Gold Coast Suns coach Rodney Eade would have denied Gary Ablett’s request back to Geelong
GOLD Coast Suns coach Rodney Eade said he would have told Gary Ablett “bad luck” had the champion midfielder requested a trade back to Geelong.
AFL
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GOLD Coast Suns coach Rodney Eade said he would have told Gary Ablett “bad luck” had the champion midfielder requested a trade back to Geelong.
The veteran mentor said Ablett never asked him personally about breaking his contract early; Eade only found out later on the 32-year-old had discussed moving back to the Cattery with his manager Liam Pickering.
“I didn’t know about it at the time, to be honest,” Eade told SEN radio.
“(I found out) once it all broke — it was coming out (in the media) and a few people at the club said, ‘look this is going to happen’.
“I think Pickers, his manager, mentioned it in the media that it was just a question he asked, and we obviously wanted to keep it as private as possible, but there were some things he spoke about to (recruiting manager) Scott Clayton and (football manager) Marcus Ashcroft that were personal — so it was separate to the club.
“This has been mashed together and I think people have got to respect that there are some things in his life he wants to sort out and help some people.”
When asked what he would have told Ablett had the then-captain requested a trade back to the Cats, Eade replied, “bad luck”.
The dual premiership player is still recovering from a shoulder injury that saw him miss the second half of 2016, but Eade said it was important his side could win games without relying on the champion.
“We have to go past Gary … you can’t rely on one player — if you’ve got 22 players and you’re playing in a final — you can’t rely on one player. As good as he is, and as good as he was,” Eade said.
“He’s done all his match-simulation, even though his shoulder isn’t right to do total contact, as a forward.
“I still think he’s a very good midfielder, but if he plays as a permanent forward, he’d kick 50 or 60 (goals), I would have thought.
“If you’re a defender on him, you’d be twitching like anything.
“His ability to read the ball and be in the right spot, is as good as I have ever seen.”
The 288-game star handed over the Suns captaincy to Tom Lynch and Steven May in the off-season, having played just 20 games in the last two seasons.
Originally published as Gold Coast Suns coach Rodney Eade would have denied Gary Ablett’s request back to Geelong
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