Reaching the summit: Is the top of the AFL ladder all it's made out to be?

It was a familiar sight for Cats fans at the conclusion of the opening round of the AFL season.

The blue and white hoops perched atop the ladder, having bullied their way to a 66-point win over Essendon.

It was the 71st time since 2000 that Geelong had taken the number one mantle at the end of a round, accounting for 14 per cent of all top-spot finishes in that time, having first ascended in Round 2, 2006 on the back of Kardinia Park's lord and saviour Kent Kingsley kicking a bag of eight.

But is sitting on top of the ladder staring down smugly at the rest of the competition all it's made out to be? Or is it better to sneak into finals under the cover of darkness wearing one's snazziest camouflage? 

For all intents and purposes, the past 21 years have been kind to Geelong.

Circumventing the awkward teenage years that we all go through, where a pimply faced Cats squad fumbled their way through the first three seasons of the 2000s, Geelong has only missed two finals series since 2004, winning three premierships along the way and turning Sleepy Hollow into a slightly less sleepy indentation.

In the club's premiership years — 2007, 2009 and 2011 — it would be difficult to argue they didn't deserve to hold the cup aloft on that one day in September.

But discounting their breakout year in '07, where they held top spot for the final 12 rounds of the season, the Cats finished the round at the pinnacle of the league just eight times out of a possible 46 rounds in their other flag efforts.

Their 2009 grand final opponent, St Kilda, were numero uno from Round 3 all the way to finals, while their 2011 foes, Collingwood, sat upon high for 15 of a possible 24 rounds.

On the flip side, when the Cats were at their best during the season, they