WHILE there’s no doubting the Demons were outplayed on Thursday night, skipper Max Gawn wasn’t too disheartened.

Geelong controlled most key areas on the field to win by 28 points, but the victory was within the Demons’ grasp for much of the outing.

“A lot of the stats are in their favour throughout the whole game which shows a couple of things,” Gawn said post-game.

“We were away from our game, but also we can be so close when we are away from our game, so imagine if we pulled through with a couple of those key stats.

“But the ball just lived in their forward half and it’s pretty hard to score from Geelong’s forward 50.”

The Cats were the better side on home soil with 20 more inside 50s, 18 more clearances and 13 more scoring shots, pinching top spot on the ladder after Round 17.

“I personally think they were a little bit harder than us today,” Gawn said.

“They really brought some tough footy.”     

The match was Gawn’s first in three weeks, as the ruckman recovered from a syndesmosis injury.

Following a difficult duel with Rhys Stanley, he was comfortable with how his fitness held up.

“I felt like I got through the game OK,” Gawn said.

“I really wanted to test this out and see if I can get it back as quickly as we could.

“We thought it was all systems go for tonight and it got through.

“Now we’ve got a good 10-day break before Port.”

Watch Gawn chat to Channel 7 below.