A trio of young Cats is making life difficult for midfield coach Matthew Knights as he considers the makeup of his group for the upcoming season.

Knights admits competition for spots is hot as Charlie Constable, Jordan Clark and Cooper Stephens continue to make their senior counterparts earn their place in the side.

This season looms as an important one for Charlie Constable, who has played nine games across the previous two seasons.

Constable has won the favour of the fans in his short career, with his sure hands and contested ball-winning ability earning him a career average of 20.56 disposals per game.

“Charlie is really making ground,” Knights says.

“He’s looking a bit more powerful around the ball and making a bit more of an impact when he’s getting the ball in heavily congested situations with his handball and he’s running the lines.”

The fleet-footed Jordan Clark is another Cat who has been made to earn his spot in the side.

After an 18-game debut season, Clark played just three games in 2020 as he battled injury and form with limited reserves match opportunities in the team’s Gold Coast hub.

“We’ve got young players stepping up and looking for roles like Jordan Clark, Cooper Stephens and Charlie Constable so yeah we’re getting a lot of pressure for spots,” Knights says.

“Jordan Clark is really working on the contested part of his game and that outside run which is a big strength of his, just to keep adding to that.”

Cooper Stephens plied his trade solely at the lower level in his first season at the club after Geelong nabbed him in the first round of the 2019 National Draft.

The tough midfielder spent time learning the ropes at half back in inter-club scratch matches while going head-to-head with Geelong’s best midfielders on the training track.

“Cooper Stephens has done a lot of work with Joel and Cam Guthrie, in regards to his stoppage craft and looking to really improve that part of his game, which was already at a decent level,” Knights says.

“It’s just going to that next level and there’s nothing like going against those type of players at training to take the next step I guess.”

Knights has plenty of moving parts to synchronise with the offseason arrivals of Isaac Smith and Shaun Higgins adding to the selection dilemma.

“Even though you’ve got more players there, you’ve got to make sure that the chemistry is right and we’re working together well,” Knights says.

"That’s one thing we’ve done previously as a midfield group, we’ve endeavoured to work together really well and be predictable to each other.

"Whoever we put out there we’ve got to make sure we’re on the one page and the chemistry is good.

"It’s going to be interesting to see how it all falls come round one."