GEELONG’S hope for a home final at Simonds Stadium is over, with the Cats’ semi-final scheduled at the MCG.

The Cats — who went down to Richmond by 51 points — will host the winner of Saturday’s clash between Sydney and Essendon at the MCG next Friday night.

With preliminary finals locked in in Adelaide and the MCG, the dream of hosting a final at the redeveloped ground has been quashed for at least another year.

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Since 2007, Geelong has played finals in all bar one season, 2015.

Throughout the decade, the Cats have played every Victorian final at the MCG — except the qualifying final in 2013 at Simonds Stadium which they lost to Fremantle.

Geelong has never beaten Sydney at the MCG.

Geelong midfielder Scott Selwood said on Saturday that while the Cats “actually love playing there”, Richmond’s knowledge of the ground paid off.

“We actually love playing there, but Richmond play it a lot better than what we do and know the ground a lot better than what we do, like when others come to Simonds Stadium,” he said on SEN.

“We did have to alter stuff (in our game) — we believed we had the right structures and systems in place to do that, and unfortunately we just couldn’t get it done.”

media_camera Is this why Geelong fans weren’t happy last night? Picture: Mark Stewart

He said the width of the ground is what causes the biggest changes to game style as Geelong attempts to counter the vast expanses of the MCG.

“You’re constantly looking to try and squeeze the ground and make it as short as possible so you can attack back so you can defend it and attack back when you’re trying to win,” he said.

“Richmond play it a lot better and knew it a lot better than we did.”

media_camera Friday night wasn’t the result Patrick Dangerfield was looking for in his 200th game. Picture: Getty Images

Geelong captain and Scott’s brother Joel Selwood said the Cats won’t wallow in self pity after their 51-point qualifying final capitulation on Friday night.

Selwood fronted the media out front of Simonds Stadium on Saturday morning, admitting there was plenty of soul searching to do.

“It’s obviously a hard night’s sleep,” he said.

“We will pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off. We’ve got to move forward now, watch today’s game and see who we come up against.

The Grand Final isn't at Simonds Stadium so Geelong should be happy to get more games at the MCG — Mark Graham (@marksgraham18) September 8, 2017

Bulldogs had to host Adelaide at the MCG in 2015 final. Their TRUE home ground holds a lot more than Simonds Stadium.... — Aaron Staines (@tweet_azz_bro) September 8, 2017

Got a new TV yesterday, Simonds stadium looked oddly different tonight ??? #AFLCatsTigers — 587123 (@ClancyWiggum4) September 8, 2017

Geez, the Tigers crowd at Simonds Stadium is loud tonight 😂😂 #AFLCatsTigers #homeground — Scott Harris 🔵🔴🌕 (@realscottharris) September 8, 2017

Did the Cats fans end up at Simonds Stadium.... Where are they? #AFLCatsTigers #AFLFinals — Anthony Alesiani (@anthonyalesiani) September 8, 2017

@triplemfooty just pulled into Simonds Stadium for the big game. Can't wait. Quiet though. It is a Cats home game isn't it? #2ndor3rd — Walshy (@13walshy) September 8, 2017

“(It was a) tough night for us. I mean we didn’t play our best footy, we stayed in the contest for a while, we ended up trying to win the game but the dam wall broke.”

Social media went into overdrive during Friday night’s qualifying final between the Cats and Tigers, with many joking that “Simonds Stadium looks different on television” and that the Geelong fans had been significantly outnumbered — and booed — by a huge contingent of Richmond fans at what was a Cats home game.

Geelong coach Chris Scott said the Cats will endeavour to make the most of their second chance.

media_camera The dejected Cats leave the MCG after falling 51 points short of Richmond. Picture: AAP

“When you go into that side of the draw, you can make an argument that Adelaide and Sydney have been the best two teams for a lot of the year,” he said.

“But we worked really hard to get ourselves into this position where we could have another crack at it.

“We have no choice but to be optimistic about what we can do.”