Geelong fullback Matthew Scarlett says he has no idea if star onballer Gary Ablett is heading to the Gold Coast next year.

"I hope not. If he knows, he hasn't shown it to us," Scarlett said after the Cats were thrashed by Collingwood 18.12 (120) to 11.13 (79) in Friday night's AFL preliminary final at the MCG.

The Magpies eased up late in the game after leading by 62 points at half-time and Ablett was one of very few good players for the Cats, gathering 40 possessions in midfield.

"It's Gary's decision," said Scarlett, a five-time All-Australian who has played in two premiership sides with Ablett.

"But I'm just speculating because honestly I have no idea and I don't think anyone else has.

"If he wants to go that's his choice. We'd love him to stay.

"It's a massive decision for him."

Scarlett, 31, is bracing himself for the "too old, too slow" tag to be thrown at the Cats.

"I know everyone is going to say we're too old and write us off and the era's over," Scarlett said.

"We've just got to get better and adapt to the game.

"We've got a special group and we're not going to just accept that we're too old and all that kind of stuff.

"They were really good with their pressure. It felt like they had three or four extra players out there."

Scarlett said he'd never seen anything like the intensity the Magpies showed in their defensive efforts across Geelong's backline.

"I've never seen a side pressure ... they just swarm you," the 246-game veteran said.

"It's like they've got extra players. I've never seen anything like that.

"They put a lot of pressure on you and force you to over-handball."

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