins and sharpshooter Oliver Henry both booted two critical goals for the Cats, while Logan McDonald and Braeden Campbell finished with two for the Swans in a low-scoring contest.
Sydney face Richmond next in what looms as a must-win clash for both teams at the MCG on Thursday night, while Geelong host North Melbourne on Sunday.
