MARK Thompson admitted yesterday he had fought with Geelong's medical and fitness staff to bring ruckman Brad Ottens back into the team for tomorrow night's preliminary final rematch against Collingwood, and lost.

But the coach vowed he would definitely come out on top next week.

"We had a big blue with the doctors and the fitness staff yesterday, trying to convince them to let him play," Thompson said.

"Play half a game of AFL compared to an hour of training, what's the difference? But they said there was a difference, and they won again.

"There'll be no fight next week — I told them not to injure him, no matter what, and that he's playing, straight up."

The Cats could also be without Cameron Ling with a rolled ankle, with running defender Andrew Mackie another of what Thompson described as "a few injury concerns", which will be offset by the return from suspension of Mathew Stokes.

Ottens' continued absence with a heel injury could result in Mark Blake being the only ruckman who played in the five-point preliminary final thriller last September to front up again at the MCG, with Thompson hinting he could be joined by Trent West, replacing Shane Mumford for one more outing before Ottens' return.

Collingwood is set to bring back Josh Fraser, most likely to partner Cameron Wood, with Chris Bryan making way. Fraser was a late withdrawal with a back injury last time the teams met, leaving Bryan rucking with Guy Richards against Ottens and Blake.

Ottens has not featured in Geelong's 8-0 start to its premiership defence — a stretch that has taken it to 28 victories from 29 outings — and there has been recent speculation that his plantar fascia (tendon) problem was recurring after training and he could be several more weeks away.

While Thompson stressed that Ottens would play against Carlton on Saturday week, he praised the performance of Blake in his stead, saying he was constantly growing in stature and confidence.

"Just talking to footy people around the traps, people who are involved with other clubs, they really think he's going to be a great player, and so do we," Thompson said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing him play over the next four or five years; I think he's going to turn into one of the competition's really good ruckmen."