ONE OF the most prolific midfielders in the competition last year, Geelong's Joel Corey says he is happy to become a backman to fill the void left by injured teammates Josh Hunt and Tom Harley.

Corey, 27, played most of Friday night’s round one clash against Hawthorn in the back half and had the better of several opponents including grand final dangermen Stuart Dew and Campbell Brown.

His work in the clinches and ability to set up attacks from the defensive 50m arc made him among the most effective Cats on the night.

Corey ended the game with 28 possessions and said he enjoyed being part of one of the league's best defences.

"I went into the midfield a little bit but the team needed me down at half-back so that is where I was," Corey said after Geelong's eight-point win.

"That’s the way it goes. I don’t mind playing back there, they are a solid unit.

"[I'll play] wherever I am needed."

Corey said the side had plenty of improvement in it, especially after it let Hawthorn fight back from 43 points down early in the last term.

"I think we grinded it out and there was a lot of hard work to go into it so in round one I don’t think you’ll see our best football," he said.

"It wasn’t ideal the way we finished off the game but we did get over the line in the end. It was disappointing but you take the points."

Corey said that during the Hawks' comeback, his teammates lost their structure and allowed forwards Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead too much space.

"That’s not something you want to see and we really hung Tommy Lonergan and Harry Taylor out to dry a bit," Corey said.

"We lost our heads a little bit but ended up all right.

"We are two good sides and, if you watch AFL, no team dominates for the whole game so when you’ve got two evenly matched sides you get a good match."

Corey said the Cats had moved on from last year’s grand final disappointment.

"We worked really hard on our skills in the pre-season, that is the main area," he said.

"It’s 2009 now, we can’t look back."