It’s not often that an opposition team strikes a Geelong outfit off a 110-point thumping . . . but so it is for Carlton under the roof come Friday night. That said, Mick Malthouse’s men have much for which to atone when they take to Etihad Stadium, given the events of last Saturday evening at the Gabba.

Geelong is, of course, a formidable outfit. The team currently sits fifth in the AFL for contested possessions, second for contested marks and third for marks inside 50, so Marc Murphy and co. will need to be up for what promises to be a decent old scrap.

The Cats boast a plethora of Premiership players, led of course by the captain Joel Selwood. Selwood is a clearance and contested ball animal, and is it any wonder he leads their contested possessions, centre clearances and general clearances. One of the few players in the comp single-handedly able to drag his team over the line, can the Cat’s inside-ball game be tamed with a tag?

One player tending to fly under the radar for the Pivotonians is Matthew Stokes – the club’s top uncontested ball winner who, given the weight of numbers, tends to go largely untagged in racking up the numbers.

Complementing their presence is the seasoned James Kelly, who tends to play the sweeper across half-back and sets up a lot of play going forward. Kelly leads the Cats for rebound 50s, is fourth for possessions and fifth for marks, so not surprisingly poses a serious threat for the boys in Blue.

Geelong on the rebound from a serious hiding poses one of the great challenges for 2014. Can the Blueboys meet it?

Watch this space.