Lonergan, who booted four goals in Geelong's 99-point victory over West Coast at Skilled Stadium on Saturday, said Ablett "catches his eye" a fraction more, which may give him the edge over reining Brownlow Medallist Bartel in this year's 'Charlie' count.
"I thought 'Gaz' played a great game and he'll probably feature in either three or two, hopefully, but then on the other hand Jimmy [played well]," Lonergan said post-match.
"You've got blokes like Joel Corey as well, who has had a great year and Joel Selwood – the list goes on and on.
"They'll probably take a few votes off each other, but my personal view is 'Gaz' I reckon – he had a good start to the year and he's come back in the side now, after his injury, and played some really good games.
"But Jimmy has been consistent too, so who knows how the umpires' think?"
Lonergan suggested Ablett and Bartel's efforts in 2008 almost mirrored their 2007 seasons.
"Last year was pretty similar; 'Gazza' was odds on favourite and Jimmy was second or third favourite, so they'll probably go in first and second favourite," Lonergan said.
On his own fine game against West Coast, Lonergan said he was simply pleased to be contributing to the team's structure.
"It was alright. We don't try to make someone kick four goals – it's just how it works – and it was my turn. I was just lucky enough to get on the scoreboard, so it was good," Lonergan said.
"It's like anything, the longer you're in there, the easier it gets and the more comfortable you get in playing. I've really started to figure out the way the team plays and I'm trying to work in our forward structure and it's been going really well.
"I'm just trying to fit in that and play my role for the team."
Lonergan said it was a relief finals were now on the cards, having locked in top spot weeks ago.
"I know a lot of the guys, three weeks ago, were pretty keen to get into it then, but 22 rounds, you've got to play out the season and we're all pretty stoked the home-and-away has finished, so we can get into the proper stuff," he said.
"We try not to lose focus of the game that we're playing and we try to go into each game with the same mindset, so that's probably the thing that's kept us going."
