GEELONG coach Chris Scott remains circumspect about his team's premiership chances, despite moving to the top of the ladder with a powerful win against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.

The Cats have beaten top-six rivals in each of the past three weeks and were at their devastating best for three quarters against the Bulldogs, winning by 57 points.

The win was soured only by a medial ligament injury to midfielder Josh Caddy, who was on crutches at the end of the match and will be assessed in the coming days.

While the win would have sent tremors through the rest of the top eight, Scott said the evenness of the competition meant the Cats could not jump to conclusions about what was possible this season.

"I don’t think there’s a team inside the top eight that any other team would think they couldn’t beat right at the moment," he said.

"And that hasn’t always been the case the last three to four years.

"I think most teams in the last couple of years would have thought, 'Gee, everything’s going to have to go right to beat Hawthorn'. I don’t think that’s the state of the game right at the moment."

While the Cats moved from second into top spot on Saturday night for the first time this season, Scott pointed out they could have slid to sixth had they lost the match.

"That speaks to how close the competition is," the coach said. 

"I understand that the commentary will be around where exactly we're at and what's possible, (and) we're optimistic about what's possible. We're not trying to under-sell ourselves.

"(But) we lost a couple of games that the footy world was telling us we couldn't lose a month or so ago, so we understand more acutely than anyone that the competition is tight and you've got to bring your best level every week."

One of the most pleasing elements of Saturday night's win for the Cats was their conversion, with their score of 16.4 containing more goals than points for the first time since round seven.

It was their most accurate score for the season, with Tom Hawkins and Daniel Menzel both kicking 4.0, and Scott said he expected the improved conversion to continue. 

"I do expect it, because you don’t do the work and it not improve and stay in the side," he said.

"It’s such an important part of footy these days … turning the ball over in general hurts you in the modern game, but it’s so demoralising when players miss easy shots, because it’s never been harder to generate shots through the congestion of modern day midfields.

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

"But we still missed some shots we should have taken, especially in that third quarter when the game could have effectively been iced.

"But it's a huge improvement on where we've been and reward for the hard work the boys have been putting in."

Scott said midfielder Cam Guthrie would be available for next Saturday night's clash against St Kilda after missing with illness.  

The Cats then have a bye in round 15 before a blockbuster clash against the Sydney Swans at Simonds Stadium.