A groin complaint for ruckman Rhys Stanley has opened the door for a trio of Cats to push their cases to take on the Bombers.
The returning Darcy Fort, uncapped Cat Josh Jenkins and the recently omitted Esava Ratugolea are all live options should the Cats need to find a replacement for Sunday's match.
Stanley pulled up sore in the dying stages of last week's win over the Western Bulldogs.
"(There's) a little bit to work through with (Stanley)," coach Chris Scott said.
"He was a little bit sore, but very, very minor. He's far from ruled out this week.
"That decision will be delayed. If he does miss this week, it's on that threshold, as opposed to being any longer than that."
Here are the Cats in the mix for this weekend’s clash with the Bombers.
Darcy Fort
Fort recovered from bone stress in his foot in time for the weekend’s scratch match against the Bulldogs, however became unwell and missed the match.
As the second full-time ruckman on the Cats list, Fort would come into consideration should Stanley miss.
"Darcy Fort has been able to get some training under his belt. He hasn’t played any match practice yet and it has been a fair while since he played at AFL level but it looks as if he’s getting to the stage where he can put his hand up for selection," Chris Scott said.
Josh Jenkins
Jenkins is still searching for his Cats debut and with three full scratch matches under his belt, is hitting his straps at the right time.
Jenkins played in the ruck against the Bulldogs, so is another option should Stanley not get up.
"I got what turned out to be a pretty significant back injury after I’d done about seven months work," Jenkins said after the weekend's match.
"It was very frustrating but I’ve played my third full game now so I’m just pleased to be on the upward path.
"It’s been a quick road back with the compression of the season, I’ve tried to get ready as quickly as possible."
Esava Ratugolea
Jenkins’ ruck partner against the Bulldogs in the Reserves scratch match, Ratugolea was one of the Cats’ best as he got back to his usual high-flying self.
Ratugolea’s marks were sticking again, which could be enough for a quick recall after his omission last week.
Joel Selwood
The Cats skipper is continuing to work his way back from the niggle that has kept him out of the last two matches.
Chris Scott says the Cats will be patient with their 32-year-old captain.
"We're not going to play him until we're sure that he can play at his best, and not only in that week, but play consecutive weeks for the rest of the season," Scott said.
"His training session this morning was really promising, so we haven't taken it off the table, but I wouldn't panic if he doesn't play this week."
Lachie Fogarty
The young midfielder is unlucky to find himself outside the AFL side after performing strongly in four games thus far in 2020.
Fogarty was the pick of the Cats in the club’s scratch match with the Bulldogs, finding plenty of the ball and drifting forward to kick two goals.
Jordan Clark
Zach Tuohy copped two heavy hits to the ribs against the Bulldogs on Friday night.
Should the Cat pull up too sore to play his 200th game against the Bombers, the fleet-footed Clark could be a like-for-like replacement on the wing.
