Geelong utility Mark Blicavs says that Cam Guthrie’s injury is an opportunity for the Cats’ next wave of midfielders to make an impression while the dual Carji Greeves medallist recovers. 

Guthrie will miss 8-10 weeks of football with a quadricep tendon injury suffered in the opening minutes of Geelong’s match simulation against Carlton last week. 

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Speaking to media ahead of Geelong's AAMI Communtiy Series hitout with Essendon on Friday, Blicavs said that he doesn’t expect Guthrie absence to be covered like for like, but he is excited to see what some of the Cat's younger players can do with the opportunity. 

“You don't cover it because he's a pretty good player on the defensive and the attacking end but we've seen the guys that run through there in the midfield," he said on Thursday.

“I'm really looking forward to seeing what Jhye Clark, Tanner Bruhn and Jack Bowes has been really good this preseason, I'm looking forward to seeing those guys complement Ax (Tom Atkins), and Pat (Patrick Dangerfield) and those guys. 

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Mark Blicavs speaks to the media ahead of Geelong's clash with Essendon in the pre season community series. Proudly Presented by Ford Australia.

“Potentially it might be a bit more midfield time for me with Guth going down.”

But whoever happens to be running through the middle at any given time, he is confident the strength of the Cats system can minimise the impact of the loss.  

“We have a lot of depth in that line, and we've been a club that plays good team footy and system and that if we have a star player like Guth goes down, we back the system around it to take care of that,” he said. 

“One person out, one person in, and hopefully the result stays constant.” 

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Geelong will take on the Bombers on Friday in the final official hitout before Round 1 against St.Kilda on March 16. 

Blicavs said the squad is focused on a good start to the season and is especially keen to see the new Joel Selwood Stand full for the first time come the season opener. 

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“Hopefully we have a good start to the year, that's what we're looking for, he said.

“We've got St.Kilda here, Round 1, we're really excited for that. With the new stand, hopefully, we can fill it with 40,000 fans, and sell it out for 'Skip' (Selwood). I still call him skip. 

“It's really exciting. So, the goal for us is we've had a good preseason, we want to start the season well now.”