Geelong coach Mark Thompson expects his Cats to pass another big-game test by breaking down Hawthorn’s zone in Friday night’s sold-out AFL blockbuster at the MCG.

Although the Cats coasted at stages earlier this season, Thompson has been impressed by the standard of their past five wins, having witnessed his players raise the bar towards the business end.

The round 17 opener has for months been billed a potential grand final preview and could draw the biggest attendance of the season - up to 90,000 - after the AFL today declared it a sell-out.

The biggest crowd of the season so far was the 88,999 who watched Collingwood beat Essendon on Anzac Day.

Much of the anticipation surrounding the game has centred on how the reigning premiers will counter Hawthorn’s across-the-ground zone defence, which has made the third-placed Hawks one of the toughest teams to combat.

Although the notes Thompson made before the sides’ last clash - way back in round four, 2007 - are virtually redundant, he has made a point of analysing the occasions where sides have used dash to break down the Hawks’ zone.

He was confident the Cats had the skill and run to break down the Hawks, like St Kilda did in the second half last week.

“Tactically it will be a very interesting game,” he said.

“We’d like to not go too far away from what we do but you certainly have to make some alterations to how you play because in effect that cluster, that zone defence, that they implement has worked for them and is a good strategy.

“But the way we play, it’s a chance to break through it.”

Having overseen a near-faultless campaign following last year’s premiership win, Thompson said the Cats would benefit from their success in the finals campaign and this year’s challenges, including the demolition of the second-placed Western Bulldogs last week.

Proud of the way Geelong have handled this year’s great expectations, Thompson has seen the players rise from the mid-season mark, which bode well for the finals.

“This year there was a huge expectation on the club and the players, and for a period there we were just going, doing enough to win,” he said.

“Whether you call that experience or not, you just know that now it’s really the pointy end of the season and our players are quite motivated and looking forward to (Friday night).

“I’m not certain and it’s not guaranteed, but you’d think the more they play bigger games … they’d be better-equipped to deal with it.”

But Thompson did not think the winner of this weekend’s game would take any great psychological edge into the finals.

“Port Adelaide beat us late last year and it didn’t matter much come grand final day,” he said.

Aside from Hawthorn’s zone, opposition sides have also struggled matching up against Lance Franklin, who leads the league goal-kicking table with 73.

But with Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn and Andrew Mackie all worthy options, Geelong again seem well-placed.

“We need our guys to play on smaller and taller opponents and the way the game’s played now, to play on three or four opponents on one given day, and that’s just flexibility in modern football,” Thompson said.

Injured midfielders Gary Ablett and Cameron Ling will definitely not play, but half-back David Wojcinski will be given until Friday to see if he can return from an Achilles injury.

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