It wasn't the result Joel Selwood was after, but the Geelong skipper added another strong grand final performance to his glittering AFL career.
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Saturday night's clash with Richmond at the Gabba was Selwood's fifth appearance in an AFL grand final and he hasn't let the Cats down once.
The former Sandhurst and Bendigo Pioneer thrives on football's biggest stage.
The courageous midfielder, who played through the finals series with an injured finger, collected 21 possessions to go with five tackles and six clearances.
The 32-year-old was in the Cats' best three players alongside Tom Stewart and Mitch Duncan.
In his first grand final in his rookie season in 2007, Selwood collected 17 possessions in the Cats' domination of Port Adelaide.
The following year he was arguably Geelong's best player as he picked up 29 disposals in the loss to Hawthorn.
In the thrilling 2009 win over St Kilda, Selwood was again in Geelong's best players after kicking one goal in his 24 possessions.
In 2011, Selwood was runner-up in Norm Smith Medal voting in the Cats' victory over Collingwood after he collected 28 touches and kicked two goals.
Selwood, who would have become the first Geelong player to win four premierships had the Cats succeeded on Saturday night, said 2020 had been a positive year for the Cats.
"It's been a long, long time away from home and it was going to plan (in the first half), but you just have to make sure you finish the job," Selwood said after Saturday night's loss to the Tigers.
"It's a step forward (to make a grand final).
"We had a lot of good players play well throughout the year and it's an outstanding effort to be here."
As for his fellow Bendigo Pioneers graduate Dustin Martin, Selwood said sometimes the best laid plans can't stop the elite players of the competition.
"Yeah, I mean, he was finding the ball in his phone box at times so you know we had a plan for him,'' Selwood said of Martin.
"We had a couple different plans for him. He's a good player. He's a hell of a player."
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