As a former senior AFL coach and dual All-Australian ruckman, Matthew Primus has a highly-rated football brain.

But even he found himself playing the role of student, when one of the code’s elite players, Gary Ablett, joined him in the coaching box following season-ending shoulder surgery.

For the first time in Ablett’s playing career, the on-ball superstar took on an active match-day role alongside Gold Coast’s coaching panel, gaining a different perspective on the game from high above the playing field.

"He's going to take an active part in, almost, match committee," Guy McKenna said at the time.

"He's going to do mids and sit in the coaches box; give (midfield coach) Matty Primus an extra set of eyes.”

Widely considered in a league of his own on the field, few players can provide the same extraordinary insight as Ablett.

So when the opportunity to have ‘Gaz’ perform a coaching role for his midfield partners, Primus said it was a no-brainer.

“From a player like Gary you can learn with how he sees the game,” Primus told goldcoastfc.com.au.

“He teaches all the coaches about the game, just as much as we like to think we teach him about the game.

“We all see the game differently, and Gary certainly sees it from his own unique point of view as well.”

Although stuck on the sidelines, Primus said his emerging midfield group still benefited greatly from having “Coach” Ablett for a seven-week period.

“He was able to give some advice to Dion and Jaeger at half-time, and give them feedback when they were getting tagged throughout games.

“Because he has been so durable he never really got to sit in the coaches box, so to see the game from a different view and see what the coaches are constantly trying to work on was great experience for Gary.”