BROWNLOW medallist Patrick Dangerfield might be trying to keep his mind off football during the off-season, but his team's painful preliminary final exit still stings.

The Geelong superstar was partying in style at the Birdcage marquees on Oaks Day, having just come back from some interstate and international holidays.

"We've been in Italy for a few weeks, and then I've just come back from a week in Darwin fishing," he said on Saturday.

"So I haven't been around, it's been pretty good."

Dressed up with his wife Mardi, the midfielder was trying to continue the holiday celebrations but admitted it was hard to keep his mind off the next season, ever since Geelong was booted from the Grand Final by the Sydney Swans.

"We were one game off the Grand Final and watching that game, that desire still burns really brightly to go one better next year," he said.

While the Cats managed to make it to the semi-finals, Dangerfield isn't expecting an easy ride to the top again.

"The entire competition is going to get better," he said.

"So if we get better by five per cent and the rest of the competition improves by 10 per cent then we're going to be pedestrian."

But he believes Geelong is more than capable of matching that talent next season.

Dangerfield will return to training on December 5.