Gary Ablett’s break the best move for him and the Suns writes Mark Robinson
GARY Ablett had to play. But it was embarrassing to watch. And stepping away is the best move for him and Gold Coast, writes Mark Robinson.
Mark Robinson
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IT’S the best move for Gary Ablett, and Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade is hoping it will be the best move for his football team.
Ablett can’t play like he has.
Skirting the packs and thrusting one arm at the ball, he was what used to be known as a sheep dog.
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It’s embarrassing and hurtful to watch.
It’s wrong to see one of the all-time greats struggle with injury through Rounds 1 and 2 because of the pressure to lead his team.
He had to play. He was the captain. The doctors cleared him to play, but clearly Ablett wasn’t ready.
Eade wouldn’t have applied the pressure. He would’ve asked Gaz and Gaz would’ve said yes.
There would’ve been another discussion after the Round 1 loss to Melbourne, but again, Ablett would have wanted to play.
Not with painkillers and anti-inflammatories, mind you. Ablett leans towards natural healing and not medically assisted measures.
You have to wonder if that alone puts a strain on the relationship between coach and player.
If Ablett doesn’t want to take pills to play and Eade and docs suggests pills would help him play .... well, that could lead to a stand-off.
There’s another issue to consider, too.
As skipper, Ablett can’t be demanding standards from his teammates when his standards were desperately low.
He wanted to play non-contact football, which is difficult playing AFL.
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And he first thing that happens when a group of humans try to accomplish anything, and there’s failure wherever you look, fingers start being pointed and verbal unrest abounds.
It’s difficult not to say the Suns are in crisis.
They have lacked effort in their two losses to Melbourne and St Kilda, and all the pre-season hype, which also came from the coach, has evaporated in the Gold Coast heat.
As a coach, Eade has to move on quickly.
He needs to prepare his team for Geelong this week and somehow convince them that defensive actions are more important than looking pretty waiting for someone to give you the ball.
Most of the team remembers what happened last year when Ablett hurt his shoulder in Round 16 against Collingwood.
They won that match, the most inspiring win in the Suns’ short history.
They lost six of the next seven matches to miss the finals.
Eade has to exorcise those demons and, at this strange time, try to convince the players they are better off without Ablett. They need to accept responsibility. To stand up without him.
Because if they don’t, the current crisis might cripple the club.
Eade certainly didn’t see this coming when he signed last year.
A club of five years building to play finals suddenly needs a rebuild and they don’t know when or if the skipper will play again.
Originally published as Gary Ablett’s break the best move for him and the Suns writes Mark Robinson
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