BRANDAN Parfitt will continue to ramp up his midfield minutes as the third-year Cat attacks the pre-season with an eye on building his aerobic base.

The smooth-moving mid-forward showcased just how damaging he can be in the midfield mix early in 2018, with a 28 possession and three goal game against the Saints.

Assistant coach Nigel Lappin believes the young Cat has some distinct qualities which could see him thrive in midfield.  

“This is just my opinion, but there’s a few different things that set the best players apart from the really good players,” Lappin says.

“One’s obviously their physical capabilities and what they’re like as an athlete, but all things being equal in that, the thing that sets a lot of players apart is their decision making.

“Brandan is an elite decision maker. He’s always got a lot of time when he’s got the ball in his hands.

“The game moves slower for him, he’s a good decision maker and a quick decision maker. He reads cues really quickly and he’s got the ability to buy time for himself as well. He’s got really good lateral movement and he’s a good ball user.”

Lappin believes that the next step for Parfitt in his midfield development, is building the tank required to enable him to spend more time in the engine room.

“He can certainly be a midfielder. He needs to improve his running ability so he can play in there more regularly,” Lappin says.

“He’s certainly got some fantastic midfield attributes and if he can get himself in the physical condition where he can do that more often he can be a fantastic midfielder no doubt about that.

“He’s a really good team player, he values the hard things. He likes to chase and tackle and pressure and do all the hard things that the team ask him to do.  

Parfitt isn’t under any illusions as to what he needs to take his game to the next level.

“I had a good off-season. I relaxed and trained a fair bit, so I’m feeling pretty good and looking forward to the rest of the pre-season block,” he said.

“I want to get a lot fitter and stronger. I want to try and play a bit more midfield, so I want to learn that craft and learn off the older guys.”

More midfield minutes won’t mean Parfitt is ready to abandon his post up forward however, believing his best footy is played “probably a mixture between forward and a little bit in the midfield.”

“I’m just learning both positions and having more strings to my bow,” he says