Geelong coach Dan Lowther says his side’s thrilling two point loss to the reigning premiers in Adelaide on Friday night showed that the Cats can make some noise should they make the finals.

Last placed Sydney make the trip to GMHBA Stadium next Saturday night where a win should secure the club a finals berth after finishing 12th and 13th respectively over the last two seasons.

The Cats took it right up to the well-drilled Crows in their home state and were in striking distance of a win up until the final seconds which left the coach proud, albeit not satisfied with the final outcome.

“I take away that we’re good enough to match it with any team in the competition,” he said post match.

“We’ve got a young group that’ll only get better and that’s a good thing for us, to keep our core group together and to keep adding layers to our team.

“To come over here, beautiful day, the crowd was outstanding. It’s great to play in such a good atmosphere. It’s another opportunity for our girls to learn and watch the game get played at a really high level.

“Hopefully if we get a chance to play finals, which all teams strive for, we’re pretty well prepared to give it a shake.”

Led once again by dual best and fairest Amy McDonald and midfield mate Georgie Presparkis with 23 disposals apiece and a typically stingy Geelong defence led by Chantel Emonson’s 19 disposals and six marks, Lowther said the preparation for the Swans started immediately.

“For us, it’s making sure we’re in the right headspace after playing against a top four team, doing very well but not winning. We’ll need to make sure we're ready, starting tonight with our recovery and preparation to play against a team that’s going to give us all different sorts of challenges,” he said.

“Sydney have played exceptional footy in the back half of the season. They’ve started to get that synergy and that connection all teams want and they’ve had zero time to prepare, so it’s going to be another challenge.”