Thompson said after the Cats’ 18-point win over Port Adelaide on Saturday that full-back Matthew Scarlett had been fit to play but had been rested on a rotation basis.
He added the champion defender would be back in next week’s semi final against either Carlton or premier Hawthorn.
“When we get Scarlett and Ling and Joel Corey back, then we might rest Bartel and Kelly and a few other boys,” Thompson said.
Despite what he sees as uneven form throughout this year’s pre-season competition, Thompson said he had been impressed by the desire shown by his players at AAMI Stadium.
“The footy in general has been pretty scrappy -- everyone’s just trying to work out new game styles -- but I was really thrilled with some of the players,” he said.
“We asked for a special effort from some of our leaders and asked the young blokes to go out and have a bit of fun. Djerrkura, McKenna, Scotty Simpson -- they’re all making really good contributions.
“[We’re] doing it by experimenting with some young players and giving them some great opportunities. It’s very positive.”
Thompson suggested several players from Saturday’s win could push for selection in round, while noting the class players still to come back would make a selection breakthrough a difficult task.
“It’s hard to know but I’ve been really happy with Djerrkura, McKenna, Hogan and even young Laidler today was fantastic,” he said.
“It’s great to give an opportunity (but) it’s too hard for me to tell who’s going to be in there for round one. Obviously there are a lot of players who are out of our team for the moment.”
The fad of zone defences was also causing concern, with Thompson saying teams have so far had to deal with midfield “floods” before kicking into forward lines featuring wide open spaces.
Dream Team watch -- Nathan Djerrkura scored 42 Toyota AFL Dream Team points in Geelong's victory over Port Adelaide
