GEELONG's thirteen-a-side scratch match with Fremantle last Sunday was an open affair with plenty of attack and hard running. 

VFL Coach Shane O'Bree has cast his eye over each Cat's performance. 

Zach Guthrie

With Geelong's defence under siege, Guthrie was the pick of the Cats as he battled hard against Liam Henry and Cam McCarthy. 

"Zach’s had a really good month where he’s probably been the elder statesman in our team. He’s really shown that where he’s stood out and been a class above," O'Bree says. 

"He’s getting plenty of the ball in his hand which we really want with him as a defender and working on the attacking side of his game."

Ben Jarvis

Last week's AFL emergency Ben Jarvis is closing in on an AFL debut as he continues his solid practice match form. 

"The game suited Jarvo, when we did attack well he got on the end of it and kicked a couple of goals. He only played limited game time but looked sharp and is progressing nicely," O'Bree says.

"We’ll keep putting the work into him and hopefully he gets a game over the next few weeks."

Stefan Okunbor  

The second-year Irish Cat completed his remarkable six-month recovery from a ruptured achilles to return against the Dockers. 

"Stef showed he’s done the work over his rehab and looked really sharp," O'Bree says.

"He got plenty of the ball as well and our backline was under the pump so he had to work on being really proactive as a defender and he had a lot of intercept marks."

Cooper Stephens 

Last year's first round draft pick looked calm and assured in limited game time in defence. 

"Cooper’s one that we’ve been really developing as a half back and wing and he’s looking solid every time he plays down there," O'Bree says.

"He knows the right times when to defend hard and then come off and get involved. Under pressure his decision making with the ball in hand has been really good too."

Nakia Cockatoo

Another week, another game in the bank for Nakia Cockatoo. 

"Nakia’s getting to the stage now where he’s really comfortable with his body and playing whole games of footy," O'Bree says.

"On the weekend he probably got more football than he has been getting in games, a lot of his decisions were under pressure a lot and under fatigue as well.

"It’s now about getting Cocky really confident with his footy ability now that he’s getting through games."

Jack Steven

The new Cat continued his individually-tailored plan to get him hitting full stride at the pointy end of the season. 

"Around the stoppages I thought we were beaten by Freo but I thought those two boys (Steven and Cockatoo) continued to keep backing up and getting the ball in their hands," O'Bree says.

"He got through the game at AFL intensity that we needed him to get through."

James Parsons 

Toiled away through the midfield with Steven and Cockatoo. 

"Parso was in the same boat as those other two guys, they played the majority of the game together as a midfield group," O'Bree says.

"Probably on the day as a collective they lowered their colours but I thought those boys kept battling away."

Oscar Brownless 

Brownless has bounced back strongly from a dislocated shoulder, running hard up and down the wings at Cockburn. 

"We threw Oscar around a lot on the weekend from half forward to wing and even half back and he got plenty of the ball," O'Bree says.

"Thirteen v thirteen suits Oscar as well because he can run all day and work both ways."

Francis Evans

The small forward hasn't erred in his performances, backing up week after week with strong play. 

"He’s been really consistent Frank," O'Bree says,

"With our game on the weekend it probably didn’t help our high half forwards with the way we used the ball so he was starved of a few opportunities compared to previous weeks but he’s heading in the right direction.

"He probably played more midfield as well so it’d good for him to keep working on his midfield craft."

Nathan Kreuger

The explosive tall continues to manage things that others cannot, making him an exciting prospect for the Cats.

"Our forwards were starved of a few opportunities but the opportunities he did have were really pleasing," O'Bree says.

"He was able to hit the scoreboard again and was really creative with his ball use and we got him to play the second ruck role as well which is another string to his bow that he can add.

"Knowing that if he played AFL as a forward ruck he could possibly do that now."

Sam De Koning

The first-year key position prospect faced up against 111kg behemoth Lloyd Meek in the ruck.

"It was great for Sam. Lloyd Meek is a big boy and he’s been in the AFL system for three years. Sam has been in our system for what feels like two minutes," O'Bree says.

"I thought he battled hard all day, he probably didn’t get his hands to it tap-out-wise but I thought his follow up work and his ability to help his mids out was really encouraging."

Cameron Taheny

The spring-heeled forward and defender produced one of his best outings in his young Cats career. 

"He was our swingman, he got swung back and forward a lot. He wasn’t fazed by it and had an impact at both ends," O'Bree says.

"He probably could have kicked three goals for the game and missed a couple but down back his positioning was really pleasing.

"We know he’s got a lethal kick and he got the ball in his hands and showed that and looked really composed in attack."

Jake Tarca 

Geelong's pocket rocket set the standard for his performances to come. 

"Tarcs had more of an impact and probably the impact we need him to have consistently now," O'Bree says.

"He kicked a few goals and set up a couple and got up in the midfield and played down back as well so it was a game where he backed his instincts more and got more of the ball."

Jacob Kennerley 

Performed bravely down back in a Cats defence under siege. 

"Kennels played the high defender role and again our defenders were under the pump so he was scrambling as they had their forwards shooting forward," O'Bree says.

"His ability to stay in the right frame of mind and get the ball in his hands when we were under the pump was pleasing."