AFL Grand Final: With Gary Ablett playing his final game, where to now for wounded Cats?
Gary Ablett’s teammates have led the tributes to the retiring great after he said goodbye to the AFL following Saturday’s Grand Final loss, lauding him as a one-of-a-kind talent whose ability may never be seen again.
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Gary Ablett Jnr has delivered an emotional farewell to football, thanking Richmond for pausing its premiership celebrations to send him off into retirement.
The 36-year-old was embraced by wife Jordan and son Levi in the aftermath of Saturday night’s 31-point loss to Richmond at the Gabba, before both teams lined up to honour the great of the game.
“What a journey it’s been,” Ablett wrote on Instagram on Sunday morning.
“I’m sorry to all the Geelong Cats supporters that we couldn’t get it done for you last night.
“However, thank you for the way you have cheered us on throughout the 2020 season and through all of its challenges. I’m so incredibly proud of this group and the entire footy club.
“You have all, (including everyone involved in the AFL) put so much of your time, energy and heart into making this season go ahead. THANK YOU!.”
Ablett, who played 357 games, won two premierships and two Brownlow medals, admitted that he is “going to miss playing the game that I love and have loved since I was a kid watching my Dad play”.
“It has brought me so much joy!,” he wrote.
“There’s so many people that I will need to thank for investing into my career, both professionally and personally but it would be impossible to make mention of everyone here.
“Congratulations to Richmond what an outstanding achievement to have won your third premiership in the last four years. Well done!
“I also just want to thank you very much for pausing your celebrations last night to send me off with a guard of honour.”
It marked the end of a heartbreaking year for the Ablett family, in which son Levi was diagnosed with a rare degenerative condition and Jordan’s mother, Trudy, passed away from cancer.
“Lastly to my family, there’s no way I could have achieved what I have without your constant love, encouragement and support,” Ablett wrote.
“I’m looking forward to what’s to come for our family.”
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Cats captain Joel Selwood says football may never see a player of Gary Ablett’s ilk again as the Cats pick up the pieces from another finals heartbreak.
Selwood described the season as a “step forward” after Geelong broke its preliminary final hoodoo to reach its first Grand Final in nine years.
“It’s one of the harder ones to see off,” Selwood said of Ablett.
“He’s had a hell of a career. I was a Geelong supporter growing up, so I wasn’t only his teammate but I was a fan of what he was able to do for a long period of time.
“He’s given this game more than anyone over a 20-year period.
“A credit to Richmond tonight, just to show that respect. We’re going to miss him I reckon because there might not be another one like him.”
Teammate Patrick Dangerfield labelled Ablett a “champion of the game”.
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He said there were no surprises to see him return to the field after aggravating his troublesome shoulder early in the game.
“He is incredibly strong-willed, mentally tough, whatever adjectives you would like to use to describe someone who is incredibly resilient,” Dangerfield said.
“He is all that and above. It is emotional for us all to see the back of his playing days. In my time in the game I haven’t seen someone dominate for a genuine decade.
“He’s a pleasure to play with, awful to play against and I count myself lucky, as we all do, that I’ve been able to experience him.”
The Cats were again unable to keep pace with a rampaging Tigers outfit that caused similar damage in last year’s preliminary final match-up.
“We knew they were going to get the momentum at some stage,” Selwood said.
“I can’t really remember what missed shots we had … we’ve kicked 7.8, so maybe we missed a couple that we could have (kicked).”
Have you ever cried when a player retired from another team cos I did tonight when gary ablett did
— Jacqui Reed (@JacquiReed_) October 24, 2020
Man. What an experience. Shattered for the Cats, gee they had a crack. These Tigers are sensational, but Dusty is next level. The man is a freak.
— Kyle Pollard (@KylePollard) October 24, 2020
And Gaz. There’s not much more left to say. Only spent six years of my life without a Gary Ablett playing. Miserable to see him go.
Heads up, Gaz. We'll always love you. #GeelongCats #AFLTigersCats pic.twitter.com/gasz7s5MwJ
— Geelong Advertiser (@geelongaddy) October 24, 2020
Won’t ever watch this game again so I’ll probably forget that Gaz handball but geez I’ll miss him
— Angus Kramer (@anguskramer) October 24, 2020
Selwood said the Cats stuck with standard process and did not speak in the rooms after the match.
It is an approach Chris Scott has long instituted to ensure the emotion of the moment doesn’t cloud the message to the team.
The Cats spent Saturday night as a team in their Southport hub.
“We’ll do that (chat) at some stage,” Selwood said.
“But we’re not a side that usually speaks on emotion and we’ve made that noted many times.”
Selwood praised the club’s “outstanding effort” to reach a Grand Final after more than 100 days on the road across three states – New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland.
“I can’t speak highly enough of how the boys and staff have been during the period,” he said.
Gary Ablett Jnr walks off the field for the last time.
— 7AFL (@7AFL) October 24, 2020
ðŸ‘ðŸ‘👠pic.twitter.com/CpCkkKStLM
SELWOOD: WE’LL NEVER SEE ANOTHER PLAYER LIKE GAZ
Geelong captain Joel Selwood says football may never see a player of Gary Ablett’s ilk again as the Cats pick up the pieces from another finals heartbreak.
Selwood described the season as a “step forward” after Geelong broke its preliminary final hoodoo to reach its first Grand Final in nine years.
“It’s one of the harder ones to see off,” Selwood said of Ablett.
“He’s had a hell of a career. I was a Geelong supporter growing up, so I wasn’t only his teammate but I was a fan of what he was able to do for a long period of time.
“He’s given this game more than anyone over a 20-year period.
“A credit to Richmond tonight, just to show that respect. We’re going to miss him I reckon because there might not be another one like him.”
Teammate Patrick Dangerfield labelled Ablett a “champion of the game”.
He said there were no surprises to see him return to the field after injuring his troublesome shoulder early in the game.
“He is incredibly strong-willed, mentally tough, whatever adjectives you would like to use to describe someone who is incredibly resilient,” Dangerfield said.
“He is all that and above. It is emotional for us all to see the back of his playing days. In my time in the game I haven’t seen someone dominate for a genuine decade.
“He’s a pleasure to play with, awful to play against and I count myself lucky, as we all do, that I’ve been able to experience him.”
The Cats were again unable to keep pace with a rampaging Tigers outfit that caused similar damage in last year’s preliminary final match-up.
“We knew they were going to get the momentum at some stage,” Selwood said.
“I can’t really remember what missed shots we had … we’ve kicked 7.8, so maybe we missed a couple that we could have (kicked).”
Selwood said the Cats stuck with standard process and did not speak in the rooms after the match.
It is an approach Chris Scott has long instituted to ensure the emotion of the moment doesn’t cloud the message to the team.
The Cats spent Saturday night as a team in their Southport hub.
“We’ll do that (chat) at some stage,” Selwood said.
“But we’re not a side that usually speaks on emotion and we’ve made that noted many times.”
Selwood praised the club’s “outstanding effort” to reach a Grand Final after more than 100 days on the road across three states – New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland.
“I can’t speak highly enough of how the boys and staff have been during the period,” he said.
ANALYSIS: HOW CAN CATS RECOVER FROM HEARTBREAK?
This one will sting.
It will linger and there will be flashbacks all summer long.
Not too many times do sides leading a Grand Final by 22 points in the second quarter go on to lose. Those who do never forget it. The missed opportunity.
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Again for the Cats, Richmond was the nemesis. There were shades of last year’s preliminary final when the Cats blew a 21-point halftime lead.
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On the biggest of stages, the Cats haven’t been able to go the journey against a side that sets the benchmark standard for finals success.
The mental pain will last.
For Gary Ablett, he will have the physical scars to match.
To see a champion so clearly wounded yet so stoic in his refusal to leave the field speaks to how much last night meant to him. There was no next week after all.
“There’s a little bald bloke over there and we just want to say we love you and thank you for everything you’ve done for the game,” Geelong captain Joel Selwood said.
After 357 games, which started as a shaggy-haired teenager against Essendon in 2002 and finished in the discussions of the greatest player of all time, it’s all over for the Little Master.
Injured early, his impact was dulled.
In a dramatic opening, he left the field cradling the left arm after a Trent Cotchin tackle just minutes into the contest. It was the shoulder that caused him so many problems during the prime of his career at the Gold Coast.
He returned, had flashes of involvement, but twice in the third quarter grimaced in pain in the aftermath of contests.
Richmond paid him perhaps the ultimate respect by not targeting the injury despite his clear struggles.
Over summer, Geelong minds will wander back to the second quarter. The Cats will feel they should have been more in front. But they didn’t cash in. How did it go south?
The Cats had the footy locked in their forward half for 63 per cent of that quarter and had 15 of the first 17 inside-50s.
They had disarmed the Tigers, they had plugged the gaps. Tom Stewart was the gatekeeper on the last line, forever outnumbering the Richmond forwards.
He was a safety blanket for the Cats and a visual deterrent every time Richmond looked forward. Cam Guthrie was looking like a Norm Smith Medal winner in the making.
The wet was meant to be helping the Tigers’ chaos game, but Geelong seemed to have the answers.
Still, the game was still live. Geelong kept missing chances.
Gryan Miers marked all alone about 35m out from a turnover, had the open goal in front of him, played on, rushed his kick and missed. It would have stuck in his guts. It was just one of those Grand Final moments.
Shortly after, Zach Tuohy’s snap didn’t curl enough. The margin kept increasing in increments of one.
Pessimistic Cats fans knew what was possible. They had seen it in 2008.
And just like that, Richmond swooped. More to the point Dustin Martin. Jake Kolodjashnij hardly did anything wrong – there is just no kryptonite for someone with the super powers of Martin on the biggest stage.
The question for Geelong will be can the Cats go again next year?
This is a club that refuses to bottom out and will again attack the trade and free agency market with vigour.
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The looming arrival of Jeremy Cameron will provide a menacing forward combination alongside Tom Hawkins, who still has two years left in his career. The Cats will probably land a draft nugget or two.
How Geelong uses Patrick Dangerfield will be intriguing.
He again has to wait for that premiership. He spent most of the first three quarters forward last night. Was it too long when the tide was turning? Should have he been thrown into the midfield earlier than the last quarter?
Can Joel Selwood, who will turn 33, will his side back to the pointy end again?
Talk to Geelong’s veterans from the 2007-2011 era, even the players who won three premierships, and 2008 is the moment that still sticks in their guts.
Geelong’s redemption came the following season against St Kilda.
Last night’s loss will have to have a similar galvanising effect.
For Geelong, amid the disappointment, it is worth noting how far the club actually came this season.
Who would have thought Geelong would have been in this position in Round 4?
There was a hint of crisis when Chris Scott called his team into a meeting room and opened the floor up to an honesty session.
The Cats had just lost to Carlton by two points at GMHBA Stadium, after at one stage being 42 points down after being completely sliced open by the hungry Blues. Their season was 2-2 but it was soul searching of the highest order.
Scott never speaks to his players in the immediate aftermath of games for fear of saying the wrong thing in the heat of post-game emotions. But this game required immediate intervention.
“There was a lot of people talking in the room and there’s no clear answers, I don’t think, except that we do have a problem. That’s clear,” Scott told the waiting media.
“It’s been clear for a long time.”
He went on: “We are getting inconsistent output and it has been happening for a long period of time. It is wrong for a coach to get defensive in the face of irrefutable evidence.”
While the season has been compressed and run at turbo speed, that night feels an eternity ago.
A fortnight earlier after Geelong beat Hawthorn by 10 goals, Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson dropped the bomb: “I hope I am not discrediting Geelong by saying that but they are not that good. We were just terribly poor”.
Almost from the moment the Cats left Victoria and into the great unknown of hub life, they turned the corner.