Gary Ablett Snr V Gary Ablett Jr: AFL greats Malcolm Blight and Rodney Eade debate which Ablett is better

Gary Ablett Snr kicked more unbelievable goals than just about anyone in the game. But Gary Jr’s technique is near flawless. So who would you want taking the most important kick of your season?

Gary Ablett junior’s 35th birthday last month finally made Australian rules football’s ultimate comparison a realistic experience.

The name Gary Ablett first became a never-to-be-forgotten viewing experience in 1984 when Gary Snr burst on to the scene with Geelong, two years after he had played half a dozen matches at Hawthorn. In between, the lure of country took him to Myrtleford in the Ovens and Murray league in 1983. From there, the Cats swooped.

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Nine games into his Geelong career he was chosen at the behest of Ted Whitten to play for Victoria against Western Australia on a Tuesday, July 17, afternoon at Subiaco Oval — WA 21.16 (142) d Victoria 21.12 (138).

Eight goals from a half-forward flank was the most compelling debut ever seen at that level in a season in which Ablett also won Geelong’s best and fairest for the first, and only time, due to a voting system that was at times laughable.

He retired from the game after Round 1, 1997, when he played at full-forward in Geelong’s reserves against Richmond’s Scott Turner and kicked 8.7 before he tore his ACL. His remarkable career ended at age 35.

And as such it’s now befitting to ask two men who have been closely involved with the careers of both Gary Abletts to judge them.

Rodney Eade played six games with Ablett Snr at Hawthorn in 1982, then played and coached against him when Ablett moved to Geelong. Eade was a firmly-entrenched part of the Hawthorn juggernaut in the early 1980s, but Ablett’s talent was such that he would leave home early to watch him in the reserves.

“We used to talk about this kid and what he could do, even if he wasn’t always at the club,” Eade said.

“I remember a wet day at Princes Park, slippery and wet, with Gary playing on a wing. He picked up the ball on the centre square line and kicked a left foot torp which landed in the goalsquare and went through. He hit it perfectly, unbelievable.”

An exercise such as this can sometimes be unfairly biased against a player who, in this case Snr, played closer to goal. Obviously they wouldn’t have handballed as often, or had as many opportunities to tackle as they played a power role.

Malcolm Blight played both midfield and key forward for North Melbourne, so when he arrived at Geelong he did a deal with Gary Snr.

“I said to Dad, ‘Why don’t you chase someone down early in the game?’ Then everyone will think Gary is up and about today because he’s tackling. After that I told him I would rather he focused on the ball. He could tackle but he would rather get the ball,” Blight laughed.

Gary Ablett Snr in action.

Gary Ablett Jr in action.

GARY ABLETT SNR v GARY ABLETT JR

Malcolm Blight and Rodney Eade on the two greats.

SPEED

EADE: “The old man had more raw speed. But Gary Jr’s footy IQ, which has enabled him to read the game ahead of everyone else, makes him look quicker than he is. It’s like the draft where raw numbers don’t always mean the total picture.”

BLIGHT: “Both super quick. Maybe Dad had the edge for sheer speed.”

FOOTY IQ

EADE: “Gary Jr would be a clear 10, whereas the old man played on instinct and sheer talent. Did he bring other blokes into the game, or did he see the game that way? It was hard to tell.”

BLIGHT: “Gary Jr has to be a 10, just so, so clever. I would take him ahead of anyone in that area. As for the father, he knew everything that was going on, don’t worry about that.”

MARKING

EADE: “There are two categories for Gary Jr, pre and post-shoulder. He has obviously been restricted since the injury. The old man would be a 9.5 week in, week out.”

GOAL KICKING

EADE: “Dad would take shots from everywhere and kick more unbelievable goals than most, but if I wanted one to kick for my life, it would be Gary Jr. His technique is near flawless.”

Blight: “Both excellent kicks on their right foot, but you have to include left foot as well where Gary Snr was a 9, and Junior an 8.”

Gary Ablett was a cracking set shot for goal. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

FIELD KICKING

BLIGHT: “Gary Snr would kick it longer in a day where you didn’t chip it around all the time. But when I played him up the ground, he was a beautiful kick to position.”

HANDBALL

EADE: “The old man didn’t handball so maybe you put N/A in for Not Applicable. But for the sake of a rating I will give him a 6 because clearly he would have been good at it had he chosen. Junior’s handball the other night to Patrick Dangerfield wasn’t just about awareness, but also execution because Danger didn’t have to break stride.”

BLIGHT: “Gary Jr is the equal of Barry Cable and Greg Williams. His awareness of what and when to do it, that’s what I loved about him. In all fairness, Gary Snr was a bit like me in that your eyes would find your opponents first that I had to avoid. Fifty per cent of players are like that and the other 50 today go in looking for a handball before giving it to a bloke standing flat-footed. Gary Snr went to beat the opposition, which is so different from his son. One avoided the opposition, the little fella actually saw where his teammates were. Most people wouldn’t even think about that.”

STRENGTH

BLIGHT: “Senior was in the handful of the strongest players I’ve ever seen. And he was bigger than his son. But Junior is strong, although not as strong as Dangerfield or Chris Judd.”

Gary Ablett is remarkable in traffic. Picture: Michael Klein

EXPLOSIVENESS

BLIGHT: “Can I give an 11? Nobody gets anywhere really close. Judd maybe at times but not with the same brutality as Gary Snr. Gary Jr could dart away from a pack after avoiding the contact whereas Snr would bowl a few over before bursting away.”

AGGRESSION/BUMPING/TACKLING

EADE: “Senior didn’t tackle a lot but he was super aggressive. Junior has always had a good tackling technique.”

BLIGHT: “I’ve never seen a bloke take just five steps and hurt more people than Gary Snr. Gary Jr is tough in a different way, genuinely strong in the way he attacks the ball.”

X-FACTOR

EADE: “Senior had a greater X factor because there were more goals at the end of it. Junior’s X-factor is about putting people into space.”

Blight: “Gary Snr changed more games than any other player I saw. Even Wayne Carey. But Junior can do it to as well.”

CONCLUSION

EADE: “Gary Snr remains the most talented player I have seen but I think the way Gary Jnr is playing now means he might just have gone past his dad. Junior is a better player at 35-35 than his father:”

BLIGHT: “Their best was and is as good as any, but where are their flaws? What would be the thing that just made the slight difference? I would say Dad’s fitness and inability at endurance running, so probably his tank was his weakness. But he was so explosive that he used so much energy doing that. For that reason I would go for Gary Jnr.”

ANDERSON: “How blessed have Geelong supporters been to have had two superstars with the same name for most of the past 35 years? Gary Jr is clearly more consistent, but some of that can be put down to the respective nature of their positions. And where they played is why I still have Gary Snr slightly ahead, because to do what he did as a key forward late in his career almost defied belief. Plus he kicked 1000 goals despite playing the greater percentage of his career up the ground.”

Originally published as Gary Ablett Snr V Gary Ablett Jr: AFL greats Malcolm Blight and Rodney Eade debate which Ablett is better