GARY Ablett's arrival should allow Geelong to deploy Patrick Dangerfield more often in attack this season, Cats coach Chris Scott says. 

Dangerfield is one of the competition's elite midfielders but last season showed he could be just as damaging in attack, where his speed and strength overhead made him a daunting match-up for rival teams. 

After injuring his foot early in Geelong's round 17 game against Hawthorn, Dangerfield was sent forward, where he kicked 5.6 and took eight marks inside the Cats' forward 50 to almost single-handedly drag his team to a three-point win. 

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The 2016 Brownlow medallist was equally dominant in Geelong's 59-point semi-final triumph over Sydney, kicking four goals, all of them in the first half when the contest was still in the balance. He also took eight marks, four of them contested.

Despite spending most of his time in the midfield last season, Dangerfield kicked 45 goals, just six fewer than the Cats' leading goalkicker Tom Hawkins and equal 11th in the AFL. The former Crow also led the competition in clearances.

Scott told AFL.com.au Geelong believed it now had the midfield depth to play Dangerfield more often inside its forward 50. 

"Dangerfield would be a super forward for us full-time, but he does kick a lot of goals as a midfielder too," Scott said. 

"I think (Ablett's arrival) will allow us to play Pat forward a bit more, in combination with more improvement from Mitch Duncan, Cam Guthrie, Sam Menegola and Mark Blicavs. We've worked really hard to get some depth in our midfield, which gives you a bit more confidence to play Pat, Joel (Selwood) or Gary forward.

"But we are trying to strike the balance between what's best for the team and what's best for those individuals. If we can get those guys playing at their best in their best positions, that's what's going to help the team the most. 

"Those two things aren't mutually exclusive, but in a perfect world the ball is going forward often enough and our best players are there to receive it."