WHEN Geelong piled on 37 goals against Melbourne in round 19, the after-effects of a head-knock suffered the week before meant key forward James Podsiadly had to watch the demolition from the stands.

It was a situation that amused his teammates, and after the game Cameron Mooney was moved to remark, "He'll be filthy. I mean there goes his Coleman [Medal]!"

But Podsiadly was well and truly back in the fray when the Cats thrashed an inexperienced and Ablett-less Gold Coast side by 150 points at Skilled Stadium on Saturday.

Delighted to be back in the action, Podsiadly took some towering marks, bagged five goals and ended the afternoon with a big smile on his face.

He has now booted 40 goals for the season (Coleman Medal leader Lance Franklin has kicked 51).

Such was their midfield dominance, the Cats registered a whopping 80 inside-50s, which was a new AFL record.

Still, Podsiadly proved himself a tough taskmaster by pointing out not all the passes into attack were lace-out.

"I think our delivery into the forward line wasn't great," he said.

"Our mids didn't put the ball in there too well, and sometimes we were a bit slow to defend, so there's a number of areas our coaches will go through.

"We can still improve and we're going to have to."

Geelong's coaches decided to play three tall forwards - Podsiadly, Mooney and Tom Hawkins - against the Suns, and each of the big men contributed to the Cats' score of 29.14 (188).

In his second game back following a six-week stint in the VFL, Mooney collected 22 possessions and booted 3.3, while Hawkins kicked two goals and gathered 18 touches.

"As I've said a few times, we're still trying to work through what our best ruck/forward combination looks like, and we do have a few options," Cats coach Chris Scott said.

"I think we're in pretty good shape. [Nathan] Vardy came back and played VFL footy and played pretty well.
 
"Three tall forwards, two tall forwards, we're still not sure. It depends what the opposition present I think."

The big men did their best to stay out of each other's way, although Podsiadly was sent sprawling to the turf during the first quarter when his smaller teammate Steve Johnson tried to take a spectacular pack mark.

"It came out of nowhere, that contact," Podsiadly said with a chuckle.

"But I think Stevie J's in ripping form and you can't ask any more from him, the way he goes about his footy."

Indeed, Johnson kicked four goals in the first quarter and finished with six.

Although it seems certain that Podsiadly will be in Geelong's best 22 when the finals roll around, he's adamant the players won't be distracted by the fight to stay in the team.

"I think the best thing about Mooney and Hawky is that they're pretty unselfish," he said.

"If they see a player in a better spot they move and let him get the ball.

"I think that's a pretty important part of the way we move the ball forward and the way we work together.

"I have no doubt we can all play in the same side, but I'll let those outside the club debate about whether it should happen."