Cats ready to switch on against Collingwood, says coach Chris Scott

CHRIS Scott has no doubt Geelong is capable of turning its average form into a run of wins, starting against Collingwood on Saturday night.

GEELONG coach Chris Scott has no doubt the reigning premiers are capable of turning their average current form into a run of wins against the AFL's best sides, starting against Collingwood on Saturday night.

The Cats only scraped past bottom-placed Gold Coast on Sunday and are precariously placed in seventh spot, with games to come against every other top eight side over the remaining eight rounds.

But Scott said while they weren't yet playing well enough to compete with the likes of the Magpies, they had the class to turn it on when it counted.

"It would be probably easier for us to be playing really well and continue that form into this week, rather than be playing average footy and then play really well, but it doesn't make it impossible," Scott said today.

"I was asked the question post-game on the weekend, 'Do you think you can win on the weekend?'

"Of course we can, of course we can.

"I'm not saying we're going to, but if we play near our best, absolutely we can win, not only this week but every game we play for the rest of the year."

Scott said the Cats' form was also modest ahead of their previous clash with Collingwood in Round 8, yet they were level with the Magpies deep in the last quarter, before Collingwood kicked the last two goals to seal victory.

"So we think our method's okay against them," Scott said.

"But we're not hiding away from the fact that we need to play a little bit better than we are."

Nathan Buckley confident Travis Cloke will stay

The Cats expect to regain forward Steve Johnson from hamstring tightness, along with youngster Mitch Duncan (knee).

Defender Harry Taylor is also likely to return, after missing last round's match because his partner was due to give birth, although they are still awaiting the arrival of their second child.

But James Podsiadly (ankle) remains in doubt and Geelong have lost Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel for their next two games, after he accepted a suspension for an off-the-ball strike on Gold Coast's Trent McKenzie.

"Jimmy's a very experienced player, he's got a pretty good record, everyone respects him as a ball player, so we'll treat it as an isolated incident and move on," Scott said.