Sort out the forward line

They're a cagey bunch, the Cats, and they certainly weren't about to spill the beans about why their season crashed in the minutes after their loss to the Sydney Swans in Friday night's preliminary final.

And Chris Scott made it clear afterwards, he'll be in no hurry to share with us when he does make that discovery.

But it's a reasonable bet that the forward line will be forensically examined. The Cats finished with the third-highest points tally during the home and away season, but could you say with any real certainty that the forward line clicked?

The stats sheet from the preliminary final will haunt the Cats all summer – eight goals from 72 inside 50 entries. Scott called it "inefficient" and he might have been too generous with that assessment.

"You can't keep banging it in there like that, hoping for the same result," he said.

Tom Hawkins kicked 55 goals for the season, but only Steven Motlop (38) and Daniel Menzel (33) averaged more than a goal a game.

Menzel was stiff to be injured and miss the preliminary final, while the flighty Motlop is being tipped to play elsewhere next year.

The Cats didn't get much from Mitch Clark this year and when it came to the crunch in September, they chose not to pick Shane Kersten. Lachie Henderson played forward on Friday night and was either unfit or chose the wrong time to play his worst game of the year.

It was a part of the ground the Cats couldn't really settle and will be a focus headed into next year.

Scott rated the season as successful, albeit with a disappointing end. With a home preliminary final, the Cats could not have done any more to give themselves a shot at the flag.

But there will be a perception until next season that the Cats are a two-man team. In the heat of the preliminary final, Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood stood up brilliantly, but not too many others did.

Geelong is better, much better in fact than what it dished up on Friday night. But there is work to be done and it starts forward of centre.