Geelong coach Mark Thompson has vowed the Cats will use Saturday's Grand Final disappointment as a spur to win the 2009 flag.
He made his comments after Cats CEO Brian Cook said the club needed to win two premierships with its current crop of players for history not to judge them as under-achievers.
In front of 2000 diehard supporters, well down on the numbers last year after the club had broken a 44-year premiership drought, Thompson apologised to fans for letting them down on Saturday.
Thompson said the players and coaches were all 'dirty and upset' the club had not delivered back-to-back premierships.
"But out of that comes a drive and a passion that we want to get back and win another one and that's what we really want to do," said Thompson at the club's Grand Final wake at Skilled Stadium on Sunday.
"We had a little bit of a problem yesterday but it's not going to hold us back. We're going to be very determined to go out there and play hard and work hard and win more premierships. That's what we really want to do."
"We let you down. We have to live with that for the rest of our lives but it will drive us to be better in the future."
Cook expected the Cats to continue improving but whether or not it won another flag would depend on how quickly its rivals progressed.
"But what I can't do is estimate the improvement speed and momentum of other clubs, and it's near impossible with the equalisation system," he said.
"And those who can are kidding themselves."
"To answer your question openly I'd be disappointed if we didn't win two premierships during this period of time. We've won one."
Skipper Tom Harley described the 26-point loss to Hawthorn as a great opportunity lost.
"They pinched one yesterday but we'll bounce back and get one next year," he said.
"We've built a club that hopefully will have sustained success for a couple of years."
Defender Andrew Mackie said the Cats, despite winning 23 of 25 games this season and three more than premier Hawthorn, could not label themselves the best team of the year.
"We just couldn't get the job done. Hawthorn won the premiership and that's what counts," he said.
"We had a good year but at the minute it doesn't really mean much to us because we haven't got the premiership cup."