SCARLETT: HOW CATS CAN WIN AT THE ‘G

DECIDING whether to play swingman Harry Taylor forward or back and figuring out how best to slot Gary Ablett into a stacked midfield — as problems go, they are pretty good ones for Geelong coach Chris Scott.

The sixth-placed Cats have been strengthened by the return of Taylor from a foot injury and Ablett from a strained hamstring for tomorrow’s big clash against Collingwood.

Taylor will play for the first time since Round 1, although whether that is as a key forward in place of the suspended Tom Hawkins or in a key defensive role against Magpies’ man mountain Mason Cox has yet to be revealed.

“I don’t want to tell Collingwood what we’re doing,” Scott said yesterday.

Playing the two-time AllAustralian defender as a pinch-hitting forward is a live option.

“We played them in Round 22 last year and Harry played forward to reasonable effect,” Scott said.

Geelong’s inexperienced back-six has stood up manfully in the absence through injury of Taylor and Lachie Henderson, although the coach says the presence of the 211cm Cox in the Collingwood attack presents a challenge.

Geelong yesterday confirmed a Geelong Advertiser report that versatile tall Mark Blicavs would sign a long-term contract extension.

Blicavs is locked away for the next five years, taking him through until the end of the 2023 season.

It is a big show of faith in a player who spent his teenage years as a distance runner with Olympic ambitions, before being rookie-listed by the Cats in 2012 and being one of their most durable and versatile players since.

“He’s very keen to be a oneclub player and we are very keen for him to be that as well,” Scott said.

“It’s acknowledgment on his part that our club has really supported his development.

“But more importantly, it’s acknowledgment of how important he has become to us.”