Geelong leadership group will be consulted over Gary Ablett trade strategy

GEELONG’S leadership group will decide how hotly the club pursues Gary Ablett as the Cats continue to push their case for extra games at Simonds Stadium.

Suns player Gary Ablett in action against Geelong.

GEELONG’S leadership group led by captain Joel Selwood will decide how hotly the club pursues Gary Ablett in the trade period as the Cats continue to push their case for extra games at Simonds Stadium.

President Colin Carter said today the club loses $1 million every season it is forced to host two home-and-away matches at Etihad Stadium instead of its home fortress.

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The Cats boss also conceded Gold Coast holds the aces in a possible trade for Ablett given he is contracted at Metricon Stadium next season.

Carter told caretaker AFL football boss Andrew Dillon at a function on Friday night his club wants a medium or long-term solution to the “not sustainable” method of the league determining where finals are scheduled.

Geelong is expected to play its home finals at the MCG unless it is earns hosting rights against baby club Greater Western Sydney.

Even then, the AFL is yet to guarantee a Simonds Stadium final.

“There is no competition that I know of around the world — none — which ever takes a game away from the home team to play somewhere else,” Carter said.

“We think (come finals) the AFL is in a position where there are basically two rules — one set of rules that apply to some teams in the competition, and another set of rules that apply to others.

“And we didn’t do it for 100 years either. (But I) understand the AFL will make decisions

“If we have an ambition in this it’s to make sure that the medium to longer-term policies of the AFL are sensible.”

Geelong wants to play a home final at Simonds Stadium.

Carter said the AFL’s finals scheduling criteria were now “untenable” in a national competition.

Carter said it was “completely unreasonable” his team gave away a competitive advantage by playing home-and-away games at Etihad Stadium and “really unreasonable” from a financial perspective.

“It’s actually really unreasonable from an economic point of view, because we make about $500,000 per game more at Simonds than we do at Etihad,” he said.

“So those two games cost us $1 million per year, which we really can’t afford.”

This season the Cats hosted North Melbourne and Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, winning both matches.

Carter said most of the club’s dialogue with the AFL had been in the public domain, but it had taken “formal opportunities to express our views”.

Ablett, 33, is desperate to return to the Cats next season and the board will canvas the attitude of Selwood’s eight-man leadership group.

Geelong players will have a major say in the club’s Gary Ablett strategy.

It is understood the players are keen to reunite with Ablett, which would deliver Geelong the most decorated onball unit in the game.

The sticking point in the move is likely to be Ablett’s trade value, with Geelong unwilling to give up much value.

“It’s out of our control. It’s up the Suns, he’s under contract with them. If he wasn’t under contract it’d be a different question,” Carter said on SEN.

“I’d be strongly guided by what the player leadership wanted to do.

“This risk would be if you pay too much or are giving up too much. Or the risk would be if the player leadership group didn’t want him.

“It seems to me if you weren’t paying an unreasonable amount, and the players wanted him there, and you weren’t having to give up a very promising player then of course (you’d want him).”

Patrick Dangerfield and Harry Taylor are Selwood’s vice-captains.