GEELONG

MITCH Duncan said in the aftermath of the preliminary final that Geelong was "a destination club" and now we get to find out how much.

If the Cats can get it right, they'll bring in three players who will help keep open the club's premiership window for some time yet, but more importantly, help arrest a 3-8 finals record since 2012.

Gary Ablett's return to the club seems a given. Gold Coast boss Mark Evans is pragmatic and so are the Cats, so expect that deal to go through shortly after the trade period commences.

But if the Cats can land Jake Stringer from the Western Bulldogs and bring local product Devon Smith home from Greater Western Sydney they'll be right in the frame for the flag next year, because Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood will finally have the right support cast around them.

Look for the Cats to jettison Steven Motlop, Daniel Menzel and perhaps Darcy Lang to make it happen.

Elsewhere the Cats look solid. The stadium is complete (for now) and the off-field leadership settled. Simon Lloyd comes in as the head of footy to replace AFL-bound Steven Hocking.

Which means it all comes back to list management. The Cats won't sit still this October.

Steven Motlop may be sqeezed out to make way for new blood. Picture: AFL Media

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY

ALL THINGS considered, the Giants did well to make it through to the penultimate weekend of the season given they never really got close to having their best 22 settled and on the ground at the same time in 2017.

How they would have loved Ryan Griffen on Saturday, mixing it up in the middle against Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin. Their season-long problem of locking the ball in their forward line plagued them once again in the preliminary final, and too many of them don't work hard enough when they don't have the ball.

They need to look around the League to find some defensively-minded small forwards. Could they extract, say Paul Puopolo from Hawthorn? He's unlikely to be part of Hawthorn's next premiership team but he could be part of the puzzle for the Giants as they seek theirs.

The Giants are always active players around trade time, but they're usually acquiring extra draft picks as their depth players walk out the door. This time around, they'll need to be a bit more strategic about what they're bringing in.

The Giants sorely missed Ryan Griffen during their finals campaign. Picture: AFL Photos