Geelong's bid to keep their undefeated start to the season alive against Brisbane this week will be buoyed by the expected return of three premiership players for Round 6.
After managing veteran pair Tom Hawkins and Jake Kolodjashnij andย deciding to give captain Patrick Dangerfield an extra week before returning from a hamstring injury, the Cats will be left with just one experienced player on their injury list heading into their crunch clash in Queensland.
Geelong could also regain Gary Rohan after the ex-Swan played his first minutes in the VFL following a recent back issue against the Northern Bullants on Sunday. Zach Tuohy is also likely to be available following an ankle issue, leaving Cameron Guthrie (quad) as the sole senior player manning the club's casualty ward.
Speaking after his side's 75-point victory over North Melbourne, coach Chris Scott confirmed that Dangerfield, Hawkins, and Kolodjashnij will all be available to take on the Lions.
"We've flagged consistently that we will manage our list, I don't think that's a new thing for us," Scott said.
"We've got a plan with Tom that is subject to change week-to-week. The good news is he was available to play this week and we think he'll be better next week for missing (Round 5).
"Dangerfield really was available this week, and Kolodjashnij the same.ย The conversations aren't difficult because I think our players understand it. They understand what we're trying to do."
In Hawkins' absence fellow star forward Jeremy Cameron booted six goals from 21 disposals in a more open role that allowed late inclusion Shannon Neale and young attacker Ollie Henry to help lead Scott's front third against the Roos.
Frighteningly, the Cats coach believes fans are yet to see the best of Cameron in his "evolving" up-field roaming role, which has the Geelong spearhead averaging a career-high 18.6 possessions per game while sitting just three goals off the top of the Coleman Medal leaderboard.
"He's a difficult matchup, so we're always keen to explore how we can challenge the opposition with that," Scott said.
"There's no question in my mind that he can play as a deep forward and be a handful for any team or any individual matchup. We think he's able to complement the rest of our group by sort of mixing it up a little bit.
"It's still a work in progress as to how we use him. That mix is something that's evolving, at this stage of the year it's promising for us.
"It gave us a chance to play Shannon Neale a bit deeper, he looked dangerous as well. In the modern game, if you become really one-dimensional then it's really easy for the opposition to plan.
"These days the competition is so even, you want to keep thinking about how you want to adjust things when they're not working."
The Cats, who sit 5-0 heading into Round 6, will travel to the Gabba this week to play Brisbane on Saturday night.
