EMERGING Cat Jason Davenport hopes watching roommate and close friend Gary Ablett go about his business may prove just as beneficial as a year in Geelong’s VFL side.

Davenport, upgraded to the club’s senior list after a stellar season in Geelong’s VFL premiership last year, hopes to make every post a winner in 2008 now that he will be eligible for AFL selection each week.

“I’m pretty stoked,” Davenport said of his promotion.

“It was a work in progress … I was lucky enough to get promoted at the end of one [year] which I’m pretty stoked about.

“Now, the hard work begins all over again.”

Football is still only relatively new to Davenport, compared to many others running around at AFL level.

He first ventured down to Skilled Stadium – from Nilma Darnum in the Ellinbank and District Football League – at the urging of Ablett’s cousin, Josh O’Brien, who had played a couple of matches for the Cats’ seconds and thought Davenport showed enough raw ability to make a go of it.

Just two years later, the lightning-quick forward finds himself on the list of the AFL’s reigning premier.

“It’s been a pretty amazing couple of years,” he said.

“It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s gone pretty quickly at the same time and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Davenport has made significant strides in his time at the Cats. While his rapid development can be attributed to his own natural talent and the coaching at Geelong, he says he is lucky to see how Ablett – one of the stars of the competition – operates on a daily basis.

“Living with Gaz, seeing how professionally he deals with it all, he’s a great role model to be around,” Davenport said.

The speedster has formed strong friendships with many at the Cattery in just a short time, in particular with some of the more experienced players on the list.

And he was humbled when he learned former teammate and now Saint Steven King had instigated a move to see him take over the No.1 jumper – a number the big ruckman wore in all of his 193 senior games at Geelong.

King told gfc.com.au he believed Davenport could further develop into a player of great promise.

“He’s just a good young player,” King said.

“I reckon he’s going to go all right. I spent a bit of time with him in the twos last year and I saw him do some really good things.

“I thought it’d be nice if he could get the opportunity I reckon and with a bit more responsibility I think he’ll be a better player for it.”

Davenport, who wore No.41 in 2007, said he hadn’t given too much thought to wearing the No.1 jumper.

“I think when I put the jumper on for the first time, just with the single stripe on the back, it’ll be a bit weird,” he said.

“Numbers aren’t a big thing to me but Kingy was obviously a champion of the club and it was quite an honour for him to ask me.”