Geelong skipper Joel Selwood believes the team's tough hub stint in Perth was the catalyst for their run to the grand final.
The Cats' flag hopes looked shaky at 5-4 after they posted just one win from their three games in Western Australia.
Their only win in Perth was against Fremantle, with Geelong losing to both Collingwood (22 points) and West Coast (nine points).
But Selwood felt a positive shift despite not getting the results they wanted, and Geelong produced a six-game winning run after that to secure a spot in the top four.
"We only won one of the three games we played over there, but we started playing footy that I knew we were capable of," Selwood told AFL360.
"It was probably off the back of that stretch of footy that I thought, 'we'll get on a run here'."
Since losing to Port Adelaide by 16 points in the qualifying final, Geelong have posted big wins over Collingwood (68 points) and Brisbane (40) to book a spot against Richmond in Saturday's grand final at the Gabba.
Selwood had three flags to his name by the age of 23 after being part of the premiership-winning Geelong sides of 2007, 2009, and 2011.
But he is yet to win a flag as captain - something he can achieve this Saturday.
"It means everything to me to lead out (the team) every single weekend," Selwood said.
"It's been a special week so far, even hearing from a lot of great teammates (from) an era that probably dragged me on a little bit.
"(It's been good) just to remind myself what the taste was like when we got it."
Selwood suffered a hamstring injury earlier this season, and was rested for four games later in the year due to a niggling knee injury.
The 32-year-old said the rest was necessary, especially given the condensed nature of the fixtures.
"It was a well-planned break I did take.," Selwood said.
"It was needed a little bit. It wasn't the year to take chances."
