While Craig McRae conceded it was "hard not to be disappointed" after Saturday night's 13-point loss to Geelong, he said there was plenty to like about the way his young side played.

"When you're up by five goals at three quarter time and to not get the result... we're still finding out about ourselves and we played a mature opposition and I think there were a lot of positives to take out of it," he said.

"The fight back in the third and to kick nine goals in that quarter showed the brand of footy we want to play.

"We knew they (Geelong) would get more aggressive and go through the corridor - it's one thing to know it's coming and another to try and stop it.

"We played a ferocious, attacking style and we're still finding out at the moment if we can do that for four quarters."

McRae said although the system failed at times, the playing group had adapted to the new game style quickly.

Only three rounds deep into the season, every match is an opportunity to learn and improve.

"We did an enormous pre-season - it's not a fitness thing - it's just if we can play our style for four quarters and a team like Geelong will never allow that," he said.

"Our pressure at times was really high and it looked like the way we want to play for the most part.

"I've been really pleased to be honest, I wasn't sure if we could pick up a new game style this quick.

"It's an exciting brand and the pressure is really high, we need to try to do it for longer.

"(The new game style) all stemmed from trying to get the ball inside 50 more, we were 18th for that last year.

"The players trust the system - even when you don't get the result there's a level of belief.

"We've shown that our best looks really competitive and we've been matched by St Kilda a few weeks ago and Geelong tonight and we've been able to respond."