DANIEL Menzel and Steven Motlop will play against Richmond on Saturday as the Cats attempt to overcome the loss of Joel Selwood, Tom Hawkins and Mitch Duncan. 

The pair have been managed for the past two weeks as the club sought to freshen them up before finals but Chris Scott confirmed on Thursday they would return against the Tigers.

He said the duo was in good shape ahead of the crucial game that could determine the respective teams' chances of finishing in the top four.

"We are very confident [they are ready] because we have been so clear on what our aims have been around their preparation through the last fortnight, and there were some benchmarks they needed to hit and we weren't going to play them until they hit those benchmarks," Scott said.

"They have well and truly hit that so we are very, very confident that, at the very least, they're in much better physical condition than when they played last."

The Cats are under pressure after losing their skipper to injury and Duncan and Hawkins to suspension but Scott, who could hardly talk due to a cold, said anyone thinking the fallout from the loss to Sydney had taken the air out of his team's tyres was off the mark.

"It's an honour and a privilege to be in the hunt at this late stage of the season. If anyone in and around our group was deflated by the situation we are in, I'd be devastated. It's the opposite," Scott said.

Scott said the forward line would obviously be different without Hawkins in the key post, but the Cats hoped they may get an advantage over Richmond by giving it a new look. 

"We're confident we've got some players who can still cause a few concerns for their defence," Scott said. 

The coach said he had spoken to Hawkins about the incident that led to the star forward being suspended for two games. 

"We need to address the parts that are hurting us week to week. We've all been slow learners on it so we put our hand up and accept responsibility for that," Scott said.