Having overcome a change of routine ahead of its preliminary final, it will be a return to normal for Geelong this week as it prepares for next Saturday's Grand Final.

The word out of the Cats camp following its preliminary victory over the Western Bulldogs was the side had found trouble dealing with their week off.

Footballers, like most people, are creatures of habit, so in that sense a week's break in the finals was not the luxury many had made it out to be.

Coach Mark Thompson was so itchy he wanted the game to be played on Wednesday. For him the final two days of the 12-day break were almost unbearable.

However, the Cats would not have had it any other way. The alternative would have been a first-up finals loss to St Kilda which would have robbed the club a week off to rest aching bodies.

Therefore, the change in routine was the lesser of two evils.

"It's always hard coming off the weekend off. Everyone says it's an advantage but sometimes it's not," said forward Cameron Mooney, who had his colours lowered by Dale Morris, prior to the club's recovery session on Saturday morning.

"You lose your momentum a little bit. You come out and you get tired pretty quickly because you miss the week before."

"At the end of the day as long as we get through, that's the main thing."

Thompson echoed those sentiments, saying he was not concerned the win over the Bulldogs was not as emphatic as what many had predicted.

Whether the Cats won by 10 goals, 29 points or less than a kick as in the case of last year, it did not matter, Thompson said. The end result was still a berth in the Grand Final.

"I don't think it has to be convincing," he said. "There's no need to win by a lot."

But Mooney admitted the Cats were a 'long way' off their best against the Bulldogs.

"We conceded a lot of marks which we don't usually do," said Mooney. "We've got a lot of work to do but we know where we're at. We'll be right."

"Like I said the weekend off, maybe it's not the ideal preparation. Like I said, the last couple of years we probably haven't played that well (in preliminary finals)."

"We've got through now. It's a whole new week now so it'll be great."