GEELONG'S Patrick Dangerfield played down the ramifications of his team's 51-point qualifying final loss to Richmond.
His stoic response to defeat was to not admit defeat.
"The predicament for us doesn't really change," Dangerfield said.
"We need to win three games."
But the silence that hung like a pall over the Geelong rooms post-game revealed the feeling sitting in the guts of those who bled blue and white.
CEO Brian Cook and president Colin Carter sat next to each other rubbing their hair with their hands, scratching their heads and pondering what lay ahead as the players traipsed behind closed doors to hear from the coach.
The path for Geelong is now full of potholes.
Either Sydney or Essendon will arrive next Friday night to take up the fight at the MCG in the hope of winning a trip to Adelaide for a preliminary final.
Every Cat rated from the second qualifying final
Geelong has never beaten the Swans at the MCG, not in 2016, nor in 1934 or 1914 when the Swans were South Melbourne.
They have lost five of their past six games against the Swans and gone down in their past three, including last year's preliminary final at the MCG when they lost by 37 points.
In recent seasons the Swans have been the Cats' kryptonite.
Geelong lost to Essendon in their only encounter this season but had beaten them on six previous occasions and would fancy their chances against the Bombers.
Five things we learned from Geelong v Richmond
But few other teams would fear these modern-day Cats who are earning a reputation of failing in finals.
This was their seventh loss in their past nine finals and their fourth loss in their past five.
Once again they were beaten up around the ball, unable to generate inside 50s with any sort of fluency and scored just 40 points, their lowest score since they kicked 5.8 (38) against the Swans in round 11, 2014.
They are much better than that scoreline and history suggests but the time has arrived to remove all doubt.
And they will need to do it without Cam Guthrie and Jake Kolodjashnij who suffered calf strains.
Perhaps one positive is that they won't have a week's break, with the post-finals bye now turning what was once a godsend into potential problem.
Until recently, history was on their side, suggesting the qualifying final loser always bounced back hard.
Selwood, Dangerfield, GOAL! ... how good is finals footy? #AFLCatsTigers #AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/6SkFDBJSqh
— AFL (@AFL) September 8, 2017
From 2001-2014 only two of 26 teams defeated in qualifying finals have lost the semi-final the following week.
But that trend has turned around in the past three seasons with four of the past six losers of qualifying finals losing the next week to be eliminated in straight sets.
The Cats were one of those teams, crashing out in 2014.
Chris Scott was keeping hope alive on Friday night despite the shattering last quarter that saw a tight game become a 51-point blow-out.
He said the simple facts were that too many Geelong players had an ordinary game at a time they could least afford to put in such a performance.
And he expected them to bounce back.
"We're up for the fight," the coach said.
Dangerfield didn't have to say much.
The disappointment in his eyes said it all but the words kept the bottom lip from dropping.
"This is not the time of the year to feel sorry for yourself," Dangerfield said.
"As disappointed as we are, you have got to be able to park that really quickly … you need to move on."
Move on Geelong does, to next Friday night at the MCG for another chance at a preliminary final berth.
