By Michael Whiting

If his housemate is anything to go by, Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett is cooler than a Geelong winter's day at the prospect of his first trip back to Skilled Stadium since leaving the Cats in the off-season.

Giant GC SUNS ruckman Zac Smith lives with the former Geelong superstar, and believes Ablett won't be phased by meeting the Cats on their home turf on Saturday.

Smith said the Brownlow medallist did not get nervous, but had been quiet on the subject.

"He said he's looking forward to it. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing," Smith said.

"I think it'll be good for him just to get back home. We're staying in Torquay where he grew up, and I want to see the crowd's reaction to him when he runs out the first time."

Ablett left Geelong for the GC SUNS at the end of 2010 after nine years with the Cats and will play in front of his former supporters for the first time.

When the teams met at Metricon Stadium in round 10, Ablett was greeted by plenty of smiles and goodwill from his ex-teammates.

He had 31 disposals as the GC SUNS stunned the then competition leaders to lead by 11 points at half time before fading to lose by 66 points.

Smith, the 21-year-old ruck sensation who is one of the favourites for this year's NAB Rising Star award, said Gold Coast SUNS would take more than false bravado into the match.

He said Saturday night's 20-point loss to St Kilda provided the injection of confidence they needed ahead of the Cats clash.

"They absolutely smashed Melbourne on the weekend but we're hoping to catch them by surprise again and play some exciting footy like we did last time, and hopefully for four quarters," he said.

"You can't go into games hoping they're going to have an off day, but we're going to go down there quietly confident.

"You can't go in not confident. We didn't win on the weekend, but we got a bit of belief out of that last game against a quality side and (can) take that into next week against the Cats."

Smith said that on reflection, the loss to St Kilda was one that got away, with poor kicking a prime factor.

"Coming off the loss to St Kilda probably gave the boys a bit more belief. They should be a top four side and a premiership (contender) team from the past couple of years, so we got a bit of belief out of that game and can take it into next week."