GEELONG coach Chris Scott has lamented the Cats' inaccuracy in front of goal against Essendon on Saturday, conceding his side is still a "work in progress".

After an impressive opening round win over premiers Hawthorn, the Cats looked a far cry from their best despite a five-goal win against the Bombers.

Ranked in the top five for marks inside 50, Geelong had 19 against the Bombers but kicked 9.18.

While Scott said the plethora of opportunities was a positive for the Cats, he conceded conversion was an area they needed to work on, ahead of their round five clash with Port Adelaide.

"Some of our cohesion going forward was a little bit off," Scott said after the game.

"I thought we took the wrong option at times, but we did generate the shots and we had some real sitters that we missed.

"I don't think it's good enough to say, that's OK because we generated the shots we just missed them, or make sure we kick them next week. Poor conversion has hurt better teams than us.

"But we feel like we're building. We know we've got a lot to improve on, and today's not a performance we're going to get too carried away with, there's a lot to work on. We're a work in progress."

WATCH: Chris Scott's full post-match media conference

Of Geelong's 18 behinds, Daniel Menzel kicked five, including three in the final term.

Four of his five missed goals were from set shots but Scott backed the 24-year-old to find his groove in front of goal.

"He's a tireless worker, and he's got a good technique," Scott said.

"He puts in the work, but just didn't perform on the big stage [today]. He hasn't played much AFL footy but if there's one thing that we're pretty confident about with Dan is that the big stage doesn't worry him.

"I don't think that's a real factor but he's just got to make sure he keeps working at it and maintains his confidence level. I don't think he's a player that drops his bundle."

Inaccuracy in front of goal wasn't the only concern for the Cats who struggled for three quarters of the game.

The Bombers won the contested ball count 136 to 126, and smashed the Cats in clearances 42-23.

"We thought the clearances were a bigger factor than the contested ball," Scott said.

"In a game we won pretty convincingly we were minus 19 on clearances which is not good enough.

"We know we need to improve, we think our performances have been inconsistent."

Geelong will travel to Adelaide next week to face the Power on Saturday night.

Scott said he was hopeful key forward Shane Kersten would return for the clash after withdrawing late against the Bombers with a calf issue.