CHAMPION Geelong recruit Gary Ablett has produced a stellar pre-season so far, teammate Patrick Dangerfield says, as the Cats prepare to unleash their two Brownlow medallists in the midfield in 2018.

Ablett has been the Cats' standout performer over the summer and Dangerfield believed the 33-year-old had lost none of his exceptional talent as he entered his 17th season.

Coach Chris Scott has forecast a midfield role for the returning superstar, with Dangerfield giddy at the possibility of playing alongside a "childhood hero" in the engine room. 

"Gaz is travelling really, really well. He looks happy, he hasn't missed a session so far, and he's been out there every week," Dangerfield told SEN on Monday.

"It's been great to see. We had a training session last Friday and it was a bit wet down at Deakin University where we were training.

"Guys were slipping and sliding absolutely everywhere, and there's Gaz training in runners and I didn't see him slip over once and no one could tackle him.

"He's just a freak of nature and I must admit I'm a bit like a little schoolboy that's excited to play with a childhood hero, and the majority of our list is in the same boat."

Asked in December about Ablett's likely position in 2018, Scott said: "He has an aspiration to help the team as much as possible, and we all believe that's in the midfield first".

Dangerfield said the two-time Brownlow medallist had proved over the summer that he was ready to play that role.  

"He's been pretty good if he's lost something, because from what we've seen so far he's just phenomenal," Dangerfield said. 

"I'm too scared to say he's lost anything because he's been better than everyone else on the track at the moment.

"I think he'll spend some time in the forward line but I think we'll have the great man in the midfield."