AS GEELONG blew a 20-point three-quarter time lead over Hawthorn in last year's first preliminary final, injured star Corey Enright sat in the stands of the MCG feeling like a caged cat.

One of the most decorated Geelong players in the glorious Thompson-Scott era, and one of the best decision-makers in the game over the past decade, Enright belongs among the frenzied fury of finals football.

So to be confined to the stands of the MCG that Friday night last September – he strained his right medial ligament in the qualifying final loss to Fremantle two weeks earlier – went against Enright's nature.

The five-time All Australian defender tried to play the good spectator.

Like any Cats fan, he rode a wave of excitement as Geelong rammed on seven goals to three in the third quarter. And he was overcome by nerves as the Hawks rallied in the final term.

But, all along, he could not help thinking about the following week's Grand Final. If his teammates could just get over the line against the Hawks, he was confident he would be fit to get out of the stands and onto the field against the winner of the Fremantle-Sydney Swans preliminary final.

Mostly, though, Enright wished he was already out on the field. Not being able to help see off the Hawks' challenge – as he had done in all of Geelong's 11 consecutive victories over Hawthorn leading into the preliminary final – was agonising.

"I got a fan's perspective for the night, realising how frustrating it can be sitting in the stands and not being able to help my teammates," Enright told AFL.com.au this week.

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"It was extremely tough, I had a lot of different emotions going on. I was excited, I was nervous, I was anxious and I guess I was selfishly thinking in the back of my head that if we got through to the Grand Final I would probably play.

"But the hardest thing was not being able to influence what happens out there. Playing in finals and being out there with your mates is what you play footy for and it was tremendously hard not to be able to do that."

Despite going so close to its fifth Grand Final appearance in seven seasons last year, Geelong has since farewelled four more premiership stars – Paul Chapman, Joel Corey, Josh Hunt and James Podsiadly – as it systematically ushers in a new generation of Cats.

Enright is pragmatic about the changing of the guard.

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Asked whether it would be tough to see Chapman (Essendon) Hunt (Greater Western Sydney) and Podsiadly (Adelaide) continue their careers in different club colours this season, he said it was an unavoidable part of the new football landscape.

"It happens a lot more than it did in the past, so I guess having played with them for so long you just wish them well in their journeys at different clubs," Enright said.

"Our footy club obviously has to plan not only for a year in advance, but for five, 10 years in advance – there's a lot of planning that goes into it.

"You can't have a side full of 30-year-olds, you can't have a side full of 18-year-olds either. The tricky thing is to get the right balance."

As the Cats seek that optimum mix, Enright appreciates that the departures of Chapman, Corey, Hunt and Podsiadly will give the Cats' youngsters more opportunities and responsibility.