Geelong coach Chris Scott says the AFL’s reigning premiers have a dire problem.

But Scott is confident he can fix the issue: a contested ball weakness, which again flared in a 50-point loss to Adelaide on Saturday.

Geelong have not won a contested ball count in any match this season, with Adelaide trumping them 147-127 in the key statistic.

“It’s a serious problem,” Scott said after Adelaide’s 19.8 (122) to 10.12 (72) victory.

“If we don’t improve it, we’re going to get left behind by really good teams, which is what happened today.”

Scott said he knew some of the answers, but declined to elaborate.

“We think we have got a few potential solutions but we don’t have them all yet – if we did, we would have fixed it in the previous month,” he said.

Despite a wobbly 4-3 win-loss record to open their premiership defence, Scott retained faith his Cats could beat any side.

“We still think our best is capable against the best sides,” he said.

“But right at the moment we’re not producing it and when that happens, you get beaten.

“I still have confidence that our plan for the long-term future is still sound.”

Scott was hopeful late withdrawals Jimmy Bartel (ankle) and Matthew Scarlett (thigh) would both return for Friday night’s grand final rematch against Collingwood.