Geelong captain Joel Selwood says Gary Ablett will produce mind-blowing football this season

GARY Ablett’s passion for footy was questioned on the Gold Coast but Joel Selwood says his premiership teammate is back in love with the game since returning home and is ready to blow the competition apart.

Gary Ablett is back in love with the game after returning to Geelong. Picture: Peter Ristevski

JOEL Selwood says Gary Ablett will produce mind-blowing football for the Cats this year after finally falling back in love with footy.

The Cats dual premiership champion has returned to his home town after seven seasons on the Gold Coast where at times his passion for football was questioned.

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Geelong captain Joel Selwood says he hasn’t missed a beat this pre-season, believing his enthusiasm for the game will be reflected in his footy this year.

“The joy I see in his face now is something I haven’t seen for a couple of years,” he said.

“I see him bouncing around the track now and it feels like he’s a fresh mid-20s player. He has that talent and burst and he looks like he’s looking forward to playing footy again.

“He has found the love for it again which is really important because at the age he is, mid-30s, it can be hard work for some.

“I think we can help him produce some games which will just blow people away.”

Gary Ablett and Joel Selwood are a happy pair at Geelong training. Picture: Alison Wynd

Speaking on website 20FOUR’S In My Own Words series, Selwood also detailed his close relationship with premiership coach Mark Thompson.

He hopes Thompson can one day return to football, after he was arrested and then released without charge after his home was used as part of an alleged drug trafficking operation.

Thompson has often said he lost the love for football after the turbulent Essendon drugs saga.

“At first it’s sadness. I hope he is all right and things work out for him,” Selwood said of Thompson.

“It’s tough. I think he really loves footy and loves being a part of it and hopefully he can find footy again because he’s unbelievably good at it.

“He is a good t family man and we will see where lifeakes him but I wish him all the best.”

Joel Selwood with Cameron Mooney and Mark Thompson after the 2007 Grand Final.

Selwood’s heavy concussion last year against Fremantle saw him undergoing more brain scans.

But he says despite the intense focus on head knocks in AFL he had no long-term concerns for his health.

“I have been concussed three times in 249 game career,” he said.

“I personally think we have to be careful with how people judge concussion.

“The doctors we deal with, they deal with us every single day, they have got a better indication than a third party anywhere.

“It is something for me to worry about, because I put myself out there each week but it’s something I think in Australia we should feel really comfortable with the work we are doing too.”