Geelong champion Gary Ablett Sr says his son Gary Ablett Jr is the greatest midfielder to ever play the game
Comparisons will forever be drawn between Gary Ablett Sr and his champion son, Gary Jr, as to who was the better player. The legendary Cat has weighed in on the argument ahead of the latter’s grand final finish.
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Growing up in Australia, where every kid seems to enjoy kicking a footy, it’s never easy to tell when someone has the kind of ability necessary to play at the elite level of the AFL.
But when I kicked the football around with Gary when he was a boy, I could tell, from very early on, that he had plenty of ability.
I formed that opinion based on his strong hand-eye coordination.
Having said that, there are a lot of junior players who demonstrate great skills when they’re young but don’t go on to perform at the elite level.
It wasn’t until Gary was in his mid-teens or later, maybe around the 16 or 17-year-old mark, that I got some idea for myself just how far he could go with his football.
That was, of course, if he wanted to.
My recollection of Gary as a young boy was that he was always incredibly competitive, particularly in any of his interactions with his brother, Nathan.
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I remember clearly there were times where the two boys would be playing football in the backyard and there was some sort of dispute.
Nathan would come in saying, ‘Dad, Gary won’t give me the ball’.
I don’t doubt that Nathan would have done the same thing at times.
Right from a very young age, Gary and Nathan were always playing footy and they always took it seriously.
There was a lot of competition there, but they had a lot of fun doing it as well.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s I was well into my career at Geelong and the two boys were old enough to come along to training, which they did regularly.
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Gary and Nathan absolutely loved any opportunity to hang around the football club.
Over time, they became very well-acquainted with all of the players and support staff at Kardinia Park.
Even in the warm-ups before training began, they’d get involved in whatever was going on.
It wouldn’t matter if it was Billy Brownless, Ken Hinkley or one of the trainers, as long as they had someone to kick to, they were happy.
It was great to see them enjoy their time down there as young boys, just mingling with all the players.
It was a tremendous thrill for them.
It is surprising to think that so many of us in the family have played at that VFL or AFL level.
When I look at it on paper, with all the pictures of all the brothers and nephews who have played League football, it’s amazing to see the way football runs through the bloodline.
Even from very early on, I was very conscious of not putting pressure on either Gary or Nathan to play football.
I had gone down that particular pathway, but it was very important to me that they didn’t feel any expectation, particularly from me, that they had to do the same thing.
I was happy for them to play whatever sport they wanted, if in fact they wanted to play sport at all.
I encouraged them to understand that sport is about enjoyment.
I wanted them to embrace whatever they chose to do in life.
Gary always loved the game.
I think that was really significant when you consider how long his AFL career lasted.
He still loved playing until his last season.
One thing we had to consider once both boys looked likely to play AFL was managing the expectations that came with the Ablett name.
There were many assumptions that Gary and Nathan would become star players merely by virtue of their genes and coming from a football family.
I think it is a real credit to both Gary and Nathan that they overcame that challenge and put in the hard work to make their own names in football.
There was an outside perception that Gary would need to emerge from my shadow, and with his incredible determination, his commitment and his competitiveness, he did that.
I was fortunate to have some fantastic personal experiences in my own playing career, but to see Gary and Nathan play in Geelong’s 2007 premiership side was one of the highlights of my life, as far as football goes.
I had experienced the enormous disappointment of playing in those four losing Grand Finals of 1989, ’92, ’94 and ’95, but seeing my sons win a premiership went a long way to making up for that.
The 2007 success was significant because Geelong’s 44-year premiership drought had been broken and my two sons had played a significant part in it.
It was an event that brought so much pleasure to so many Geelong people, many of whom also felt great pain over the four losses inside seven seasons during my career.
Watching Gary lose a Grand Final in 2008 was far less fun and, to put it bluntly, we should have won it.
Fortunately the club came back in 2009 and performed well enough throughout the season to go on and win another premiership.
I believe that Geelong should have won four premierships in a row during Gary’s time, bearing in mind that they won a third in 2011.
They had such a strong list and were performing so well as a team.
It’s a reminder that you need to take your opportunities when the premiership window is open.
From a playing perspective, I believe that Gary’s career started to take off through the 2007 campaign.
The way the 2007 season developed you could see that he was taking his game to a new level and he never looked back from that year.
Even though he started his career with time in the forward line, I think he was always suited to being a midfielder.
He very effectively lifted his intensity throughout that season and added new strings to his bow, with his ability to win the ball and to get it out to his teammates.
The level that he played at from 2007 onward was remarkable.
A lot of players have two or three-season patches where they’re at the top of their game, but rarely does that continue for a decade or more.
He kept improving through that time and his consistency was a credit to his hard work.
The 2009 season was very special on numerous fronts.
Despite being the Brownlow Medal favourite, and winning numerous other awards in both 2007 and 2008, Gary finally broke through to win his first Brownlow Medal in 2009.
Even better, it was in a premiership year.
Gary had an outstanding year again in 2013, winning the Brownlow for a second time.
As I look back now, it’s my view that he probably should have won three Brownlow Medals. When he hurt his shoulder in 2014, he was on track to win his third. He only played 15 games for the season but still finished third in the Brownlow, four votes behind the winner, West Coast Eagles midfielder Matthew Priddis.
Gary has certainly surpassed my expectations in terms of his quality as a player and the achievements he has attained.
Assessing his career now, I have to say how much I admire the way he’s handled the attention of taggers, rarely reacting to what you’d sometimes say were unfair tactics.
Like a lot of good players, he’s been subjected to holding, pushing, blocking and shoving.
To face that and still come out on top, he’s shown a lot of character.
Back in my playing days I don’t think I would’ve had the patience he has demonstrated.
I’ve respected the way he’s remained so focused on the ball and always considered him a very self-disciplined player.
People always want to draw comparisons between myself and Gary, but to be perfectly honest it’s not something that I think too much about or see much value in.
I think it’s hard to compare us as players because we’re two very different styles of player.
I started out as a winger and a half-forward flanker in the early years, before I made the move to full-forward.
I relied more on high marking, whereas Gary is more of a ground-ball player, and enjoyed handballing to teammates far more than I did.
I believe he’s right up there as one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
I don’t think there’s ever been a better onballer in AFL history, or a player who performed at such a high level for as long as he did.
And the way he’s carried himself was just outstanding.
The move to the Gold Coast was a significant step for Gary.
It was a very tough decision for him because he loved Geelong so much and had experienced so much team success.
He had and maintains a strong bond with his Geelong teammates of that era, but fitting all those star players into the salary cap was an impossible task.
Both clubs and players need to make business decisions as well as football ones.
Compared to many other jobs, football careers are relatively short, with the average player generally only playing a couple of years.
The offer Gary received from the Gold Coast Suns secured his financial future.
There were many great things about his Gold Coast experience.
Firstly, he played some great football and led a young team by example.
But more importantly, that period was instrumental in Gary’s faith development.
Gary had plenty of teammates who were Christians.
Gary’s been very consistent and open in his faith journey.
That means more to me than anything he’s achieved on the football field.
I always tried to make it clear to my children that it’s OK to want to do well in your profession, but it’s more important to understand that your self-worth isn’t based on how you perform at work, it’s in who you are as children of God and as sons and daughters of their heavenly Father.
I tried to lay that foundation for them very early and I do think that has helped them to know that they’re loved for who they are, not what they do.
I grew up in a non-Christian home, so we didn’t know what the church was, except for weddings and funerals.
After I came to know the Lord, it was great for me to be able to introduce my four children, at a very young age, to the Lord Jesus Christ and to see them form their own relationship with God.
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To see that develop in Gary’s life over the years has been a tremendous pleasure.
Even through the struggles, the pain and the heartache we experience in this life, to know they’re anchored to the Lord Jesus Christ and that they have that eternal security is very important to me.
The news of late 2017 that Gary was making his return to Geelong was met with great excitement by the family.
I was so happy for him.
It was seven years since he’d left Kardinia Park, so things had changed around the football club.
I really admired the way he had performed during his time at the Gold Coast, but I’m equally proud of the way he’s come back to Geelong and persevered, making adjustments to his game to become an integral part of the side again.
When I sit back and reflect on all that Gary has achieved, with the Brownlow Medals, the premierships and the eight All-Australian selections, it brings a great feeling of pride.
They’re tremendous honours for Gary and I’m certainly rapt for him in all that he’s achieved in his time in football.
Two of the great joys of Gary’s life in recent years have been his marriage to Jordan in 2016 and the arrival of Levi in January 2019.
Being a grandfather is great.
Levi is a terrific kid and he’s brought a lot of joy to the whole family as the second grandchild.
I still remember going to see Gary, Jordan and Levi the morning after Jordan gave birth.
Gary was walking around holding Levi and he was in another world.
He was so happy and couldn’t take the smile off his face.
From watching him develop as a small child to now, as a husband and father, I’m very proud of who Gary has become as a man.
The person he is and the way he carries himself, is a credit to him.
He’s a good man.
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*This story was an extract from the book ‘Gary Ablett: An Autobiography’, which is out on October 29