GEELONG'S gutsy nine-point win over Gold Coast was the sort of victory clubs build cultures around according to Cats coach Chris Scott. 

However the win may come at a heavy cost in the short term with Jimmy Bartel potentially injuring his medial ligament, Mathew Stokes leaving the ground on crutches after rolling his ankle and Tom Lonergan carted off on a stretcher after being concussed.

All three are in doubt for next week's clash against North Melbourne. 

But such worries were pushed to the back of Scott's mind as he reflected on the effort of his skipper Joel Selwood, who turned the game with his brilliant clearance work in the third quarter. 

"Selwood was amazing," Scott said. 

Click here for full match coverage and stats

Scott said he told the players post-match they should make the most of their once in a lifetime opportunity to play alongside a champion such as Selwood.

However, when speaking to the skipper himself, the coach found it harder to find words worth saying.

"I said to him post-game: 'It feels like I say it all the time, but it was just amazing'," Scott said. 

"I don't reckon he's driven by his own performance as much as he is taking his own teammates with him."

Click here to watch Chris Scott's full post-match media conference

With Selwood lifting to win eight of Geelong's 10 centre clearances, Mark Blicavs was one of a number of Cats that emerged to exert their influence.

Blicavs kicked the sealer but it was his ability to intercept and deflect the ball Geelong's way in the last quarter that made him influential.

Underrated externally, he looks likely to be noticed outside of Geelong very soon.   

"We rate him very highly," Scott said. 

"He goes up in my estimation every day because he works so hard at his game and is driven to be a good teammate. For such a young inexperienced player to be leading through that example is inspiring." 

Understudy Josh Walker, stepping in for the absent Tom Hawkins, kicked four goals and youngsters Cory Gregson, Darcy Lang and Nakia Cockatoo showed they could play, darting in and out of contests to move the ball the Cats way. 

Scott was pleased for Walker and felt the young players showed their capacity to compete at the highest level. 

"I thought they were really exciting and really strong in the contest, which is what we need from those young players," Scott said.

"They can do some nice attacking things but we are trying to build those guys off the back of good contests and defending really strongly."

Gregson and Lang look like naturals, while Cockatoo lopes around as though he has time on his side, which he does, most of time. 

However he will continue to delight and frustrate in equal measure.   

Little was said post-game of the efforts of Corey Enright, James Kelly and Harry Taylor who just did what has become expected of them when the game was tight. 

Steve Johnson was once again disappointing but the coach dismissed his form as just a bad day and backed him to bounce back. 

"His pre-season wasn't perfect but it was still pretty good," Scott said. 

"He is a very proud person and an important team member for us so he didn't have a great game today he'll bounce back next week." 

The Cats need him. 

While their culture might have received a boost with the win, they face a growing injury list with Andrew Mackie's return from a quad strain uncertain and the timing of Hawkins' return up to him. 

But the four points will help.  

"I'm really proud of our players, the way they responded," Scott said.