Geelong greats recall the mastery of Gary Ablett Jr
Former Geelong captain Tom Harley took a tumble in the 2009 Grand Final in the Cats clash with the Saints, a young Gary Ablett leaving him with a piece of coaching advice as he took off for the next contest.
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Tom Harley was captain of Geelong when a young Gary Ablett Jnr gave him a piece of coaching advice mid-play during a final.
“I’ll never forget one final against St Kilda — I think it was the 2009 Grand Final,” Harley said.
“I fumbled the ball or fell over and Gary gave me coaching advice as he was going past with the handball receive on the ground. He said, ‘Just stay a bit stronger over the ball’ and off he went.
“He was clearly one of those players that makes the game look easy.”
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Harley had just finished his third season at Geelong in 2001 when Ablett joined the Cats as a highly-touted father-son selection through the national draft.
He came with a famous name and a serious goal sense, but it was Ablett’s sixth season in 2007 that he really fired up.
“He was just a kid, he looked like a kid, but he was able to play at the AFL level really early on in the piece,” Harley said.
“The fact he came in as a father-son to arguably one of the greatest players of all time — with the same name — could have potentially been an enormous burden to carry.
“But once he understood what was required to be elite at AFL level – and that was very much around the work rate in pre-season training and the games – he took his game to an absolute new level in 2007.
“I’d be surprised if there was a more credentialed player since 2007 than Gary, and to have that longevity and the resilience to play for as long as he has is quite remarkable.”
Harley captained the Cats’ 2007 and 2009 premiership triumphs, which Ablett played in.
The ‘Little Master’, as he was affectionately known, went on to join Gold Coast Suns on a mega deal at the end of the 2010 season.
However, like many Geelong people, Harley was happy to see Ablett return home at the end of 2017 to finish his career at Kardinia Park.
“It’s such a synonyms name with the Geelong Football Club,” Harley said of Ablett, whose father Gary Ablett Sr was a nine-time leading goalkicker for the Cats.
“They’ve got the Gary Ablett Terrace where they don’t really need to specify whether it’s Jnr or Sr. There is a place for romanticism in footy and that’s played out well for Gary. I know the Geelong people adore the family and have loved watching them play over two generations now and that’s Nathan included as well.”
With a football resume that few could even dream of – highlighted by eight All-Australian caps and two Brownlow Medals – a spot in the Australian Football Hall of Fame alongside his father now awaits Ablett.
“I’m sure it’s a fait accompli and I’d be staggered if he doesn’t elevate himself to Legend status pretty quickly as well,” Harley said.
“It’s an enormous career and I don’t think anyone will argue that he won’t go down as one of the absolute all-time greats of the game.
“He can retire knowing that he’s made a lot of people happy and he’s given all that he’s got.”
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BOMBER: ‘GOAT’ ABLETT HAS A GIFT FROM GOD
Geelong coaching great Mark “Bomber” Thompson says a premiership in Gary Ablett’s final game would be a fitting end for “the best player I’ve seen”.
Thompson, who coached Ablett to two flags in 2007 and 2009, said he rated the Cats champ ahead of his famous father Gary Ablett Sr, North Melbourne great Wayne Carey and Hawthorn legend Leigh Matthews.
“I didn’t see everything of Leigh Matthews but I saw him up close, he was a great player, but I reckon Gaz is just cleaner and probably won more of the ball,” Thompson told the Herald Sun.
“He’s certainly had the longevity, he’s been highly successful and has won all of the awards.”
Ablett plays game 357 in the Grand Final at the Gabba on Saturday night to complete a glittering 19-season career that has netted two Brownlow medals, eight All Australian jumpers, six best and fairests and five AFLPA MVPs.
“I think the ones from his peer group are probably the most special and most telling on how good a career he has had because umpires and media awards can sometimes get it wrong, but players know who the best player in the competition is,” Thompson said.
“When I watch football and he’s playing the game, I still get excited when he goes near the ball.
“I never saw (Bob) Skilton or (Darrel) Baldock play but I just know that there are some people when they go near the ball they have an ability to get it all the time – and he has that and he gets out of areas that he shouldn’t be able to get out of, and still uses the ball at a high standard – and he kicks goals.
“I was very lucky to have the chance to coach him.”
Thompson said he could recall “vividly” Ablett’s first senior game against Essendon at the MCG in Round 1, 2002.
“I remember he won a ball and was quite hesitant, and didn’t realise how quick the game was – but he quickly adapted to that,” he said.
Thompson watched Ablett Jr play for the first time in a trial game at Windy Hill for the Vic Country Under 18s side.
“I went up there with (Geelong recruiting boss) Stephen Wells to watch Gazza play and we also found Stevie J that day. Those two put on a show,” he said.
“Gary played on-ball and I just noticed his ability to win the ball and carry it and use it so perfectly.
“He looked comfortable at that level like he looks comfortable playing AFL. His ball use was outstanding.”
It was obvious early on that Ablett was a good AFL player, but Thompson said he was verging on great within “a couple of years at the club”
“He just started to consistently play at a high level and once he started playing at that level I don’t think I ever saw him play an average game,” Thompson said.
“He never, ever – once he got going – played a droppable game, one of those games where you thought he’s had an awful game, like if he wasn’t Gazza and he played another one of them, he might be dropped.
“He’s got a gift from God – literally. He got a fair advantage there but you don’t do what he has done with just ability, he certainly had inner-drive and high standards.
“He was a spectacular bloke on and off the ground.”
Thompson said his favourite memories of Ablett were his two goals from the boundary at Kardinia Park, “one where he was playing for Geelong and one for the Gold Coast”.
He conceded his relationship with Ablett became strained in 2010 as the star midfielder was being lured with a Godfather offer to sign with the Gold Coast Suns.
“The AFL were pulling him away but it was OK in the end,” Thompson said. “I knew he was going and it was a shame that he left, but in saying that he probably played better footy up at the Gold Coast because he had to go and get his own ball. There weren’t as many stars in the side, but he still came out shining.
“It didn’t matter what they threw at him, he’s conquered all.”
On how he handled being the son of Gary Ablett Sr, Thompson said: “Gary’s always been cautious about it but he’s become his own person. He’s probably more public than his dad and looks as though he handles it well.
“He wouldn’t have played this long if he hated what he was doing.
“For the responsibility football clubs have, between us and the Gold Coast and the AFL – everyone has done a pretty good job in developing Gary into the person he has become. He’s a great person.”
Asked what he would say to Ablett five minutes before Saturday’s first bounce, Thompson said: “I don’t know really. I never really talked to him that much about his performance because he just played, but I’d just tell him to go out and try not to win it off his own boot – to just be the best you can be. He’ll be mightily happy if he wins.
“It would be a great way for anyone to wrap up their career, but certainly his career – he’s had a good one. Life goes quick and your career goes quick.”
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