Cats need to 'sit' in GF disappointment: Dangerfield

"The hard part is there's no guarantees in any given season," Dangerfield said.

"It's everyone that starts again from the blocks, and just because you've had a reasonable season one year, there are no guarantees the next.

"So I think it's important that you sit in it for a little bit, that as difficult as it may be, together this piece is really important.

"It's something that we've always done really well as an organisation, regardless of the results, but particularly when we've lost big games of footy. 

"The club's always given us a great opportunity to threaten to compete, and I'm sure they'll give us an opportunity again."

This year, Sydney slumped after their horror 10-goal loss to Brisbane in the 2024 decider. 

Dangerfield conceded the disappointment could hang over the team - but it was worth it to consistently be in contention.

"Look, I think it's going to hang around regardless," he said. 

"That's the feeling you get when you make it to the last day of September and you don't quite get there."

Brisbane led by as much as 65 points late in the final quarter before Geelong reeled the margin in late.

Midfielder Tom Atkins was adamant the late blowout wouldn't hang over Geelong, who would learn from the experience.

"I don't think anyone will be looking too closely at how they were able to score against us when the game was over," Atkins said.

"I think we fought as hard as we could while the game was alive, and then there just comes a point where it's sort of beyond saving."

Dangerfield was adamant there wasn't too much Geelong, who finished second on the ladder, needed to tweak.

"When you make it this far and then you don't quite execute, you don't need to throw everything away," he said.

"That can be the external noise, but fundamentally there's some few shifts here and there, some areas we didn't quite execute that we've executed so well throughout the season. 

"So that's not all doom and gloom in terms of the bigger picture, in terms of what we need to go after and what we need to improve."

Geelong will attempt to improve their list again, with Hawthorn midfielder James Worpel and St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall looming as key targets.

They could also try to launch a bid for Carlton star Charlie Curnow.

"We're always looking to add ... if we play the exact same as we played last year, we won't go too well, so we need to evolve," Atkins said.

"Credit to our staff, our football staff, they're always looking to add pieces and get better as a team, so we'll look to do that over the off-season."