CONFIDENCE and not complacency has captain Patrick Dangerfield worried as Geelong weathers the worst start to an AFL season by a reigning premier since 1976.
The Cats are mired in a 0-3 hole ahead of the traditional Easter Monday clash against Hawthorn, which is coming off a morale-boosting win over North Melbourne.
BARRETT Hawkins emblematic of Geelong's very real problems
But the new Geelong skipper notes that they have been in the hunt through all three games, with 22 points their biggest losing margin.
He also joked they are only one win outside the top eight.
"My experience in Geelong - and I think it's been Geelong's experience for a long time - complacency has never been an issue for the club," Dangerfield said on Tuesday.
"It's been uber-successful for a long period. We've had a lot of change from last year, so there's a huge amount of hunger.
"The challenge we have at the moment is the confidence, and that's clear for any team that struggles with consistency and struggles with wins."
Dangerfield added the solution was not focusing on the 0-3 record, but what they need to do to fix it.
"It's the process that underpins why you win and lose. We need to make sure we keep looking at that, not just lassoing ourselves to the wins and losses column, it's the process that underpins it," he said.
"It's not clicking your fingers - that's the tough part.
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"It feels like there's a level of frustration in the group that we should be playing better.
"It would be a different vibe had we been absolutely smoked in every game."
Dangerfield brushed off any talk that the captaincy was affecting his form and similarly dismissed a question about whether alarm bells were ringing at Geelong.
"It's a good headline that you'll go with this afternoon, I'm sure," he said.
Many issues are bedevilling the Cats - Mitch Duncan has been injured, plus recruits Tanner Bruhn, Jack Bowes and Ollie Henry are taking time to adapt to their new team.
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Tom Hawkins is also struggling after returning from off-season foot injury, but Dangerfield said he has not come back too quickly and added the key forward remains a giant headache for opposition defenders.
"We haven't helped 'Hawk' with the way we've moved the footy - that part is really, really clear," he said.
"We haven't helped him at all.
"I have huge confidence in the big fella."
While Dangerfield is upbeat about their prospects, he acknowledged they need to rally soon.
"I'm really optimistic with what we can do, because it isn't far away. We just need to make sure we get it rolling sooner rather than later," he said.
He was asked if their poor start meant more pressure ahead of Monday's game.
"More pressure? Perhaps, but pressure makes diamonds," he said.
