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TOP spot on the ladder is up for grabs when Geelong takes on Williamstown in the VFL tomorrow.

The Cats sit in third spot, but a win against the first-placed Seagulls will leapfrog them over Sandringham, which has the bye, back into first place.

The game was originally scheduled as a curtain-raiser to the Geelong-Sydney clash at Skilled Stadium, but was moved to Burbank Oval after the Geelong council decided to protect the surface.

VFL football manager Ben Waller said the shift would provide a great challenge to the Geelong team coming off a week's break.

``We haven't had a great record down at Williamstown and it's a huge game in terms of the VFL so if we can win there, we can win anywhere,'' he said.

``Obviously we're disappointed (to move) but the main thing is the ground (Skilled Stadium) is maintained. We understand when it is quite wet the ground gets turned up a bit.

``The ground copped  a fair bit of rain a couple of weeks ago when we played a curtain-raiser. There's a bit of rain forecast this week, so if we play a curtain-raiser, a TAC Cup game and then the national championships next week, the ground will cop a caning.

``If it does get a fair bit of rain, it needs a couple of weeks to recover.''

Geelong will field a virtually full-strength team, with the likes of Tom Hawkins, Brent Prismall, David Johnson and Shannon Byrnes all playing in the VFL tomorrow.

Exciting youngsters Nathan Djerrkura and Liam Bedford will both miss this week with quad strains, while ruckman Steven King is at least another week away with his knee injury.

The last time the two teams met was in the preliminary final last year, when Kent Kingsley and Nathan Ablett each booted four goals.

They won't be there for the Cats this time, with Todd Grima settling into the void, providing a solid replacement.

Another AFL-listed rookie, Jason Davenport, returned to his best form last round, kicking five goals in a starring effort.

The Seagulls have won four straight matches since going down to reigning premiers Sandringham in round seven.

The game starts at 2pm.