STEVEN Motlop says his frustrating start to the season has been tempered by Geelong's on-field success and by the opportunities his absence has granted to some of the club's younger players.
The 23-year-old will play his first AFL game for the year on Sunday against Richmond after overcoming a pre-season operation on his right knee.
While he admits sitting on the sidelines has been a tough ask, the Cats' recent form - last Sunday's loss to Port Adelaide aside - has been encouraging to witness ahead of his return.
"I know a lot of people wrote us off and we've had a great start to the year, apart from the loss on the weekend," Motlop said on Friday.
"Everything's going really well and we'll be looking to bounce back this week.
"It's been very tough but it's a good thing as well; it's great to see young guys get an opportunity, [George] Burbury and young Lincoln McCarthy.
"To see them come in and play their role and see the club winning, it's really good to watch."
Motlop needed surgery to fix a long-running problem with his patella tendon in his right knee after a modified program over summer failed to improve it.
He travelled to London on the recommendation of club physiotherapist Mark Young, who had previously worked with the English cricket team.
Motlop admitted he had to place plenty of trust in the club's fitness staff to go overseas for the surgery to remove the piece of cartilage that was irritating his tendon.
"Mark worked with them a lot and I put it all in his hands and thankfully now it's all fixed," he said.
"It's all going well now, I'm pain free pretty much and the physios are doing a good job, I'm still loading the tendon and trying to get it stronger."
His layoff enabled him to spend time in the gym and strengthen his previously troubling shoulders and his quads, which resulted in a gain of around five kilos of muscle mass.
He was initially told it would be 8-10 weeks before he played again but the Cats were cautious with their talented forward and it was closer to 14.
Over the past two weeks, he's run 10km and then 12km in his two VFL games, which has led to some weight loss.
He's feeling stronger than he has in the past, albeit slightly less fit given his lack of pre-season.
He's also looking forward to being part of a side that intends to "be right up in their face" on Sunday against Richmond after the Power easily got the better of the Cats last week.
"I thought we just let Port play a pretty free-flowing game and let them use the ball really easily," he said.
"Something that we pride ourselves on is our defence and Richmond has got some really good ball users and we don't want to let them score as easily."
Motlop said a decision hadn't been made on whether he would start as the Cats' substitute.
He said he was just looking forward to getting back out there and rediscovering his form rather than focusing on marking a huge splash.
"I suppose everyone's going to think I'm going to have an impact but I've got good teammates that are hopefully going to help and I'll come in and just play my role like I have the last couple of years."
