GEELONG’S leaders have a responsibility to keep the Cats' 62-point loss to Hawthorn in perspective, coach Chris Scott says.

Under fierce pressure from Hawthorn on Monday, the Cats looked anything but premiership contenders after quarter-time, conceding 32 scoring shots to 14 and losing the inside 50 count 52 to 27. 

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Scott said his leaders needed to make a balanced assessment of what went wrong and where improvement was needed, otherwise confusion could easily reign.

"When things go wrong, especially when you're playing in a team where not too much has gone wrong over a long period of time, it can be really confusing and you can jump to conclusions," Scott said.

"Our job is to be balanced and improve the things that need to be improved and recognise there is still a lot of good in our game."

In a dirty day for the club, the Cats were not only outclassed in many departments but finished with Steve Johnson on report and Jimmy Bartel suffering concussion.

However Scott was more alert than alarmed when assessing the result.

"It is one game and we played a very, very good team who were hot on the day. We were a bit off but that doesn't mean we'll be off next week," Scott said.

He suggested the team's inability to win critical contests was the most disappointing aspect of the performance, particularly for a team that had a well-earned reputation for standing up in big moments of big games.

"[In] the genuine 50-50s, the big contests … they were much better than us today," Scott said.

"[We were] not happy with the pressure we put on them, not happy with our work, especially in the 50-50 contests, which has been a real strength of ours against the good teams when we play well."

The 62-point defeat was the second biggest losing margin since Scott began coaching the Cats in 2011 but he said there was no reason to panic.

"We've got to pick ourselves up and have some confidence in the work we have done through the pre-season because we have had a good preparation," Scott said

"It's not where anyone wants to be today (but) it can be turned around."

On the positive side, Mitch Clark performed well for his new club, kicking three goals and Nakia Cockatoo and Cory Gregson made their debuts. 

Cockatoo had a torrid time, being denied time and space to show his pace while Darcy Lang, in just his second game, found the ball well but struggled to hit targets.

Jed Bews, in just his eighth game, battled hard in his defensive role before weight of numbers wore him down. Gregson came on as substitute when the game was all but over.

Geelong hosts Fremantle at Simonds Stadium next Sunday.