"IT'S a really good feeling."

The chance to play in front of a big home crowd against the benchmark side in the competition is a challenge Harry McKay believes the Blues will be up for. 

Complimenting the team's form and system in recent weeks as well as the connection of the forward group and wider team, McKay is excited by the test that will be presented on Saturday night at the MCG.

Here's what he had to say. 

On reflecting on the last year: 

"It’s always good to reflect on where you’ve come from and where you’re at at the moment. I’m really enjoying where the Club is at the moment.

"I think having to go through those challenges early on makes it a bit more special when you get that success, not that we’ve had any yet.

"It’s important to reflect, but everyone is enjoying their time and we’re really lucky that we’ve got some good people at the football club and we’re enjoying the season so far."

On the resurgence of the key forward:

"I think it’s good for the game, seeing forwards and midfielders kicking big scores. This week, we’re really excited about the challenge against Geelong: they’ve been a really good side for a long time and they’re having a great year, so we’re really looking forward to the challenge.

"Hopefully it’ll be a big crowd, it’s a Carlton home game so it’ll be really exciting. It’s a privilege to play in these types of games in the back-end of the season." 

On Charlie Curnow: 

"It’s been awesome. Playing with Charlie is so much fun and the amount of energy he brings to not only the forward line, but to the whole Club and the whole 18 people who are out on the ground, it’s really amazing.

"For him to be back playing football and be healthy and have a smile on his face is really great to see.

"Knowing Charlie for a few years now, it’s really disappointing when someone has a long time out of the game. To his credit, the amount of work he’s done to get back, it’s no coincidence he’s having a good year with the amount of work he puts in: we all love playing with Charlie." 

On Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron: 

"We don’t really compare too much, it’s a bit hard to compare because we’re all really different. Jeremy and Tom are the best in the league in my opinion and the work they do together, they’re quite different: the combination is really strong, they’ve played really good football together for a couple of years now.

"I often watch Tom and Jeremy and pick parts of their game that they’re doing well and sit back down and acknowledge some of the things they’re doing really well.

"I really like watching those two and I understand there’s a media talk about the forwards, but it’s 18 people that contribute to a team and the result on the weekend. As a forward, a lot depends on what happens up the ground." 

On the contribution from the small forwards: 

"I think when you can have a couple of really dangerous forwards, it’s really challenging for opposition teams.

"The rest of the forwards play their role awesomely, but we couldn’t do our role and get the launch at the footy and take marks without the roles that all the other boys do.

"A lot of boys are having great years. Corey Durdin, Matt Owies, we know what Jack Silvagni brings out every week, Zac Fisher is in career-best form. So as much as people talk about me and Charlie, those guys are having awesome years and we really want to highlight that."

On his kicking routine: 

"It’s something I’m still working out a bit. A lot of it depends on conditions and time of the game, a little bit of feel as well, because sometimes you’re really feeling around the corner or feeling a good drop punt.

"In terms of an exact number, it’s hard to put a figure on it. Anything 40-45 metres-plus is probably a drop punt, but I’ve had a couple in the past few weeks that if I had my time again, I’d probably change." 

On the response to the Eagles: 

"I think we were really happy with our first quarter, we came out and played some really good football. We wanted everyone to start really strong and we were able to do that.

"We knew they would respond and our response probably wasn’t as good. I think at half time, 'Vossy' highlighted the stark contrast between our first and second quarters and we knew that if we got back to pressure and playing good team football, being really strong around the contest, the scoreboard would take care of itself.

"I think highlighting now that it’s really obvious when we do play our way, it’s really strong, then when we step away from that a bit, it stands out a bit more. I think it’s a good thing: we’re really comfortable with what our way is but it just highlights when we step away from that.

"The competition is so even, it doesn’t take long for teams to put some scores on the board."

On the strong form in recent weeks: 

"In the last three weeks, we’ve played some really strong football. The result didn't go our way against St Kilda, but holistically, our system has been really strong over the last three weeks.

"We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit in a few patches but the way we want to play our game and some of the key statistics have been really strong, we’re pretty comfortable with it." 

On the feel around the Club: 

"It’s really nice at this time of the year to be playing some important games and being alive. It’s a really good feeling.

"Since Round 1, we’ve built really nicely and confidence is a really important part of the group and I think that’s building really strong every week.

"Results like the weekend where we could be challenged but put our foot down and get results, that builds confidence. I feel like the group is in a really good spot."