GEELONG coach Chris Scott conceded Thursday night's loss to Brisbane was the Cats' worst defeat for a long time, but said there was no need to panic.

Geelong was out-pressured by a hungry Lions team that kicked the first five goals at the Gabba on the way to a comfortable 44-point victory.

The loss came after Geelong had strung together six straight wins, including victories over Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs in the past fortnight.

Scott said in the big picture the Cats are still well placed, but had plenty to think about following the loss.

He was glowing of Brisbane's pressure, but said there was plenty of parts of their own game that needed attention.

"It's a long time since we've been beaten that badly," Scott said.

"So you never come away thinking, 'Oh, well, that's fine'.

"We can't completely gloss over it, but there's a big body of evidence that we've put together now. 

"In the context of the season for us, the take away for me is that we’ve got a bit to work on, we shouldn’t gloss over it, but we also shouldn’t drop our bundle. 

"We are in a pretty good position, have played much, much better than that and I'm confident we’ll play much better than that for the rest of the season."

A number of Geelong's most influential players were well below their best, including skipper Joel Selwood (13 disposals) and forwards Tom Hawkins (one goal) and Jeremy Cameron (goalless).

Scott said collectively his midfield group was down, although the Cats won the clearance and contested possessions counts.

"I'm not in the business of castigating players who have been really good for you for a long period of time, on the basis of one performance," he said.

"We've got a lot more optimism in our thoughts than pessimism right at the moment, even though it stings a bit, but you get beaten by a good opposition sometimes."