GEELONG is confident big-name recruit Mitch Clark will be fit to resume his AFL career against Hawthorn in round one.
Clark retired from football while on Melbourne's list in April last year following a battle with depression and foot/soft tissue injuries.
At the end of the season, he changed his mind and decided to return to the game, with Geelong winning the race to secure his services in last year's trade period.
Considering Clark has "come from a long way back" he has impressed the Cats this pre-season, and coach Chris Scott is optimistic the big man will be ready to line up alongside Tom Hawkins against the Hawks on April 6.
"All the indications are that round one is a pretty good target for Mitch," Scott said after training on Friday.
"Mitch [has] been a really good addition to our program. What he brings in terms of his knowledge of the game and his experience – he's added another dimension."
Scott is excited at the prospect of having Clark and Hawkins working in tandem as the Cats look to address their over-reliance on their big key forward.
"It's exciting for Tom, as much as anyone. The opposition are certainly going to have to think about Mitch if he's playing anywhere near his capacity," Scott said.
"It helps the rest of our team with its balance. Mitch is, at least in my view, as capable in the ruck as he is as a key forward.
"We did bring Mitch in with a view of him playing more forward than ruck but we've still got an open mind as to how that plays out."
Hawkins was far and away Geelong's most targeted forward in 2014, taking 97 marks inside forward 50 (an AFL high).
The additions of Clark and Rhys Stanley (from St Kilda) is sure to help, considering Jimmy Bartel (31 marks inside 50) and Joel Selwood (21) were the other key targets for Geelong last year.
Fitting all of Clark, Stanley, Hawkins and even highly rated young forward Shane Kersten will prove to be challenging, according to Scott.
In further positive news for the Cats, injured duo Daniel Menzel and Nathan Vardy are set to push for selection in this year's NAB Challenge series.
Menzel, who has had four knee reconstructions, was running strongly at training at Simonds Stadium on Friday while Vardy – who ruptured his ACL in February last year – continued his rehab indoors.
Scott also provided an update on emerging youngsters Jackson Thurlow (kidney) and Lincoln McCarthy (foot).
Thurlow, who sustained a lacerated kidney at a drill in training prior to Christmas, is on "full rest" and is yet to return to the club, but the Cats are hopeful he will be available for selection at the start of the season.
McCarthy, who is battling a stress reaction in his foot, is set to miss at least the next month of training before starting to increase his workload.
