Dangerfield was by far the Cats' best with a game-high 39 disposals but Geelong's season ended due largely to a terrible start where the Swans booted seven goals to nil in the first term.

In a dressing room where silence reigned, Dangerfield attempted to come to terms with what had transpired.

"It's tough as it gets. You don't put that work in through an entire season and lose the way we did. It just felt like we could have given more," he said.

"It was almost as reminiscent as the way Sydney jumped Adelaide last week, and the game was over in the first quarter.

"You can't win a game in the first quarter but you can lose one. It was certainly tough to come back from there."

The Cats appeared stunned as the Swans ran in numbers, having braced themselves to handle the league's best starting side. The Swans had booted a combined 240 points more than their opposition in the opening 20 minutes of matches through the season heading into this clash.

"You don't feel shell-shocked. You try and find a way to stem the flow firstly, find a composed possession and create scoring opportunities for ourselves," Dangerfield said.

"Unfortunately, we just kept turning the ball over. Every time Sydney went inside 50 they looked really dangerous. They were pushing back hard and finding a release quite quickly. We really weren't able to find that mark and find that composed possession in the forward half of the ground."

The Cats dominated the inside-50 count 72-40 but their inability to hit a target was shown in that the Swans had a whopping 63-25 advantage in rebound 50s. Key forward Tom Hawkins (one goal) was well held by veteran Heath Grundy on a night the Cats managed only eight goals.

Jimmy Bartel, who is weighing up whether to play on despite triggering a clause in his contract allowing him to do so, reportedly waved to the crowd as he left the field, while fellow veteran Corey Enright, an All-Australian this year for the sixth time, was in tears. He, too, may have played his final game.

"He's given the football club so much for so long, and he'll make his decision when he wants to," Cats skipper Joel Selwood said.

Dangerfield said the Cats had been emotional in the dressing room.

"No doubt. You don't put the work in all season, finish in second position, to give ourselves the chance to have a crack at it all, and not be disappointed the season ending the way it did," he said.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Everything that happened, we had spoken about it (Swans' fast start). It wasn't new to us - it was the ability to execute."

While his season is done, Dangerfield is the hot favourite to be presented with the Brownlow Medal at Monday night's count.

The Cats have several list management decisions to make, including whether to seek a trade for Steven Motlop. While Dangerfield shone, fellow recruit, former Blue Lachie Henderson, had a night to forget with seven possessions.