Gary Ablett has warned against writing off Gold Coast in 2016
GARY Ablett is not offended by his rival AFL captains snubbing the Gold Coast as a finals contender but he will be more than happy to prove them wrong.
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GARY Ablett is not offended by his rival AFL captains snubbing the Gold Coast as a finals contender.
But he will be more than happy to prove them wrong.
In the annual AFL Captains’ survey, none of the other 17 club skippers included the Suns in their top-eight forecasts.
Ablett said last year’s tumultuous campaign on and off the field had lowered the bar for the Suns but he warned against writing them off.
“I’m not surprised if nobody thinks we’ll make the eight,’’ Ablett said.
“We had a disappointing year last year with injuries but we also weren’t performing at the levels that were expected.
“We know we’ve put in the hard work over summer and we know about the positive changes that have been made at the club at the same time.
“We are confident we have a good enough list and we have put things in place to give us the best possible chance of success and playing finals footy this year.’’
Hopes were high for a maiden finals berth last season until the Suns were engulfed by an injury crisis and off-field dramas.
Ablett said not having to deal with a great weight of expectation from outside the club could work in the Gold Coast’s favour.
“Internally we are still holding each other to high standards,’’ he said.
“We need to play consistent footy week-in, week-out. We play well at times then fall away so we’ve had a real focus on getting the basics right.
“Rocket (Eade) has been big on that in the pre-season and hopefully you’ll see the results in Round 1.’’
The Gold Coast was not completely ignored in the poll with three of Ablett’s fellow captains nominating him as their pick for the Brownlow Medal.
Ablett’s bid for a third Brownlow will begin in the Round 1 clsh with Essendon at Metricon Stadium on March 26 after he overcame a foot injury.
“I’m flying. I’m feeling good,’’ Ablett said.
“It was a little frustrating missing out on the NAB Cup but the doc said it was important to get it right for Round 1 and that’s what I’ve done.
“I’ve put the hard work in on the track and I’m ready to go.’’
Lions captain Tom Rockliff bypassed Captains Day in Melbourne and resumed training at Coorparoo after a hamstring injury flared last week.
He was untroubled as he completed a series of sprints, skills drills and goalkicking practice in the two-hour session.
Allen Christensen (finger) and Josh Green (foot) also returned to training on Thursday.
Originally published as Gary Ablett has warned against writing off Gold Coast in 2016
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