IF GEELONG skipper Cameron Ling proves his fitness to play Carlton on Friday night at Etihad Stadium, he is likely to be rewarded with the tagging job on Blues star Chris Judd.

Ling has played a run-with role on Judd on a number of previous occasions, and Cats coach Chris Scott is keen to repeat the tactic.

"He's actually had a pretty good record on him," Scott said. "There's a view that Lingy's not the quickest player in the competition and I think that's probably generally accepted.

"But he's done pretty well on a lightning-fast player like Judd.

"We'd like to have him available to do that, certainly in parts, but I don't think that will be our one and only plan."

Judd, who won last year's Brownlow Medal, has been in blistering form again this season, averaging 27.7 possessions and 104 Toyota AFL Dream Team points per game.

"We'll put a lot of theoretical time into Chris Judd as a coaching group, but the players have got to get it done and we have a lot of faith in them," Scott said.

"I haven't seen anything work against Judd on a consistent basis. There's no formula, but it's safe to say that we'll have to try a number of different things against him.

"Our players have a lot of input into the way we play and they'll be involved in our planning."

However, the Cats won't be letting Carlton's other gun midfielders sneak under their guard, with Scott highlighting Marc Murphy as another ball-magnet who has helped the Blues climb to fourth place on the ladder.

"He's developed into a terrific player," Scott said. "My view is that he's always been a great offensive player.

"He looks to me to be a better defensive and contested player this year than he's ever been."

Young defender Taylor Hunt is a chance to play against the Blues after shaking off a knee injury, but small forward Shannon Byrnes is still battling to overcome his own knee problem.

Byrnes would probably have tested his fitness in the VFL this weekend, yet he is unable to do so because the Cats' reserves team has a bye.

"Byrnesy's missed so much footy now that his focus is probably on the last half of the season," Scott said.

"Whether he comes back this week, next week or the week after is largely irrelevant.

"He's in the position where he can get himself in great shape to attack the last 10 to 12 games of the season.

"If he's in really good shape when it counts then that's all he'll remember."

Adam McNicol covers Geelong news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_AdamMcNico