The Northern Blues will be looking to bounce back from a narrow loss when they face Geelong at Simonds Stadium on Sunday. 

The Blues were without Levi Casboult and Luke Mitchell in round 8, going down to Collingwood by three points in a hard-fought contest.

Northern Blues Coach Luke Webster says some last minute tinkering was needed, with key players out of the mix. 

"We did have to re-shuffle our forward line. It was great though, to see Levi get his opportunity at Carlton."

Looking ahead to Sunday's game, Webster says it will be another good test. 

"The lead-up has been great. It's going to be another great opportunity to take on a really good side. It's a great challenge for our group and we're really looking forward to it."