Geelong midfielder Patrick Dangerfield says the Cats need to break a pattern of poor starts in Friday’s AFL semi-final against West Coast.

The Cats conceded seven of the first eight goals in their 10-point qualifying final loss to Collingwood, compounding a recent run of poor starts in finals games.

“There’s no point shying away from that because that’s the reality,” Dangerfield said.

“Now it’s a different team from previous seasons but the pattern is the same because the starts have been the same.

“So we’ve got to make sure that we find a way that we play the brand of footy that we know we’re capable of, that we play and take risks and play with a bit of flair, that doesn’t take four goals from the opposition to get you into that mood of ‘alright, now we’ve got to get going’.”

Geelong were exposed on the outside against the Magpies, who dominated both uncontested possessions and marks – and it’s something that shapes as a concern against the high-marking Eagles.

“That’s an area, particularly early on in the game, that you just can’t allow the opposition to do because it means they’re controlling the ball and then methodically moving it forward,” Dangerfield said.

“As soon as you allow the opposition that, you can’t apply pressure; so that’s a critical part of the game for sure.”

The Cats’ slow ball movement has also come under scrutiny this year, with Geelong looking stagnant at times going forward.

But Dangerfield said that was a matter of the Cats getting their structure right and better ball movement would follow.

“I think the key for us is just making sure that we’ve got targets ahead of the footy; we didn’t work as well as a unit,” the seven-times All Australian said.

“And when the defence is set up well down the line you don’t want to move the ball quickly because they’re already set.

“So we don’t move it slowly on purpose — it’s the team collective around getting better shape within the contest so we can move it quickly when it’s appropriate to do so.”