GEELONG president Frank Costa says he saw coming what most of the football world did not as the team that had dominated for the past two years was soundly beaten in Saturday's grand final.

While most pundits and all bookmakers had the defending champion as a strong favourite, Costa said he had seen danger signs leading into the biggest match of the year.

"I don't think our form has been good right through the finals," he said. "Our best form and our best games were played during the year."

Speaking in the rooms after Geelong's shock loss, Costa said his side had not managed to peak at the right time despite being the strongest team over the course of the year.

"I saw the pressure coming and that we didn't have our best game," he said. "We had to be sharp and in form because Hawthorn were showing really good form. Their best form was probably during the finals."

Costa said his team had not been at its best in more than a month. "Five or six weeks ago, they were playing pretty sharp football. No team can ever go through a season and hold their form all the way through. The trick is to try and get form at the end of the season when you need it most."

Football manager Neil Balme said he did not believe the Cats had been off the boil. "Sure, we had a bit of an off-week the week before (against the Western Bulldogs) but the players were absolutely cherry-ripe," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, our preparation was great, we were relaxed and we were ready to go."