An out-of-form Melbourne will take on one of the biggest challenges in football this week - the Cats down the highway.

The Demons have won just three times in the last three decades at Kardinia Park, so there's no time like the present for the club's first win of the 2025 season.

Some of the team's brightest young talent will help with the cause as the club's inactive list begins to shrink.

Here comes the cavalry

"Kozzy will be coming back from his suspension, so it'll be great to get him back into the team," Goodwin said.

"Caleb Windsor will be back as well. He's fine to go.

"Jake Lever is still a test today, so we'll get a bit more information today with Jake to see where he's at. We're hopeful, but he needs to get through training today."

Caution with young star Lindsay

"We're probably more going to be cautious with him and at least give him a week, maybe a couple, just to make sure he's 100% right to go," Goodwin said.

"He's moving well. It's been a great performance by the medical team and obviously Xavier."

The challenge down the Highway

"It was a strong review. It needed to be," Goodwin said.

"Clearly we're not playing to the standards and expectations that we believe we're capable of. So with that, we're expecting a response.

"We need to perform to a higher level. We know that we've got some challenges that sit within that, but we also know that we can do things a lot better and so we'll go after that.

"We're looking forward to the challenge of playing down in Geelong against a really strong footy club."

Midfield woes

"They're a proud group," Goodwin said of the midfield.

"Some of the players you're talking about are proud players but we're under no illusions as a club that we're trying to evolve our midfield as well.

"Kozzy Pickett is someone that spent the whole pre-season training in there. Trent Rivers has certainly been earmarked to go into the midfield group but through some personnel with McVee and Windsor missing, he's had to spend a fair bit of time in the back half of the ground.

"We've gone to the draft in the last few years. Obviously with Caleb, Xavier Lindsay, Harvey Langford to try and regenerate through there as well. So we're under no illusions that’s an area of the ground that we need to grow and get better at."

The game style

"We've committed to evolving our game. Right now where it sits we've got some teething problems," Goodwin said.

"We're not playing the level that we are, but we need to keep growing where the game's going. And we will do that. We're not going to go back into old ways.

"We want to be better without the ball than what we are currently. We're having 120 points kicked against us regularly and a bit of that’s with our offensive side of our game, but we're committed to getting better.

"We see potential. We see the belief in the group and we see the potential in where we can get to right now."