Geelong’s ruck stocks will be tested in the absence of Dawson Simpson, but senior coach Chris Scott has a variety of options at his disposal.

Nathan Vardy filled the breach when Simpson went down with a knee injury against the Saints, and the Cats’ coach admits the ‘incumbent is the most likely’ to keep the number one ruck position.

But there are others ready to go should the opportunity present.  

“Trent West did a great job for us early in the season and in previous seasons. He’s a premiership player and he’s been doing a good job at VFL level so he’s well and truly in the frame,” Scott said.

“Josh Walker’s another one. He kicked six on the weekend (in the VFL) as a forward and has shown the ability to assist as a second ruckman.
“Mark Blicavs we just rested last week. While he’s not a certainty to come back in this week he’s likely.”

Scott confirmed Josh Hunt will play after missing the victory over the Saints, while Allan Christensen is another who is in line for a comeback after a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

“I don’t doubt he (Christensen) could back to AFL level after missing two or three games and have an immediate impact,” he added.  

“The dialogue internally is more around what’s best for him longer term and whether he’s done enough work to make sure his hamstring can withstand the rigours of an AFL game.

“I’m confident that he’ll play but there may be an approach over the next couple of days that’s a little more cautious and that might mean we bring him back through the VFL.”

When talking about the challenge against North Melbourne, Scott was highly complimentary of its attacking prowess, pointing at the last meeting between the two sides.

“They’ve (the Kangaroos) shown that they can score heavily against anyone so it is going to be a genuine test. Even though last time we kept North to 42 inside 50’s, once they got in there they scored a lot.

“Last time we played them they were 41 or 42 points up and we were playing pretty good footy at the time. In a half of footy they just dominated us.”

Scott believes the Kangaroos’ mix of youth and experience will provide a great challenge on Friday night.  

“They still have an extremely young list. They have some experienced players but the majority of the 22 they put out each week are under 100 games. It seems that they do have some lapses in games that I would assume won’t happen when they get a little more experience.

“The challenge for us is to take away their strengths and their scoring power particularly early in the game and then back that we can be a little more consistent when the heat’s really on.”