A CRESTFALLEN Sam Mitchell has said Hawthorn will continue to be aggressive in trying to improve its list, demanding of his group that another preliminary final berth won't be the aim heading into next season.

Hawthorn made a terrific start to Friday night's preliminary final, jumping into a 20-point lead before conceding six consecutive goals on either side of half-time to eventually fall to a tough 17.13 (115) to 13.7 (85) defeat.

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The Hawks have made no secret of their desire to improve again over the off-season, with Mitchell already meeting with contracted Essendon captain Zach Merrett around the potential of a blockbuster trade this October.

Speaking after Friday night's 30-point loss, Mitchell said he was balancing the pride of the side's improvement across the season with his disappointment in not being able to convert the team's September success into a premiership.

"I don't think it's any surprise that we're going to be aggressive in trying to make our list the best it can be. I think every club is doing that," Mitchell said.

"I'm not ready for this yet but free agency, the draft, Trade Period … they're all ways we can improve our list. We're going to need to do that. Everyone is.

"It's not just because we've got to be better than we were. Even if we're the same as we are this year, that's not going to be enough to make the eight next year. The game goes forward every year. We've got progress to make.

"I'm enormously proud of the whole journey when we look at it, and some of that has been aggressive development and some of it has been aggressive free agency etcetera. But this isn't the aim.

"The aim isn't to sit here in preliminary final week as a loser and say we've achieved. I've got a level of pride, but I also have a level of desperation to go a couple of steps further than this."

Hawthorn has gone from being a bottom three team in 2023 to making a semi-final last year and a preliminary final this season, with Mitchell determined to see his Hawks side improve again next year.

"It's a question for once I've dealt with it a bit more," Mitchell replied when asked to evaluate the side's rapid development.

"When I go back to the strategic thinking that gets us from where we started to where we are, this has been the plan. We understand along that journey, it's not linear.

"There's usually a bump in the road, somewhere you don't expect it. Locking eyes with Will Day at the end of the game, you realise there's these bumps in the road that you can't prepare for.

"Just because we've gone from sixth to fourth doesn't mean we go up any further next year. We have to start again. It's the reality of the game.

"But the one thing I can guarantee all Hawks fans is they're willing to work. I just looked back and saw my own emotion in every player. They're feeling the same pain that I am and they'll all be ready."

A defiant Mitchell also said that Friday night's preliminary final demonstrated that his young Hawthorn group could still beat the best sides in the competition, but needed to sustain dominance in games for longer.

Having seen its lead exceed three goals at differing stages during the first half, a late Hawthorn fadeout enabled Geelong to claim a one-point half-time advantage before the Cats kicked clear in the third term.

"There's plenty to take from the season," Mitchell said.

"We're making progress, our best stands up. We've got to the point now where our best is good enough. But we needed to produce pretty close to the very top end of what we are capable of tonight to beat a really quality side.

"I don't know the numbers, but if we had played a bit closer to our best then we're capable of beating Geelong. That's the position you want to be in as a club.

"We're going to have to make some improvements, we're going to have to continue to grow as a group for handling big moments but also just the execution of skill under enormous pressure.

"For the most part we handled it pretty well, but just not often enough tonight."