RUCKMAN Mark Blicavs and midfielder Allen Christensen will return to Geelong's team for Saturday night's big clash against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

Blicavs was rested from the Cats' narrow win over Greater Western Sydney on the opening weekend of round 18, while Christensen missed the game due to illness.

Both players trained freely during the club's session at Simonds Stadium on Tuesday morning.

"They are likely to come in," Scott said. "Christensen's a really important player for us. He hasn't played a lot this year. We'd like to get more footy into him.

"Mark Blicavs has been important for us all year. We have managed him carefully through the last couple of years.

"The plan is to have him up and going, because he contributes to our team when we're playing the best."

Third-placed Geelong will face a sixth-placed North Melbourne team that has been wildly inconsistent this season.

But Scott said, "We're expecting them to play well. But, to be honest, we expect every opposition to play well.

"Probably the difference between (North) and some other teams is their best has been exceptional and their worst has been a little bit off that.

"So we have no choice but to prepare for them to play at their absolute best, and if they bring that, we're going to have to absolutely be on our game.

"They're really one the few teams that have been able to beat the best, even on their own turf.

"So the fact that we're playing them at their preferred venue is in their favour a little bit.

"We won't be preparing for anything other than a really tough game."

Geelong hasn't lost to North Melbourne at Simonds Stadium since 2007, and the Cats scored a relatively comfortable win over the Roos at home earlier this season.

But the record between the teams at Etihad Stadium is far more even. The sides are two wins each at the venue since the start of 2012.

"North Melbourne play there a lot," Scott said. "They're used to the venue.

"The conditions are very consistent every single week, and they game-style is probably suited to a fast track where you can move the ball quickly."

The Cats won't only be seeking to cement their place in the top four on Saturday night.

They also want to win to honour the career of three-time premiership player James Kelly, who will celebrate his 250^th game.

"He's just fundamental to what we've been doing over a long period of time," Scott said.

"For a long time he probably flew under the radar. He was All Australian in 2011 for the first time, which surprised me.

"Now he's adding longevity to his career as well. 250 games is no easy task in today's footy, and he's proven on the field that he can play a number of positions.

"A fantastic contested player but a really good decision-maker, and a great ball-user for us in the back half as well.

"I'm sure the boys will be pretty pumped to get out there and perform well with him on Saturday night."