Geelong are still searching for answers surrounding their shock AFL loss to Carlton, Cats forward Tom Hawkins says.
Hawkins suspects an inability to cope with ther Blues’ pressure caused his side’s inconsistent display in the two-point loss.
Carlton led by 42 points in the third quarter before a late rally from the Cats almost pinched the premiership points.
“We probably just didn’t handle the pressure that Carlton put on us,” Hawkins told reporters on Wednesday.
“We turned the ball over moving forward, we just didn’t really have much method but that came off the back of their pressure.
“There’s no doubt the game is … as hard as it has ever been.
“(But) the issue is that we have been inconsistent for a long period of time now and that’s not the side we want to be, so I don’t think we have got the answers.
“But we’re going to keep trying to look to how we can improve and become that more consistent side because I understand it would be frustrating for supporters to watch.
“I don’t want to discredit Carlton at all because they played really good football as well, but we were just really poor.”
Cats ruckman Rhys Stanley is expected to miss Sunday’s fixture against Melbourne at the MCG because of a medial ligament strain in a knee.
Hawkins said the loss of Stanley would come in a game when Geelong would seek to play with a more attacking mindset.
“In the last quarter (against Carlton) we played really daring football, we were on the front foot, we were attacking really well,” he said.
“It’s more about taking that sort of approach into the game early against Melbourne on Sunday and then letting our game flow from there.
“We do believe our best footy is good enough. It’s just trying to find that more consistently.”