Geelong are no closer to settling on their best side after cruising to a 62-point win over Richmond at Etihad Stadium.

The Cats are second on the ladder with a 15-2 record after their 17.11 (113) to 7.9 (51) victory in front of 33,761 fans.

Geelong had conceded 315 points in their past three AFL matches, including two defeats, and coach Chris Scott wanted a greater emphasis on defence on Sunday.

His players obliged by kicking 11 goals to Richmond's one to grab a 61-point advantage at halftime.

"It was a very big part of the week. I don't think it's any secret out there in the competition in the past month that we have been easy to score against," Scott said.

"We've arrested it for probably half of one game, so we've got to keep getting better in that area.

"The second half was pretty average footy from both sides."

Injuries played key roles in the match with Richmond hardest hit as captain Chris Newman limped off with a knee injury in the first quarter.

Defender Jake Batchelor suffered a shoulder injury and was also out of action by quarter-time.

Geelong key forward James Podsiadly and small forward Mathew Stokes both suffered head knocks, with Podsiadly failing to score a goal against Alex Rance while Stokes kicked two majors in the first half.

Big man Tom Hawkins kicked three goals but the Cats looked more dangerous at ground level as Stokes combined with Travis Varcoe (three goals), Shannon Byrnes (two) and first-year player Allen Christensen (two).

Byrnes broke down with a calf injury and could miss several weeks, Scott said.

However the Cats have several stars to come back into the side including premiership trio Steve Johnson (bruised buttock), Brad Ottens (knee) and Cameron Ling (general soreness) and young ruckman Nathan Vardy (hamstring).

Geelong host Melbourne at Skilled Stadium on Saturday.

"We're still searching for the right mix," Scott said.

"A few of the players are on edge a little bit because we have a big list of players to choose from and some fantastic players are missing out every single week."

Podsiadly had been cleared of concussion, Scott said.

"But there's a slight risk he might have small, I won't say facial fractures, but bone bruising," the coach said.

"Richmond was down to only one on the bench for a decent portion of the game and we were a bit the same.

"It translates into tired players, poor skill execution and ugly football."

Geelong and Richmond kicked six goals each in the second half.

While Scott said he didn't have a problem with the sub rule, he'd prefer to have four interchange players instead of three, plus a sub.

Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said Jack Riewoldt, who kicked three goals to take his tally to 50, was starting to move more freely after looking restricted by injury in the past few weeks.

"We got our hands on the ball but the Geelong pressure was outstanding and just forced us into some mistakes," Hardwick said.

"The first half was really really disappointing."

Hardwick said the 13th-placed Tigers were hopeful Newman was not facing a season-ending injury.

"I don't think it's that serious," the coach said.

The Tigers have the bye next week.

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