Geelong aren't expecting any favours from St Kilda prodigy Max King this time around as they look for ways to quell the potential match-winner's influence in Saturday night's important AFL clash.
King came in for heavy criticism after kicking 1.5 of the Saints' 5.17 (47) in the teams' previous meeting, with the wayward display proving costly in a match the Cats won by 21 points.
The 21-year-old also blew another scoring chance in that round nine encounter when he tripped while trying to gather a loose ball near an open goal.
But King has gone on to lead St Kilda's goal-kicking this year with 36 majors in 19 games and sits comfortably in the competition's top-20 most prolific forwards.
He has kicked goals in each of his last nine outings, bagging a dozen in the past three weeks, and looms as an obstacle for the Cats at GMHBA Stadium after being named to play despite an adductor concern.
"As you would expect of a player his age, he's got better as the season's gone on," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.
"He's going to get better and better until he hits his peak, which I still suspect is some time well into the future.
"He's a super player, we've got a lot of respect for him, but they also combine well (in attack), which is a hallmark of good forward lines.
"You don't want to be too dependent on one player and (Tim) Membrey and young (Cooper) Sharman are good marking players in there as well to complement their smalls."
Geelong sit third on the ladder after last week's shock loss to GWS but can guarantee themselves a top-four spot with a win over the Saints.
They have been bolstered by the return of Jeremy Cameron, Lachie Henderson, Mark O'Connor and Isaac Smith, while Patrick Dangerfield was cleared of serious damage to his throat.
Zach Tuohy (hamstring) and Gary Rohan (hip) have gone out of the side through injury.
St Kilda are one of four clubs locked on 36 points, sitting two points behind eighth-placed GWS, and need a win to boost their finals hopes after an inconsistent run over the last month.
Experienced midfielder Dan Hannebery will put a year of injury trouble behind him when he plays his first match for the Saints since last year's semi-final, while Dougal Howard returns to bolster the defence.
"We expect their best," Scott said.
"(Their win over Sydney) last week was a really good indication of what they can do and a couple of weeks before that they were in Perth and pushed West Coast all the way, so I think their form line is OK.
"It was probably a little bit of a downer against Carlton in between but we feel a great deal of respect for what they can do.
"It speaks to the whole competition, last week's results were a good example of the fact that if any team gets things their way they can be dangerous.
"They will be desperate, but I think it's worth acknowledging that we've got a fair bit to play for too."
