Gun forward Jeremy Cameron is adamant Geelong are still in premiership contention despite being brought back to earth by the Western Bulldogs.
The Cats sit sixth after their 47-point defeat at a sodden GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night, when Cameron was kept to one goal and six touches by former GWS teammate Rory Lobb.
"It was obviously a tough game and a frustrating game," Cameron said ahead of Saturday's clash with North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena,
"For us, we didn't play anywhere near our best football. I put my hand up first and say it was probably one of the worst games I played, especially for the Cats.
"So there's plenty of work to be done and we know the competition is so tight, so that's what's so disappointing about it.
"Every game's a must-win at this time of year and we've got to step back up and go down to Hobart and beat a Kangaroo outfit that are playing really good football.
"They've been in a lot of games for a long time now and thereabouts.
"So you've got to play your best footy otherwise you'll get found out on the night."
Cameron admitted he'd been left pondering his own form after admitting good friend Lobb had outpointed him regularly.
"I don't normally stew on my football too much to be honest - I get past it pretty quick, but I thought about it over a couple of days," he said at a Stadium Golf launch at Marvel Stadium.
"And there was a whole range of different things - probably just my reaction time to be honest was a fair bit off."
The loss to the Bulldogs, which coach Chris Scott described as "uncharacteristic," snapped a three-game winning run.
Cameron is confident though his body's holding up strongly to attack the pointy end of the season.
He believed the likes of gun midfielder Max Holmes, Ollie Dempsey and Tanner Bruhn kicking on had reinvigorated the Cats and could help them contend.
"Definitely, that's the belief," he said.
"We were really optimistic in the pre-season. It's probably hard to sort of see from the outside but internally, we know what we can do.
"Having that whole group of young players, it was a real talking point that we were aging and whatnot.
"But some of the young guys like an Ollie Dempsey that comes in and just he's sort of jumped out of nowhere, but internally, we've seen that and we've seen his development and we know what he can do.
"... There's a whole range of young exciting guys in there and we had that nice balance back in 2022 as well.
"So it's positive and those younger players keep us older ones feeling young."
