Gary Ablett says family is staying positive about son Levi’s health battle

After settling into retirement following his stellar playing career, Geelong and AFL legend Gary Ablett Jr sat down with the Addy to speak about life post-football, what he thinks of the Cats’ premiership hopes and his son’s ongoing health battle.

GARY Ablett walked off the Gabba nursing a broken shoulder and broken dreams after Geelong’s loss to Richmond in last year’s AFL grand final.

But half a season on, the footy immortal is settling into his retirement from the game.

Given the coronavirus pandemic robbed Ablett of the send-off he deserved last year, the Geelong Football Club is holding a special function next month to farewell the Little Master.

The Ablett Experience will be held at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday June 19.

Tickets are available at https://www.tixstar.com.au/a/afl-club-functions-events/other/the-ablett-experience/100009434

Ahead of the event, Ablett caught up with the Geelong Advertiser’s Greg Dundas.

GD: You’re half a season out of the game now. How are you finding retirement from league football?

GA: I’m enjoying it. There are aspects of the game I do miss. After playing it for 19 years I miss not being around the boys every day and getting to spend that quality time with them.

But at the same time I’m loving the extra time with family.

I’m definitely not missing waking up feeling sore for three or four days after a game.

Did you put a lot of thought in beforehand about how you would cope with retirement?

Yeah, I did. I think my first shoulder injury back in 2014, as much as you don’t wish a long term injury on anyone, in a way it was a really good time for me to reflect, and it was a reminder that football was going to end at some stage. Through that time I was able to think about what life after football would look like for me.

Hopefully footy is just a very small part of my life.

I’ve got a couple of businesses up and running which I’ve transitioned into, and my No. 1 priority is my family, so I’m just enjoying spending extra time with them.

Gary Ablett Jr with son Levi. Picture: Instagram

There has been a lot of interest in your son Levi’s condition? How is he at the moment?

Things are good. I think most people know now he has got a serious condition, and we don’t really know what the future looks like. But we’re staying positive.

We know that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, and that every day is a blessing, so we try wake up with a smile on our face.

Levi has taught us a lot in the short amount of time he’s been in this world, and we’re just enjoying every moment with him. He really is a blessing to both of us.

Onto the Cats. They started a little sluggishly but have looked better the past month or so. What have you made of their form?

Look, I haven’t watched a lot of footy. I do check the results on my app, but the games I have watched I think early in the season we were probably a bit safe with our ball movement. I think part of that is because you look at last year’s grand final and turnovers hurt us a lot in that second half.

But I’ve really been liking the way they’ve been moving the ball (more recently). They’re safe when they need to be, but as we get forward of centre we’ve been a lot better at getting the ball into our forwards faster.

We’ve got a very talented forward line. We’ve got Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins down there — two great targets.

It’s just a matter of getting that balance right between when you move the ball slower and when to move it fast, and I think they’ve been doing that a lot better.

Gary Ablett farewells fans. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Having Jeremy as another marking option down there now must provide more incentive for them to go quick with the ball …

Absolutely. If you look at the second half of last year, because Tom Hawkins was playing such great football, I think teams were getting that extra number back, which made it really difficult for Tom at times.

But now we’ve got Jeremy down there, who is more a lead-up type player, I think it’s opening up a little more space for Tom.

I think he was a really great recruit and he’s going to be really important for them come finals time, hopefully.

You would’ve liked the opportunity to put a few down his throat …

Ha ha ... 19 years in the game; it’s a blessing I was able to play that long. There are aspects of the game I do miss. I watched the Easter Monday game against Hawthorn. Those blockbuster games at the MCG are the ones you miss. That’s why you play footy — to play finals at the MCG. So, if they’re there this year I’ll definitely be in the stands watching.

Will it be more difficult for you to watch as the season gets to that pointy end?

As I said, I haven’t been watching a lot, but I’ll definitely be following closely towards the end of the year. I believe they’ve got the team to do it. They’ll obviously continue to work on their game and get a few guys back from injury over the next couple of weeks.

I certainly believe that window’s still open, so that’s exciting for Cats fans.

Would that be difficult for you to watch?

I think a bit of both. I was always very honest in saying I came back to Geelong to win a premiership. If they were to go all the way I’d be super-stoked for all the boys.

For everyone last year was a really tough year, and we got so close. We had our opportunities in that grand final.

I think the club has done really well with the guys they have recruited and brought into the team. Those three guys were exactly what the club needed.

I touched on Jeremy Cameron. I think Shaun Higgins adds a touch of class to the midfield, and then you’ve got Isaac Smith. To get a guy in who can run the lines and open up space for other guys; I think that helps keep the window open, and I hope they go all the way this year.

Jeremy Cameron was one of the Cats’ big summer pick-ups. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The event you’ve got on at the club on June 19 — The Ablett Experience — what will be the format of that?

We’re working though the format. I’m really excited about it. When the club approached me about it a couple of months ago I said ‘yes’ straight away.

When you’re playing football you don't really have time to reflect on your career. But I am sure this is going to be a special night.

I know they’ve got some past players coming back; guys that played a lot of football with my dad and myself. We’ve got some guys that are still playing, and there are also some teammates from the Suns I hope to get along.

I’ll be up on the stage part of the night. I’m looking forward to telling some stories and having some fun discussions, but also it will be great to hear some stories from ex-teammates and guys I’ve played a lot of football with.

So, guys please get along. I know there’s still tickets available.

Nathan Ablett and Gary Ablett Jr hold the 2007 premiership cup aloft.

What are the questions you find people most like to ask you about your footy career?

People talk a lot about the 07 premiership. It was obviously a special time for the football club. It had been such a long time since we’d won one. Then they go into the four losing grand finals (1989, 92, 94 and 95) and how hard that was, and then talk about the 08 grand final.

I’ve always said I believe that was the best list we had, that year. To lose one game throughout the year, then lose that grand final was really hard for the football club.

For me the 09 premiership was the more satisfying. Going into that grand final the boys felt those expectations that, if we don’t win this one, one in three is probably not a pass mark.

St Kilda was so good that year. I remember getting to the end of that match and being exhausted, sitting in the rooms with no energy to talk to anyone.

When people ask me the highlight of my career I was always say the 09 grand final.

What about junior footballers. What’s the No. 1 piece of advice you have junior footballers?

There’s two things.

My dad was always telling me as a young kid to learn to kick and handball on both sides of my body. If your dream is to play at the top level that will go a long way to helping you do that.

The second thing is I’m all about quality over quantity. I’ve seen so many guys come through the system. They get out there to do the extras work (at training), but it’s more about ticking the box.

I always tried to learn to do something right. So if there was a particular skill I wanted to learn I would find somebody in the league who I really respected who I knew did that particular skill really well, I’d watch video on them, then I’d go out and practice that.

I found if you learned to do something right and then went out and practised it, that helped fast-track your development, rather than going out and doing something the wrong way and you don’t see a lot of improvement in your game.

So I’m all about doing the research and learning your skills the right way: quality over quantity. If you go out and give 100 hours to your craft but you’re not doing it right, well, you’re not going to see a lot of improvement.

What about now, what are you doing to stay fit? Are you playing any sport?

I had my third shoulder reconstruction (after last year’s grand final), so there was a two or three-month period where I couldn’t do a lot. But I’m building my running back up.

I’ve been getting out for some social tennis, which is good fun, and something I didn’t get to do a lot over my 19 years in the game.

Once I get my shoulder right I’m keen to do some surfing, and also play a bit more golf. I was playing a bit with my dad, which I was really enjoying.

So that’s the goal; do the rehab, get my shoulder nice and strong, and play some other sports I’m passionate about.”

Originally published as Gary Ablett says family is staying positive about son Levi’s health battle