GEELONG captain Joel Selwood has backed ruckman Hamish McIntosh to carry the Cats' ruck load throughout the finals after Dawson Simpson underwent back surgery this week.
McIntosh struggled against Hawthorn's two big men David Hale and Jon Ceglar on Saturday night, which led to commentator Garry Lyon questioning the Cats' ruck situation.
With Nathan Vardy out for the year following a February knee reconstruction and Simpson down after a third bout of back surgery, the Cats have little room to move.
But Selwood said they were confident in McIntosh and his ability to stand up during the finals.
"We have faith in Hamish to get the job done," Selwood said on Thursday.
"He's obviously had a huge year after not playing the years before."
Selwood said Simpson's surgery had been a success and backed the 25-year-old to return next season despite the latest course of action on his troublesome back.
"It's very disappointing for Daws. It's happened the last two years where he's fallen down at the wrong time of the year," he said.
"He is a big part of our future and he brings a lot to the side when he's in there.
"Daws has just got to man up and get his body going and I'm sure he can do that."
Selwood forecast at least two changes to the Cats' side that will face the Brisbane Lions on Saturday night in the final home-and-away round.
Shane Kersten will miss after hurting his hamstring against the Hawks while Brad Hartman is expected to miss with groin soreness.
He said he personally wouldn't be rested against the Lions despite the approaching finals.
"I'll be playing this week, I'm feeling pretty good at the moment," he said.
"It's up to the coach to work out what he wants to do with the side this weekend but I would say there would be a few that will miss out."
Selwood also said the Cats had taken plenty of confidence out of their 23-point loss to the Hawks after leading by 33 points in the third quarter.
"It obviously wasn't the result that we wanted but all in all we were pretty happy with what we put out on the field for parts of the game," he said.
"If we do that for longer, we're going to be really hard to beat and that's what we've said all year."
