Well, that sure wasn't the way we wanted our season to finish.

The 37-point preliminary final loss to the Sydney Swans brought to an end a campaign that had plenty of great moments but fell short of achieving what everyone connected to the club so dearly wanted.

Why the Cats started so slowly in such an important game is a question that will undoubedly be reviewed in depth by the coaching staff and players.

But, to be fair, the Swans were simply sensational. They deserve to be playing in their third Grand Final in the past five seasons.

A quirk of the result was that it brought to an end the winning streaks enjoyed by two of the Cats' unsung heroes, Josh Cowan and Sam Menegola, who had never previously tasted defeat in AFL games.

Cowan's win-loss record is now 13-1, while Menegola's is 7-1.

Of the more experienced campaigners, Geelong's midfield generals, Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood, did all they could on Friday night.

They will be front and centre again on Monday night when Brownlow Medal count takes place.

Dangerfield will enter the count as the hot favourite, and there's no doubt he should start the night with three votes against Hawthorn in round one.

From there, he'll be very hard to catch.

Looking at the team's season as a whole, the Cats will finish third on the ladder, which is a dramatic improvement after they finished 10th last season.

On top of that, the club achieved a record membership of more than 50,000, and the thanks for that go to our many passionate fans who support the Cats across the globe.

So how do you rate Geelong's 2016 campaign?

Use the poll below to cast your vote.