GEELONG will give in-form forward Daniel Menzel every chance to prove his fitness ahead of Saturday night's top-four clash against the Western Bulldogs.
Cats coach Chris Scott said he was reasonably confident the 24-year-old had recovered from injury he suffered against North Melbourne when he twisted his ankle on the synthetic turf near the boundary fence.
"We're a lot more optimistic than we were, so it's a really good sign," Scott said.
"He's worked really hard to get it right. There was obviously doubt but given the way he played after that ankle injury last week, that always gave us some hope."
His potential availability presents a selection dilemma for the Cats, with Tom Hawkins certain to be included after serving a one-week suspension for striking Greater Western Sydney's Phil Davis.
Scott said although the Cats' forward line performed well against North Melbourne without Hawkins, the key forward was an automatic selection.
"We thought our forward line was pretty effective last week and looked a little bit different, but we would always prefer to have Tom [Hawkins] in there," Scott said.
"The challenge for us is to maintain the strengths we had last week but add to them with Tom."
Scott said it would be tough to drop a player because there were no obvious candidates to come out.
Although he has done his job in the past three weeks, Jordan Murdoch, who was a late inclusion for the game against Carlton, and the impressive Darcy Lang would appear the most vulnerable if Menzel played.
Scott said Sam Menegola and Mitch Clark, who have played well in the VFL in the past two weeks, would not be considered for senior selection until after the bye at the earliest.
The battle against the Western Bulldogs is expected to be fierce, with the Cats' big guns in the midfield going against some of the game's rising stars in the Western Bulldogs' line-up.
"It's a genuine top-four game," Scott said.
"They're even. They don't depend on one or two players and defensively they're really sound."
Although match-ups wax and wane throughout a game, Scott said the Cats would consider assigning a run-with player to one of the Bulldogs' stars.
"The question is always, do you alter your structure a little bit to take one of [your opponents] out, which can lead to you being a little bit disorganised, or do you take them on, because even if you get one the other four will get you anyway," Scott said.
"We really rate [Marcus] Bontempelli, [Tom] Liberatore, [Mitch] Wallis, [Jackson] McRae and [Jake] Stringer."
Scott said it was horses for courses and it wasn't always the obvious opponent that was targeted.
"There is still a place for the good run-with player," he said.
Meanwhile he celebrated the elevation of his former teammate and Geelong development coach Nigel Lappin to the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
"It was fantastic reward for someone who doesn't crave the spotlight. He was absolutely instrumental in Brisbane's success and it is great recognition," Scott said.
