Geelong coach Mark Thompson says the aggression, risk-taking and ruthlessness that the reigning AFL premiers have been seeking is back.

The Cats demolished the fourth-placed Western Bulldogs 25.11 (161) to 9.6 (60) at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

The superb performance eased Thompson's concerns after three losses in the previous seven rounds, including to their other top-four rivals Collingwood and St Kilda.

"We did things that we really wanted to do, we'd been harping on for a while and hadn't been getting results, the test now is to do it next week as well," Thompson said.

"(We were) a bit more aggressive with our tackling and our pressure and with our ball movement."

Thompson said Saturday night's performance set a standard they needed to maintain or better for the last two home and away rounds and then finals.

"You can fluff around the edges sometimes, but this is the part of the year where you've just got to be really strong and ruthless and play the sort of footy that's going to stand up," he said.

The Cats should be further strengthened, with captain Cameron Ling, midfield star Joel Corey and defenders Harry Taylor and Tom Lonergan all expected back from injury against Carlton on Friday night.

Thompson also hoped rugged forward Max Rooke could still play a finals role but admitted it was a "race against time" as he aims to return from a long-term knee injury through the VFL next weekend.

Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade could not explain his side's uncompetitive showing, saying a virus that forced key players Ben Hudson and Adam Cooney out was no excuse.

He said the loss - the Bulldogs' biggest in 14 years - was "embarrassing" and "humiliating", with the club smashed in all aspects.

"If there's no effort, or not enough effort, it doesn't matter who you put in," Eade said.

"We've played with six players out and won, so it doesn't matter the names, it's about what's inside the jumper."

He was confident they could bounce back in time for finals but said the response against Sydney at the SCG on Saturday night was crucial.

Cooney, Hudson, Jarrod Harbrow and Jarrad Grant should all return but there are fresh injury concerns for Shaun Higgins (calf), Easton Wood (hamstring) and Tom Williams (shoulder).

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