Well, there's no hiding from the fact that the Cats started the finals series in very poor fashion on Friday night.

If not for some inaccurate kicking from the Tigers, the margin could have been even greater than 51 points.

But, as both Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield have said in recent days, there's no point dwelling on the negatives.

The Cats earned themselves a double-chance by being one of the best teams through the home and away season, and that means their premiership hopes are still alive.

Before we move on to the task of competing with the Swans at the MCG on Friday night, the Geelong players who won their individual battles in the loss to Richmond deserve some praise.

Mitch Duncan was outstanding in the midfield, while Zach Tuohy and Tom Lonergan stood tall in the backline under very trying circumstances.

Scott Selwood also did his best to turn the tide in the midfield.

But now it's all about the Swans, and there are plenty of reasons to believe the Cats can match it with the boys from Sydney.

For starters, Tom Lonergan always plays well on Buddy Franklin.

Then there's a case to make that Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood rarely play two bad games in a row. They are sure to come out breathing fire on Friday night.

Similarly, there's no way Tom Hawkins and Harry Taylor will be as quiet as they were against the Tigers.

So that's our thoughts.

Now let us know what you think.