West Coast coach John Worsfold admits his team's highly-rated forward press will be put to the ultimate test in Friday night's AFL blockbuster against heavyweights Geelong at Patersons Stadium.

Although the Cats boast the midfield talent that would be the envy of most clubs, it is their experienced and decorated defence that has caught the attention of Worsfold.

Matthew Scarlett, David Wojcinski, Corey Enright, Josh Hunt, Harry Taylor and Tom Lonergan have combined brilliantly in the Geelong back six this season, with the ladder-leading Cats conceding on average just 74.7 points per game, behind only Collingwood's 68.8.

"It (their midfield class) is a big part of it but they've got a very strong backline. That's probably their most experienced line," Worsfold said on Tuesday.

"They perform really well together, they know the way each other plays and that's going to be a test for us to score against them for sure.

"... Us locking the ball in and trying to see if we can slow down them running the ball out is going to be a big challenge."

Geelong suffered their first loss of the season in last week's shock defeat to Essendon, but Worsfold still rated the 2007 and '09 premiers as one of the best outfits going around.

"They are still an awesome squad," Worsfold said.

"With the loss of Gary Ablett out of their squad they did show how even their talent is spread, they didn't rely on just one player.

"Their experience still carries them so strongly and they've blooded some really exciting young talent this year.

"I think they've done extremely well. I've been impressed with how they've gone about it this year."

The fifth-placed Eagles (9-4) announced themselves as a genuine top-four contender with their win over Carlton a fortnight ago.

West Coast's 2006 premiership was largely driven by their blue-chip midfield, but Worsfold felt he had a far more even squad at his disposal now, with the defence, midfield, forwardand ruck divisions all contributing strongly.

"I think it's great to have quality and maybe potentially no glaring weaknesses across any line," Worsfold said.

"I don't know if we're back there (ready to compete for premierships like in 2005 and '06) yet but our supporters have put up with a couple of hard years and it's good to see them with smiles on their faces.

"But we've got a long way to go to get to where we want to get to."

West Coast will make at least two changes to their side this week, with replacements needed for defender Sam Butler (quad) and forward Quinten Lynch, whose rough conduct charge against Marc Murphy was downgraded on Tuesday night, meaning he will miss just one week instead of two.

Andrew Gaff, Beau Waters, Mitch Brown, Andrew Strijk and Brad Sheppard all in line for recalls.

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