The Cats, who fell to North Melbourne in round one of the NAB Cup, will travel to Yea in north-east Victoria minus some of its biggest names including skipper Cameron Ling and Brownlow Medallist Gary Ablett.
But Cameron Mooney, another who will not be making the trip to face the Tigers, says there is an upside in showcasing Geelong's depth throughout the remainder of the pre-season matches.
"We're lucky we've got a chance to do that, give the young kids a bit of a go," Mooney said on Thursday. "We'll do that over the next four weeks.
"You saw last week that Mitch Duncan played pretty well and a few of these younger guys will get a chance when during the season they might not because we're a pretty strong squad."
Apart from Mooney, Ablett and Ling, the Cats will also be without Mark Blake, Tom Hawkins, Steve Johnson, Andrew Mackie, Max Rooke, Joel Selwood and Harry Taylor.
Joel Corey is another who will miss after undergoing surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus earlier in the week.
Mooney said the dual premiership player's one-month absence would give up-and-coming midfielders like Duncan a chance to stand up.
On his own form and durability, the 30-year-old said he was keen to play on as long as possible, or "until they throw me out, basically".
"I'm just having the time of my life at the moment. I feel like I'm 26 in the head," he said.
"I'll stick around as long as I can but whether the body can hold up for a couple of years, we'll see".
On the basis of their first-round NAB Cup performance, the Tigers could be forgiven for being relieved about the Cats' weakened state heading into the match.
The Tigers were thumped by Hawhtorn to the tune of 73 points in what was rookie coach Damien Hardwick's first game in the senior position.
However, defender Kelvin Moore said the players were still confident they can progress this season despite the less-than-impressive showing in Launceston.
"Everyone is still very positive. We're in a stage where we've had a bit transformation, we've lost a lot of big name players and we've had a lot of good young guys come in," he said.
"We're at that stage where we're rebuilding and Damian and all the coaching staff have put everything in place and we're going to stick at it.
"It might take a month, six months, 12 months - but we'll stick at it and eventually we'll get there."
Moore said midfielder Nathan Foley was progressing well in his rehabilitation from an ankle injury, but was not expected to play until round one of the season proper.
