GEELONG youngster Brandan Parfitt will tweak his summer program to avoid the type of high-grade hamstring strain that robbed him of a full debut season.

The 19-year-old badly damaged his right hamstring in round six this year when sprinting to catch Collingwood's Jack Crisp at the MCG. 

Parfitt avoided surgery, but didn't appear at AFL level again until round 16 after one VFL hit-out.

While his changes won't be as dramatic as those Hawthorn speedster Cyril Rioli adopted in 2011 when he overhauled his running technique to reduce hamstring issues, the tenacious youngster admitted there would be some differences. 

"This pre-season I'm going to work on that a little bit, just structurally change a little bit, with less work through the hamstrings," Parfitt said on Tuesday, as the Cats' first-to-fourth year players hit the track in Geelong. 

"I'll be working through it this pre-season. 

"The body is feeling good. I got over the hamstring injury and played the last few games so the body is feeling the best." 

Parfitt said he had already trimmed down his frame this pre-season to help improve his running ability. 

His first season showcased his promise as a hard-running, high-pressure forward across the 15 games he played.

Parfitt returned from his hamstring troubles to play nine games, including the Cats' three finals.

Next year, he's expecting to have to fight even harder for his spot, with fellow small forwards Lincoln McCarthy and Cory Gregson set to return from long-term injuries.

McCarthy last played in round three this year and has battled hip-related groin issues, while Gregson didn't play at all in 2017 after further surgery on his troublesome foot in December. 

"I'm looking forward to it," Parfitt said. 

"It's always good when there's competition for spots on the line, that's what drives the training standards. 

"I'm looking forward to 'Grego' and 'Lincs' coming back, it should be good. 

"I'll just put my head down and keep training hard. 

"It was a surprise to play a lot of footy last year, I'll just do the same thing again, train hard and put my hand up to play."

After he spent his break with his family in Darwin and teammates in Bali, Parfitt returned to find one of his mentors in Steven Motlop was headed to Port Adelaide.

Motlop is also from Darwin, and the two forged a strong relationship after Parfitt arrived at the club in late 2016.

"He was like a big brother for me, he looked after me a bit," Parfitt said. 

"He taught me a fair a bit but I'm looking forward to learning off all the other boys as well." 

One of those is Gary Ablett, who has returned to the Cattery after a seven-year stint with Gold Coast. 

Parfitt said he was looking forward to learning from the two-time Brownlow medallist when the full group resumed training on December 4. 

"I was very excited when I found out the news he (Ablett) was back," Parfitt said. 

"He's one of the greatest of all times and I'll be playing with him. 

"I'm looking forward to it and I'm going to be trying to stay under his wing and learn as much as possible from him."