GEELONG'S other forwards were partly culpable for the crucial miss by Brad Ottens that typified the Cats' wastefulness in their AFL grand final loss to Hawthorn, according to vice-captain Cameron Ling.

Ottens' shocking miss when he was running into an open goal, with two teammates in space for a handball, highlighted Geelong's wasted opportunities in the second and third quarters at the MCG.

The run of 11 successive behinds - several of them rushed behinds by Hawthorn - were crucial in the final outcome given the Hawks still led at half time despite the Cats' early dominance.

Several Geelong players admitted afterwards the misses had a deflating effect on the team, but Ling said Ottens should have been told that he had the time to run in and make the kick a certainty.

"Otto's goal, he could have run in and dribbled it over the line," Ling said.

"I don't think he was trying to do anything drastic by kicking a goal from there he probably genuinely thought he was under pressure.

"We needed to talk to him, make sure he could run it right in and dribble it through for an easy goal."

Ottens was not the only culprit in the forward line, as Cameron Mooney and Paul Chapman both missed shots during the game with teammates in much better positions.

"I don't think any individual went out there to say 'Right, I'm going to have pot shots for goal and not give it off'," Ling said.

Ling was one of Geelong's best players in negating the influence of Hawthorn skipper Sam Mitchell, but the only comfort he could draw was hoping the Cats learned from the defeat.

"On grand final day you can't let anyone slip under your guard, and we probably did; we let a couple of their players bob up and play terrific games.

"That's credit to them as well as something we need to work on.

"If we come out of this game stronger and having learned a lot from it, then it will be a lot healthier for us next year."