Cornell is home in Wagga on a brief mid-season break and will return to Geelong on Saturday for the second half of the season.

There is plenty to look forward to on return as he and the third-placed Cats look to up the ante on their AFL premiership campaign.

“It’s fantastic, the feeling at the club is really positive,” Cornell said.

“Everyone is feeling good and you go into the club each morning and it’s a good place to be. Everyone is up and about.

“It’s a really great club and I love going in there to work every day. It’s fantastic.”

Already Cornell has been to dinner and out for a surf with Dangerfield, the short-priced favourite for the Brownlow Medal.

Cornell knows how lucky he is to be in a position where he gets to learn from the likes of Dangerfield and Joel Selwood.

“They’re massive,” he said.

“I’ve learnt that much off them, especially me, wanting to be a midfielder, they are two of the best in the competition to learn from.”

Cornell, who was selected by Geelong with pick nine in last year’s AFL Rookie Draft, has played 10 games for the Cats in the VFL.

The 19-year-old has played predominantly on a wing and across half-forward, with his best effort being a 20-possession and three goal game against Coburg.

“It’s been good, I got through the pre-season all good. It was pretty big but the body held up, there was no niggles or injuries, which was good,” Cornell said.

“I started off a bit patchy in the VFL but it’s been good so hopefully I can keep building into the second half of the year.

“I had a chat to the coaches before I came back home and they’re really happy with my fitness and running patterns. I’ve just got to work on putting on some size to be able to take on a bigger load in the midfield.”

Cornell said the big thing he has learnt to date is how much work is required to succeed.

“You get to the club and think everything is in place for you, which it is, but the amount of extra work that you have to put in is huge,” he said.

“You have got to keep doing the extra things.”