WHAT has caused Geelong utility Mark Blicavs to stagnate in 2016?

The simple explanation is that the Cats' determination to persist with the Zac Smith-Rhys Stanley combination in the ruck has left him as a player without a portfolio.

Perhaps it's just a natural blip for a player who ascended so quickly that he exceeded the expectations of everyone when he won Geelong's best and fairest last year in just his third season. 

Maybe it's the drawback versatile players – particularly 198cm players – face in a team with plenty of talls.

On Thursday, Cats coach Chris Scott expressed all three reasons as possible explanations for the slight drop off in form.

He then went on to back the 25-year-old to build his form back to the standard he set in 2015.

"If it was a situation where he was playing poorly in the position that we were choosing him to play we would move him," Scott said.

"We don't think it is that. We just think there are small parts at the margin with his game that he is not just doing as well as he can."

He appears to have played on the wing and occasionally in a run with role, like against Carlton – when he had no possessions after half-time – and later admitted he was too focused on the opposition rather than being instinctive.

His numbers remain good with disposal efficiency, tackles and metres gained all increasing, however his impact on games appears to have decreased.

At times in the past four weeks, he has been caught while appearing indecisive, trying to create too much out of defence when the most simple option was the one to take.

Scott is confident in Blicavs and many at Geelong think his running power can give them a secret weapon.

"He is a best and fairest winner now and he hasn't quite reached those levels this year but with the way he works and with the way our team is building we're confident that he will reach those levels again," Scott said.

The next two weeks will not only be telling for the Cats but for those making an assessment of Blicavs' progress.