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Geelong captain Joel Selwood was an important contributor in the win over Sydney and is now readying himself for the Cats' AFL premiership tilt.

Geelong coach Chris Scott believes the club made the right call to hold back captain Joel Selwood until the last round before the AFL finals.

The tough midfielder, who missed four matches while dealing with a knee issue, returned alongside fellow veteran Gary Ablett in Sunday's narrow six-point win over Sydney.

Selwood had 16 disposals and five clearances in a successful comeback, and will now have at least 10 days to prepare for a qualifying final.

"Joel worked his way into the game and I thought he was pretty influential late," Scott said.

"We made a deliberate decision with Selwood and the decision with Ablett was taken out of our hands.

"We couldn't play him until today, but we're really confident they were the right decisions."

First-choice ruckman Rhys Stanley is "almost certain" to return in week one of the finals as Geelong's injury list dwindles.

Ablett's return is another bonus after he missed nine matches, having made the call to leave the Cats' travel bubble for family reasons.

The 36-year-old star came off a limited training base after two weeks of quarantine on his return to Queensland this month.

But his first two touches against Sydney were goal assists, he brushed off a tackle to kick one major himself and his typically clean hands were outstanding.

"Ablett early on looked as sharp as anyone in our team," Scott said.

"He was really sure with the ball and didn't look like he missed a beat to me. That was pleasing."