Champ to take it easy

PAUL Chapman has urged Geelong to “play smart” with Gary Ablett by lessening his playing loads in the midfield.

Chapman, who was a dual Premiership teammate of Ablett in 2007-2009, admitted to surprise at the amount of time Ablett has spent around the ball in the opening three rounds of the season.

“In particular the Hawthorn game in Round 2 when he spent 91 per cent of game time on the ball,” Chapman said.

“Obviously he’s had a great pre-season so he’s got the load into his legs but they have to play him smarter. He can’t be playing 91 per cent of game time in the midfield when he’s about to turn 34.”