Lincoln McCarthy has played just one senior game in two seasons with the Cats. Yet the 20-year-old looks earmarked for an expanded role after another successful NAB Challenge outing against Melbourne on Friday night.

The youngster provided a welcome contribution in a contest defined by dramatic momentum swings.

Playing as small defensive forward, McCarthy displayed strength at ground level and tackled ferociously to create scoring chances.

While impressed by Melbourne’s high-pressure, high-possession game, McCarthy wasn’t surprised by the opposition’s intent.

“We’ve watched Melbourne play this NAB Cup and their intensity’s been right up,” he said after the match.

McCarthy reflected on the team’s performance with the maturity of a senior player.

“We obviously died off a bit in that second term and they ended up getting the run... they had 50-odd possessions more than us that quarter,” he said.

“At half-time, Scotty (Chris Scott) said to get back to basics, get that pressure going… and make a statement.”

The Cats heeded the coach’s words, kicking four unanswered goals to start the third term and set up the eventual 13-point victory.

After the game, McCarthy downplayed his own role while lauding the efforts of his teammates. Hamish McIntosh received praise for his Geelong debut while an “on fire” Mitch Brown was also congratulated.

”It’s just good to see different faces coming up and showing the football world what they can do,” he said.

As for the team’s focus in the weeks before Round One, McCarthy knows what lies ahead.

“It’s back to basics. Back to winning the contested ball, [laying] lots of tackles and making teams make mistakes,” he said.