Rahilly, who played 90 games for the Cats between 1998 and 2005, was promoted to the AFL coaching panel as part of the off-season changes that were headlined by the appointment of Chris Scott as Mark Thompson's replacement.
With Geelong now a couple of weeks into its pre-season, the 31-year-old has no doubt the 2007 and 2009 premiers can again be a force next year.
"It seems like the guys feel really fresh because everything's new in this pre-season," Rahilly said.
"I think the boys are really keen to prove their doubters wrong. I think we'll go out next year and be the hunters and the players will enjoy that after being the hunted for so long.
"If people are going to doubt us, I think we'll be pretty happy with that. We think we're in a position to contend again and we're training as hard as we ever have."
Scott has been putting the Cats through some tough training sessions as he begins develop his plan for the team.
"The boys have got a fresh set of eyes on them and that means they've got plenty to prove," Rahilly said.
"I don't know if anyone's position is safe. Players need to put their name up before the coach by training hard and they're all doing that."
Rahilly's promotion to the AFL coaching panel came after he spent three seasons working with the club's VFL team and the youngsters that are part of its development academy.
His new job completed a journey from elite player to elite coach.
"When I finished playing footy, I just wanted to get away because I had lost a bit of passion for the game," Rahilly said.
"I went overseas for a year and a half. I travelled all the time and went through Asia, Europe and central America.
"I had a ball but then the club invited me back to be a part-time coach with the academy and I did that just to test the waters a bit.
"In the end it has all worked out really well."
Rahilly, who has also spent time helping out Geelong's recruiting guru Stephen Wells, will have a diverse role in 2011.
"I'll be the opposition analyst and I'll keep working in development, helping out the young blokes.
"And it will be great to learn from Chris Scott. His footy philosophy is very similar to mine and the whole coaching panel is a great bunch of guys to learn from."
