The 24-year-old, who recommitted to the club with a two-year contract extension this week, conceded the Dogs had dropped off in form at the tail end of the season.
However, he said the magnitude of the 62-point thumping would not dent the belief of the Dogs as they looked to recover against either the Sydney Swans or Carlton next weekend.
“It’s going to be tough for the next couple of days and we’re going to have to do our review and look where we went wrong,” he said.
“There are a lot of areas we need to improve very quickly.
“The belief is still there in the group; it was a tough night and guys are going to be disappointed.
“But the thing is, we’re just going to have to get up for next week.”
Griffen said the result was largely the Dogs’ own doing given their inconsistent ball use and inability to halt the Pies’ dangerous flow.
“They just ran all over the top of us with their speed and the way they used the ball,” he said.
“We butchered the ball, which was very disappointing and the turnovers killed us.”
He said maintaining positivity would help the players as they faced the fallout from the loss across what coach Rodney Eade said would be an easier week on the track.
He also claimed the Dogs’ recent finals record, which saw them recover from qualifying final losses to beat the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions in semis over the past two years, would also give them a mental boost.
“Last year we got smashed by Geelong and we came back in the next game and beat Brisbane,” he said.
“We know we can beat any side; we just have to get right and don’t butcher the ball like we did tonight.”
The Dogs will now play the winner of Sunday’s clash between the Swans and the Blues at ANZ Stadium.
Griffen said the players would convene and have a look at the game en masse to kick-start their preparation for the do-or-die final.
“I would have thought definitely, we’ll get together and have a look at that and prepare and get ready for next week.”
