Nakia Cockatoo has set his sights on winning a regular place in the Cats' AFL team during the 2017 season.

The 20-year-old, who is entering his third season with Geelong, was part of a squad of mostly younger players that returned to the club on Monday.

And he was in the thick of the action when they hit the track at Simonds Stadium on Tuesday.

"That's the goal - just to play as many games as I can," Cockatoo told Cats Media in the first of our pre-season series of video catch-ups with the boys.

With the retirement of Jimmy Bartel and the departure of Josh Caddy to Richmond there will be plenty of opportunities for players like Cockatoo, who played only 10 AFL games in 2016 for a career tally of 21, to step up.

"I want to have a really good year and not worry about any injuries," he said.

To watch the full interview with Nakia Cockatoo click on the video player at the top of the page