DUAL Brownlow Medal winner Gary Ablett hasn’t improved the Cats, says Geelong great Cameron Mooney.

Ablett racked up 17 touches against the Swans, but only laid two tackles in another match that belied his defensive work.

By comparison, Joel Selwood registered nine tackles, while Jamaine Jones had 11 to his name.

Ablett’s return to Geelong — where he would work in tandem with Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield — was marked as a potential flag-winning move.

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But Mooney, who won premierships alongside Ablett, suggested the veteran midfielder was far from his best.

When asked whether Ablett had made Geelong stronger, Mooney said: “No, he hasn’t. Not right now.”

“And he hasn’t been playing great footy. He’s not giving himself to the team. Just those little things.

“And until he does that he won’t improve the team.”

While Ablett has averaged 28 possessions in 2018, his average tackle numbers are as low as they’ve ever been, with the exception of his debut season.

In his last season at the Suns, Ablett laid 5.5 tackles on average.

But in 2018 that number has sunk to 2.7.

Dual premiership player David King was stinging in his criticism of the 34-year-old, saying if the Cats were to seriously challenge for the flag, Ablett would need to step up.

“Gary is brilliant with the ball, we know that,” King said.

“But they will leak goals, this midfield, if they don’t improve collectively.

“Joel Selwood was enormous tonight, Patrick Dangerfield had a great 60 minutes in the middle of the game defensively.

“But Gary is miles from where he needs to be and for this team he needs to be at least a 6/10 defensive player.”