The words at last flowed freely on Saturday for two of Geelong's three departing heroes, which only heightened the intrigue surrounding the mindset of the third. But by day's end, the door remained ajar for all three of Steve Johnson, James Kelly and Mathew Stokes to be playing at other AFL clubs next year. The latter two are yet to declare their hand about whether they intend to seek a new home in 2016.
Stokes, 30, the youngest of the exiting Cats said he learnt his fate a week and a half a go, but had not turned his mind yet. Having spent time in the VFL, it remains unclear whether he could find a new club - if he so desired.
"I'm not too sure. I haven't really thought about it," Stokes said after Geelong farewelled all three with a 39-point win over an Adelaide side that blew its chance for a home final.
"Do I think I can play on? I think I probably could. But do I want to? Mentally, do I want to go through it all again? I'm not too sure."
With family nearby, Kelly, 31, said he hadn't made up his mind either, even though he was told by Geelong seven weeks ago that this year would be his last at Simonds Stadium.
"I'm not sure, it's a hard thing. I've had a while to think about it and I still don't have an answer," Kelly said.
On a day where his showmanship was appreciated by all and sundry, Johnson left others to discuss what had led to the Cats deciding not to renew his contract.
Johnson had already flagged his desire to continue his AFL career, with Geelong's football manager Steve Hocking explaining how things had panned out for the flamboyant forward.
"Steve was terrific," Hocking said of Johnson on ABC radio pre-game. "He understood where we were coming from."
"The reality is he would like to play another year, every player wants to.
"It's just bringing him to the realisation that's not going to happen at the club."
Stokes was teary as he sung We are Geelong for the final time and looked drained by day's end.
He made it clear that the speculation surrounding his future had taken its toll. "It's been a really long week - the last two nights have been terrible with sleep. To be honest it was a lot of relief after that siren went.
"What people were saying, it doesn't sit that well with me and never has. I'm glad it's over."
Despite the challenge of a year like no other at the club, Stokes had only good things to say about how the Cats handled his situation, with particular praise for Hocking. "It wasn't a complete shock," he said.
"I've been in conversations with Hock all year. I've got a really good relationship with Steve Hocking, a really honest one that we've had over a long period."
Kelly highlighted how tough it had been to maintain secrecy that his time at Geelong was drawing to a close.
"It was hard sort of lying to my friends and some extended family, but it was the best thing for the group to keep it under wraps and I was really keen to just keep playing well and maybe push for another finals campaign."
For all that felt good about the day, Geelong coach Chris Scott wanted to be clear: 2015 was not a success for the Cats, who miss the finals for the first time since 2006.
"We had some challenges through the year that we haven't been good enough to overcome," Scott said.
Adelaide ended up missing a chance to earn a home final after the Western Bulldogs' shock loss to the Brisbane Lions, and will instead head to Melbourne next week to face Luke Beveridge's side.
Caretaker Crows coach Scott Camporeale said his side would learn important lessons from the defeat. "We didn't play the way we have over the last three months and you get what you deserve in this game," Camporeale said.
Camporeale added that Brodie Smith would be fine to face the Dogs despite being substituted out on Saturday with a minor ankle complaint.
