"Mitch is a long, long way from being a week-in, week-out footballer given the issues he has had. We understand there are risks associated with it. But one thing we do know is that when he does play, he is an extremely good player,” Chris Scott said on Saturday.
“He is one that we think will complement Tom Hawkins.
"He can play ruck, forward very capably, but he has got elite endurance for a big man as well, and pretty nice skills.
"The challenge for us in the early stages will be getting consistency in his training and then making sure we look after his health as well. He has had some significant problems that it would be folly for us to assume that everything will be ok. We have to work really hard to support him.
"But hopefully what Geelong can offer Mitch is an environment where he can come in and just do his bit. We don't need him to come in and save our footy club, we don't need him to win games off his own boot, we just want him to support our ruckman and Tom Hawkins as a forward and just do his bit."
Having spent two years together at the Brisbane Lions in 2006/05, Scott believes his already established relationship with Clark, on the field as well as off, will make for an easier transition after being forced to step away from AFL for 12 months due to depression.
"I was fortunate I actually played a couple of years in Brisbane with Mitch," Scott said.
"My last two years were his first two years. I have got a pretty good relationship with Mitch. I feel like I have a better understanding of his issues than maybe some others.”
With the addition of four new faces following the 2014 trade, Scott believes the Cats will be in a stronger position next season compared to their last.
"We are very confident our list is better in 2015 than it was in '14," Scott said on Triple M.
Although the Cats lost leg speed when they lost Travis Varcoe and Allen Christensen, Scott feels the club has found a promising candidate in Melbourne’s delisted Sam Blease to help complement Geelong’s upcoming speedsters Jordan Murdoch and new Cat Rhys Stanley.
Scott realises that Blease, along with new recruits Stanley, Padraig Lucey and Clark,has a lot to work on to better his game, however, he believes the ex-Demon has the potential of becoming a valuable Cat.
"We have brought in Sam Blease from Melbourne. Sam is far from a proven player but the one thing he does have is leg speed. We have a few young players that we think are ready to, or should improve, within our program. It is not a guarantee but we think they have the capacity to be better players next year than they were last year," Scott said.
"I speak of guys like Jordan Murdoch, he won the grand final sprint; Sam Blease is very quick; Rhys Stanley actually won the grand final sprint a few years ago as a 200-centimetre player. He is not that traditional outside runner but you add him to guys like Steven Motlop, Billie Smedts - he is unproven but very talented. We don't think outside run will be a problem for us."
