Geelong are set to welcome back their "A-grade" stars, headlined by captain Patrick Dangerfield for their blockbuster clash with red-hot Port Adelaide.
The Cats will front up at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night with Dangerfield due to return alongside Mitch Duncan, Max Holmes and Jack Bowes.
Dangerfield has not played since being subbed out of Geelong's round-eight win against Adelaide with a hamstring injury.
The Cats have taken a cautious approach with their star midfielder, as they did successfully ahead of last year's run to the grand final.
“My take is (Dangerfield) could have played (before the bye) and I still stand by that now and I only really bring that up to make a point of how confident we are that he can come back in and play well this game," Cats coach Chris Scott told reporters on Tuesday.
“We are pleased to get something like our A-grade contingent back, we think we are well placed to more than break even with those guys in the midfield so then it becomes a matter of who can use the ball effectively going forward.
“The guys we are bringing back are a little bit more spread across the ground and we have been thinking about how we reintroduce them over the past month so we are more confident about how seamless this will be than some other situations."
Geelong snapped a three-game losing streak two weeks ago when they defeated the Western Bulldogs in a hard-fought contest at Marvel Stadium.
The reigning premiers (6-6) sit ninth but will jump back inside the top-eight if they can end Port's club-record 10-game winning streak.
Defender Oisin Mullin will miss the clash with the Power due to an adductor injury.
