Steve Johnson is testing his coach's patience in much the same way that Geelong keep testing their form this AFL season.

Every time Johnson and the Cats look in trouble, they keep coming up trumps.

Johnson had a game-high 36 possessions on Friday night as the Cats rallied from a 21-point deficit midway through the second term to beat Essendon by 28 points.

The Etihad Stadium blockbuster between the only two unbeaten teams after six rounds lived up to expectations with a pulsating contest.

Johnson made some glaring errors as only he can, but the Cats star also played a crucial role with his work in the midfield.

Coach Chris Scott was careful in the post-match media conference, asking for clarification when asked about "Stevie J moments".

When interviewed immediately after the game for TV, Scott had said Johnson did some very good things - and some very bad things.

"They're the very bad things - the kicks along the ground," Scott told the media conference.

"When you go for the one-out-of-10 option a lot, you're going to miss a few.

"Unfortunately with Steve, he makes more than his fair share of those."

Essendon coach James Hird admitted he considered putting tagger Heath Hocking on Johnson.

But Hocking was doing a great job on Cats captain Joel Selwood.

"You have to back your structure and your team and, if you go with two tags, you're following them too much," Hird said.

"Stevie got off the chain a bit, but Heath did a terrific job on Joel and, if we had gone the other way, the other might have happened."

Scott said the Cats would have to keep improving and the makeup of their team will keep evolving.

They face another fierce test next Saturday night when they play Collingwood at the MCG.

He acknowledged they might have been lucky at times so far this season, but added there was more to it than that.

"Some people would argue it's a little bit more than luck - it happens a little bit too often for it to be luck," he said.

"We're realistic that the footy we're playing now isn't going to be good enough at the end of the year."

Geelong lost the clearances, inside 50s and had less scoring shots - all key statistics - but won mainly because they are so brutally efficient on the counter-attack.

Star forward Tom Hawkins continues to struggle with a lower back injury, but Scott said he was playing a role for the team.

"He's doing that to the letter," Scott said.

"He's not playing the way Tom Hawkins has the last 18 months.

"He's playing a slightly different role and we think he's been very effective for the team."

Taylor Hunt suffered a shoulder injury and was subbed out of the game in the first quarter.