GEELONG coach Chris Scott conceded Jeremy Cameron and Max Holmes were "short of a run" after the Cats' premiership tilt was ended at the hands of Fremantle in Friday night's semi-final.

The Cats coach revealed Cameron would now undergo surgery with their season over, having battled through an arm nerve injury throughout the season, plus a left shoulder concern which required an operation in mid-July that saw him only return for their final three games.

Holmes made an earlier-than-expected comeback from a syndesmosis injury sustained in round 19 against St Kilda, playing the Cats' two finals games, but his impact was below his normal standards.

On Friday night, makeshift winger Cameron finished with two goals from 14 touches, while Holmes had 18 disposals although his trademark dash with missing, managing only 187m gained.

DOCKERS v CATS Full match coverage and stats

"Just short of a run for Holmes, Cameron a little bit as well," Scott told reporters after the 14-point loss to Fremantle.

"(Cameron) did a remarkable job to get through the year the way he did. It's for him to speak about what he put up with his arm. I will say that we don't put our players at risk, so it was more a discomfort function thing that he was struggling with.

"It was one of those issues where he could have had it fixed and he misses the rest of the year or he could keep playing through and if it failed, he would have to get it done then. But I thought he was terrific the way he hung in.

"Then a really bad shoulder injury that needed surgery and came back. Even the very best players need some continuity in their footy to perform at their best at this level."

When asked if Cameron will need surgery, Scott said "That's what they're telling me."

"He'll get it fixed straight away and it'll be a decent lay-off, but the good news with upper body injuries is generally you can run," Scott said.

Holmes missed Geelong's final four home and away games with an ankle injury before returning for the Cats' elimination final win over Carlton, where he only managed 16 possessions, despite originally being slated for a best-case preliminary final return.

"To come back and play two finals the way he did was ultra-impressive and speaks to his professionalism," Scott said.

"But I think it was more a matter of a couple more weeks would have had him closer to himself.

"I would've liked to see what Holmes and Cameron would've been able to do in a couple of weeks' time."

Scott reflected that Friday's defeat to Fremantle was symbolic of the Cats' season, praising his side for persisting under duress and finding a way to hit the lead in the third term after trailing by 31 points early.

"There’s a lot of emotions when you lose the last game especially in a really high standard contest like that," he said.

"In some ways this game was symptomatic of our season. A lot of things went wrong. We found ourselves behind the eight ball at various times. We found a way to hang in and give ourselves a chance."

Scott bemoaned bad luck, without elaborating on specifics, but TV replays showed him baffled by the third-quarter ARC decision of insufficient evidence, denying Ollie Dempsey a spectacular goal when they had momentum.

"Sometimes I punch the wall when I'm happy, sometimes I punch the wall when I'm annoyed," Scott ironically joked about the footage.

"There were a few moments where we had momentum and for one reason or another we couldn't capitalise on it. That was probably one of them.

"I was surprised it was taking so long. It looked pretty clear to me. But it's not for me to judge.

"After a loss in a final, it's not the time to litigate that decision making. From what I'm told, everyone has the same opinion that Ollie did."