What does Chris Scott do with Tom Hawkins? Will Cam Guthrie be available? Does Oisin Mullin make way for Tom Stewart?

Geelong's 84-point rout of Port Adelaide on Thursday night has booked the club into its 13th preliminary final in 18 seasons, continuing its extraordinary record.

The Cats put together an impressive team performance, but their final team of 23 saw seven finals debutants, all of which contributed significantly to the victory.

It has been widely documented that Geelong has multiple players currently sitting on the sideline who, given the extra week to prepare, could be in line for selection in a fortnight.

Hawkins - who announced he is hanging up the boots at season's end - will be given every chance for a fairytale finish but will need to prove his fitness, starting with Saturday's VFL clash against the Southport Sharks.

Guthrie and Sam De Koning will join him in the reserves grade, as they will all push for a spot in the preliminary final.

Stewart was a late out with illness whilst also tending to a hamstring concern but is expected to return, likely replacing late inclusion Mullin in the side.

Shannon Neale was Hawkins' replacement when the latter went down with injury while Jed Bews has spent most of the year in the VFL.

"We think about all the ways in which it could work, but always have a bias towards sort of the longer term," Scott said on Thursday night.

"Now, it gets a point with some of those guys where the longer term is gone and you've only got a couple of weeks to go, so you need to be a bit more aggressive. But we're not there yet, and that was why we made the decisions we did.

"Stay optimistic, stay open minded, keep all the options on the table, and make good decisions in the moment. Resist the temptation to forecast too much."