Geelong midfielder Gary Ablett is certain to return for his first game in a month against Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday while All-Australian defender Harry Taylor is also a likely starter after missing the past six rounds with a partial tear of the plantar fascia.
However the Cats will be without Tom Hawkins after he received a one-match suspension for making contact with an umpire.
Ablett's final game for Geelong before he joined the Gold Coast was his 40-disposal performance against the Magpies in the 2010 preliminary final the Cats lost.
The only time Ablett played with Gold Coast against Collingwood at the MCG during his seven seasons with the Suns was in 2012 when he had a record equalling 53 disposals and earned three Brownlow votes.
The Cats have been cautious with him after he suffered his second hamstring injury for the season in round three against West Coast, giving him 35 days to recover.
Taylor was injured in round one but conceded last week he had battled foot soreness during the pre-season.
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He returned to training uninhibited last week and said on the weekend he hoped to slot straight back into a defence that has conceded just 224 points in the past four rounds, with 46 of those points coming in the final quarter against the Sydney Swans.
The Cats also expect ruckman Zac Smith to be available for selection after he had a back spasm while sitting in a cafe late last week. The injury forced him to be a late withdrawal against the Giants with Rhys Stanley earning a reprieve.
In-form forward Daniel Menzel remains under a cloud after missing the past fortnight after he had a reaction to an injection designed to ease a slight niggle in his groin.
Menzel had been in great form kicking 15 goals in the first five rounds before the Cats decided to manage him out of round six.
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Peter Ryan joined The Age in 2017 having covered AFL as a senior reporter with AFL Media.
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