AFL great Gary Ablett Jr. will be awarded Gold Coast Suns Life Membership during a pre-game celebration at Metricon Stadium. Have a look.

Gary Ablett Jr. : Suns | Retire | Son | Highlights

The eldest son of Australian Football Hall of Fame member and former Hawthorn and Geelong player Gary Ablett Sr., Ablett was drafted to Geelong under the father–son rule in the 2001 national draft and has since become recognised as one of the all-time great midfielders.

Gary Ablett Jr. : Suns | Retire | Son | Highlights

Personal information
Full name Gary Ablett Jr.
Nickname(s) Gaz, The Little Master
Date of birth 14 May 1984 (age 38)
Place of birth Moriac, Victoria
Original team(s) Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 40 (F/S), 2001 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2002, Geelong
vs. Essendon, at the MCG
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 87 kg (192 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / forward

Ablett is a dual premiership player, dual Brownlow Medallist, five-time Leigh Matthews Trophy winner, three-time AFLCA champion player of the year award winner and eight-time All-Australian.

During his first stint at Geelong, Ablett won two premierships, two Carji Greeves Medals, a Geelong leading goalkicker award and the 2009 Brownlow Medal. He is also a life member of the club and has been inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.

At Gold Coast, Ablett was the club’s inaugural captain, holding the role for the club’s first six seasons, and won four Gold Coast Suns Club Champion awards (including the first three in the club’s history), two Gold Coast leading goalkicker awards and the 2013 Brownlow Medal, the first Brownlow Medal in the club’s history. 

Gary Ablett Jr. Suns

AFL great Gary Ablett Jr. will be awarded Gold Coast Suns Life Membership during a pre-game celebration at Metricon Stadium this Saturday afternoon.

The presentation is understood to precede the Suns’ clash with Geelong, the other of Ablett’s former sides, and will be a part of Gold Coast’s ‘Thank You Round Celebrations’.

Gary Ablett Jr. : Suns | Retire | Son | Highlights

Ablett, while most known for his heroics as a Cat, played 110 games across seven seasons for the Suns and served as the club’s inaugural skipper for six years.

The ‘Little Master’ nabbed four club best-and-fairest awards and won the 2013 Brownlow Medal throughout his storied time as a Sun.

The decision to grant Ablett Life Membership was concrete in 2021, however, due to COVID restrictions the presentation was delayed.

Retire 

Geelong great Gary Ablett junior says he is open to coming out of retirement and rejoining the Cats through the mid-season draft in order to play in the finals – but he’d be relying on the AFL to change its rules to do so.

The 357-game superstar, who retired after the Cats’ Grand Final loss to Richmond last October, made the call in an interview with the Herald Sun.

Gary Ablett Jr. : Suns | Retire | Son | Highlights

The dual Brownlow medallist revealed he spoke to Cats list management official and former teammate Andrew Mackie during the pre-season.

“I said ‘mate, if you had let me know you were recruiting those guys I would have stayed around for another year’,” Ablett said.

“He (Mackie) had a bit of a laugh and I said ‘if there is such a thing as a six or seven-game contract please let me know because I will be ready for the last three or four games of the season and finals football’.”

Asked whether he could be fit enough to play AFL footy by August, Ablett said: “I’m doing a lot of shoulder rehab at the moment to get it strong and I’ve started running and building on my fitness.

Son

Jordan and Gary Ablett cherish their son Levi’s smiles and laughter through his heartbreaking silence.

Jordan Ablett has spoken in depth about the heartbreaking medical conditions affecting their first child, Levi, revealing he has never spoken.

Also Jordan Ablett says doctors have told her and her husband, dual Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett, that while there’s no guarantees, it is now highly likely that he will never talk.

Gary Ablett Jr. : Suns | Retire | Son | Highlights

But Jordan says although Levi hasn’t said a single word, “his life has been a constant message”.

“Although I will say, despite him not being able to communicate, I do feel as though I’ve really learnt to understand him over the years – I have had to put a lot of confidence in my parenting.

“It’s also difficult because I’d love to just hear his thoughts, have conversation with my boy and for us to know that he understands how much we love him.”

Highlights 

Ablett played his 350th game in round 5 of the 2020 season against his former club, Gold Coast, in what was also Joel Selwood’s 300th game; he kicked a goal in the final quarter among 14 disposals.

He later left the Cats’ Perth hub after round 7 to be with his wife and son after earlier revealing that his son had been diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease.

Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)       
    2002–2010     Geelong 192 (262)
2011–2017 Gold Coast 110 (124)
2018–2020 Geelong 55 (59)
Total   357 (445)

After finding out that he would not be allowed to return to play until the final home-and-away round due to Queensland travel restrictions, Ablett joined two players in the AFL’s Gold Coast quarantine hub in September, before returning in Geelong’s win against Sydney in round 18.

He was among the best afield in Geelong’s preliminary final win against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, kicking two third-quarter goals among 14 disposals.

Ablett played his final game in Geelong’s 31-point loss to Richmond in the 2020 AFL Grand Final the following week; he injured his left shoulder in the opening minutes of the game but continued to play, with scans later revealing that he had played out the rest of the match with a broken shoulder.

By Rishabh

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