Geelong assistant coach Nigel Lappin said midfielder Travis Varcoe and defender Marcus Drum would be sidelined by injury, but the club's new boss Chris Scott was keen to throw almost everyone into the fray.
"It's probably a good opportunity to play everyone that you do have available, given you’ve got the two games," Lappin said.
"We'll probably play everyone we've got who we feel is ready to be out there. I know Scotty is very keen to play a lot of our first-year players and give them experience at AFL level so they can see where they need to be."
The Cats will have a one-hour rest between their 40-minute pool matches, and the coaching staff is yet to settle on a strategy to manage the issue.
"We might play the first game, then do a light training session on one of the back ovals here, then play the second game," Lappin said.
"Or we might play a very young team in the first game, then bring a fresh team in for the second game, which is probably the likely way we’ll go.
"Every team will have a different take on it. For us, we're looking at getting some exposure for our younger players and that may mean they play in a big clump together."
Lappin, who went through plenty of pre-seasons during his decorated career at the Brisbane Lions, said he was a big fan of starting the NAB Cup with 40-minute games.
"Personally, I really like it," he said. "It’s great for conditioning from the senior players' point of view.
"What you find is that most of them want to play in the first game of the year and the opportunity to play in a shortened game is fantastic. It should really set them up."
