GEELONG is prepared to do the work to once again compete with the best teams in the competition, three-time premiership Cat Andrew Mackie says.
On Sunday, Geelong had no answers against a powerful Fremantle unit, going down by 44 points at Simonds Stadium.
The result left the Cats in extremely unfamiliar territory - last on the ladder after two rounds of the new season.
Even after losing the first two games by a combined total of 106 points and languishing lower on the ladder than they have ever sat in their history (18th), Mackie said his faith in the group was not shaken.
He said he knew from experience what was required to improve the situation and it boiled down to hard work.
"We've come up against the best and we're not there and we aspire to be," Mackie said after the loss.
"We know what we have got to do because we've seen it first hand."
The club has not lost its first two games since 2004 – Mackie's second season at the club – but has managed pressure better than most in the past decade.
"There is no doubt we have got faith in what we're about and the players we have, but it takes 22 out there on any day to actually play together and play the way that we need to make sure we can get the result we aim for," Mackie said.
On Sunday, the Cats had six players in the team who had played fewer than 10 games with Geelong, including the more experienced Mitch Clark and Rhys Stanley, who were recruited at the end of last season.
Mackie said it was everyone's responsibility to fast-track the newcomers' integration into the line-up.
"The rest of us have to make it easier for these guys. We know they get picked because we know they can do a job," Mackie said.
"If we leave it to too few to get us going, we're going to struggle."
Acknowledging basic mistakes were costly against the Dockers, Mackie said the Cats needed to get better quickly.
Geelong plays Gold Coast, North Melbourne, Richmond and Collingwood in the next four weeks.
"It's on us to get better," Mackie said.
"We've got work to do as a team."
