The Cats were one quarter away from lifting their first trophy since the 1963 home-and-away premiership on Saturday night, leading St Kilda by 12 points at the final change.
But an inability to close out the match - Geelong managed only one behind in the last term - saw the Saints claim the 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup in front of a sell-out Telstra Dome crowd.
The disappointment from losing the match and with it an opportunity to capture silverware will take time to heal, but Sanderson is confident there are enough positives for the team to regroup before taking on St.Kilda again in round one in two weeks time.
"From the position we were in at three-quarter time, we were pretty confident we could run the game out [so] it's a bit shattering for all of us but we've just got to try and gain some confidence out of a good pre-season," Sanderson said.
"We beat some good sides along the way and unfortunately we just couldn't get that last one."
He is imploring his young side to learn from the experience, use the disappointment as motivation and not get disheartened.
"We're determined to fight on. The next goal now is round one.
"We can't take a step back now. We've got to keep moving forward. This is going to hurt the boys and test our resolve about how we bounce back.
"We're a very young side and when we get in this position again I'm sure we'll know how much it hurts to drop these sorts of games."
"Anytime you've got an opportunity to play in a premiership, even if it's a night/pre-season one … and you've got a chance to win it, to be in that position again, we've got to realise the hurt we're going through tonight and try and fight a little bit harder next time."
