Gary Robert Ablett Sr. (born 1 October 1961) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who represented and in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "God", Ablett is widely regarded as one of Australian football's greatest players, and was especially renowned for his high-flying spectacular marks and his prolific goalkicking. At the beginning of the 1991 season, Ablett shocked the football world by abruptly announcing his retirement from the game, but he made a comeback midway through the year. He went on to appear in the 1992, 1994, and 1995 grand finals, before officially retiring on September 25, 1997.
Ablett's individual accolades and achievements include an induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, an AFL Team of the Century selection, the 1993 AFL Players Association MVP award (now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy), and three Coleman Medals. He remains Geelong's all-time leading goalkicker, with 1021 goals; and, in 2006, was voted by past and present Geelong Football Club players as the greatest Geelong footballer of all time.
Early life
thumb|Drouin, Victoria, Ablett's hometown
Born in Drouin to Alfred and Colleen Ablett, Gary Ablett grew up in Gippsland, Victoria, alongside his four elder brothers and three sisters.
Ablett began the 1988 season with 59 goals after just 11 games, placing him second on the goalkicking list behind Hawthorn's Jason Dunstall. In these games, he kicked 10 goals against Richmond in the Anzac Day game, and 11 against Brisbane—one shy of breaking the ground record of 12 goals at Carrara. Although he missed out on State honours and failed to place within the top three in the club best and fairest award, Ablett finished with 82 goals during the season for the second time in his career.
A September to remember (1989–1990)
The 1989 season was marked by the arrival of Ablett's third coach, former North Melbourne Brownlow Medallist Malcolm Blight. Ablett helped the Cats reach the finals on the back of a ten match winning streak to end the regular season. In a 134-point victory against Richmond, Ablett scored 14 goals, breaking a 22-year club record, and moving club legend and former club premiership coach Bobby Davis to laud Ablett as the equal of the legendary Graham 'Polly' Farmer, Due to his late season start and lack of conditioning, it was probably no surprise that Ablett failed to recapture his best form, ending his season on a sour note when he was suspended for striking St Kilda rover Nathan Burke in the first week of the finals, and he subsequently missed Geelong's finals defeats to Hawthorn and West Coast.
Ablett put the disappointment of 1991 behind him, and he dedicated himself to improving his fitness base ahead of the 1992 season. A consistent first half of the year helped the Cats achieve an 11–3 record, eventually earning them a spot in the grand final—this time against the West Coast Eagles. After establishing a two-goal lead at half-time, the Cats failed to sustain their momentum during the second half, eventually going down by 28 points to the fast-finishing Eagles. Ablett, who finished with 3 goals, had again failed to finish the year with the same good form in which he had begun it.
One special season (1993)
Before the 1993 season, Ablett was encouraged by his coach, Malcolm Blight, to move from his customary roaming half-forward position to full-forward, in an effort to prolong his career. The move up forward proved to be a master-stroke, with Ablett thriving in his goal-kicking role, reaching the 50-goal mark in just six games, equalling the sixty-year record of South Melbourne legend Bob Pratt. He brought up his maiden century of goals in the season just eight games later, one game slower than record-holder Pratt, and became the first Geelong player to kick 100 goals in a season since Larry Donohue in 1976. Although the Cats did not make the Finals, Ablett's new-found dominance up forward was highlighted during the season with his bags of ten or more goals on five occasions, including a 14-goal performance against Essendon in Round 6. His end-of-season total of 124 goals, achieved in just 17 appearances, earned him his first Coleman Medal as the League's leading goal-scorer, the Leigh Matthews Trophy, the AFMA Player of the Year Award, and a top-ten placing in the Brownlow Medal.
1993 to 1996
Ablett continued his dominance as a full-forward in 1994 and 1995 by winning the Coleman Medal in each year. Ablett is the only player in VFL/AFL history to kick 100 goals and win the Coleman Medal in three successive seasons. In addition to his explosive pace and skills, Ablett was also an accomplished aerialist with strong hands. A highlight was the 1994 Mark of the Year over Collingwood's Gary Pert on Mother's Day at the MCG, a mark which is captured in Jamie Cooper's painting the Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport. There is still debate over whether he had enough control of the ball to be paid a mark.
On 22 November 1996, Ablett was admitted to hospital with a severe bout of gastro. On 28 November, Ablett faced traffic charges.
He performed well again the following year, kicking 4 goals against South Australia. In the following few years Ablett was largely out of the side, apart from 1987, when he kicked 2 goals against South Australia. Ablett again performed at the highest level in 1990, kicking 6 goals, against Western Australia in Perth. After returning from retirement midway through 1991, and after only several games, Ablett was controversially selected for Victoria, kicking 2 goals. In 1992 Ablett performed well, kicking 3 goals and being named among the best players, against Western Australia.
In 1993, he kicked 4 goals, against a combined New South Wales–Australian Capital Territory side, and in the same year Ablett again performed on the big stage, kicking 5 goals in the State of Origin Carnival Grand Final. In 1994, he kicked 4 goals, against South Australia, in what has been regarded as "one of the greatest Australian football games of all time" and followed up that performance with 4 goals against South Australia in 1995. On representing Victoria, Ablett has said "I've always found it a tremendous honour to represent your state, in a State of Origin game".
Legacy
Ablett combined strength, speed, and skill to produce many spectacular highlights and goal-kicking feats. A noted big game player, Ablett kicked 43 goals in 11 State appearances. Also significantly, he booted 64 goals over the course of his 16 finals – an average of four goals a game. He was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for his performance in the 1989 Grand Final, where he was adjudged best player afield. In doing so, he became one of only four players to win the medal playing for the losing side (the others being Maurice Rioli in 1982, Nathan Buckley in 2002, and Chris Judd in 2005). In 1996, Ablett joined Gordon Coventry, Doug Wade, Jason Dunstall, and Tony Lockett as the only players in league history to kick 1000 VFL/AFL goals. Lance Franklin would join this exclusive club in 2022.
Martin Flanagan's representation of Australian football pioneer Tom Wills in his 1996 novel The Call is modeled on Ablett. According to Flanagan, Wills and Ablett polarised opinion in similar ways, and displayed a lack of insight into their actions—they simply did what came naturally to them, "like a lot of artists". Ablett is the subject of the song "Kicking the Footy with God", released by The Bedroom Philosopher on his 2005 debut album In Bed with My Doona.
In 1996, Ablett was named in the AFL Team of the Century on the interchange bench, alongside Jack Dyer and Greg Williams. In 2001, Ablett was named in the Geelong Team of the Century, on a half-forward flank. In 2005, after many years of controversy and debate (see below), he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame. The following year, he was honoured yet again when he was voted as the Greatest Geelong player of all-time ahead of Graham Farmer.
In 2006, Ablett was honoured with the naming of a terrace in his name within the newly renovated Skilled Stadium. Ablett once had a set of gates named in his honour, but he was upgraded to a terrace at the beginning of the 2006 AFL season.
Induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame
Despite his footballing achievements on the field, Ablett's induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame was initially delayed. Despite Ablett's undoubted footballing credentials, his well-publicised contribution to the death of Alisha Horan was responsible for the Australian Football Hall of Fame committee's reluctance to induct him. In 2004, after several years of speculation over his induction, Ablett personally requested that the Geelong Football Club stop nominating him for selection, which the club agreed to. However, the following year it was announced that Ablett would be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the 2005 intake.
Ablett did not attend the induction ceremony and instead released a statement through his then-manager, Michael Baker:
<blockquote>"Due to my current battle with depression I am not in a position to be able to accept this award in person. I did not make this decision lightly but due to medical advice it was deemed best for my health that I do not attend tonight. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to play this great game and also to have played at the elite level alongside many celebrated champions. Being chosen to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is one of the highest honours a player could dream of. I thank those who deem me worthy enough to be placed alongside such respected company."</blockquote>
Personal life
The youngest of eight children, Ablett grew up alongside four elder brothers and three elder sisters. In 1985, Ablett wed his long-time girlfriend Sue, and the couple had four children – Natasha, Gary Jr., Nathan, and Alisha. A 31-year-old Geelong man was charged with the assault. However, he was reported to have committed suicide on 10 July 2006 by jumping from a Melbourne high-rise apartment block the day before he was due to appear before the Geelong Magistrates court to defend the assault charges.
In December 2007, Ablett hit back at media claims that his son Nathan had walked away from his football career because of the publicity surrounding the release of a new book about his father. Although normally reluctant to make public comments, Ablett felt that the media intrusion into his family life had gone too far. As part of a series of books, Legends of Australian Sport, Ablett contributed to a book regarding himself. It was the first time he revealed intimate details regarding his life publicly.
In September 2020, Ablett released a 27-minute YouTube video discussing his belief in the rapture as being forthcoming. In this video, he declared that the COVID-19 pandemic had been manufactured and released by the Illuminati and Freemasons in order to depopulate Earth, create a cashless society and "put Lucifer on the throne of the world".
A footballing family
Two of Ablett's brothers played in the Victorian Football League – Kevin Ablett, who played for Hawthorn, Richmond and Geelong, and Geoff Ablett, who played for Hawthorn, Richmond and St Kilda.
Ablett's eldest son, Gary Jr., has followed in his footsteps to play for Geelong. In 2007 and 2009, Ablett Jr. won the Cats' best and fairest award, emulating a feat established by his father in his first season with the Cats back in 1984; he also won the Brownlow Medal in 2009 and 2013. Another son, Nathan, was drafted in 2004 (48th pick) by Geelong under the father–son rule. Nathan initially refused to play AFL Football because of his father's experience with the media, but, with encouragement from the club, was signed ahead of the 2005 AFL Season and established himself in the full forward role Gary Sr. made his own.
On 29 September 2007, both Gary Jr. and Nathan contributed to Geelong winning its first flag in 44 years, capturing the premiership that proved elusive to Gary Snr in his 12 years at the club. Nathan retired suddenly before the 2008 season, but he and his brother Gary Jr. were members of the Gold Coast Football Club's inaugural team for the 2011 season.
In addition to his sons, Ablett has a nephew, Luke Ablett, who played for the Sydney Swans and won a premiership with them in 2005. Two other nephews, from his sister's marriage to Hawthorn legend Michael Tuck, also played in the AFL – Richmond's Shane Tuck and Travis Tuck, who played for Hawthorn.
Criminal offences
Ablett had well-documented off-field problems, particularly with illegal drug use, and depression in the wake of the Alisha Horan death. In 1990, Ablett was placed on a $10,000 good behaviour bond after he pleaded guilty to repeatedly hitting a man he found sitting in a car with his estranged wife.
In 2000, Ablett was investigated, charged and convicted of four drug offences as a result of twenty-year-old Geelong woman Alisha Horan dying of a drug overdose (involving heroin, ecstasy and amphetamines) while in Ablett's hotel room. After a prolonged period of refusing to answer police questions and refusing to answer questions at an April 2001 inquest (on the grounds that he may incriminate himself), Ablett later admitted to providing Horan with heroin and ecstasy. Horan had found a small quantity of heroin in Ablett's coat pocket and asked him what it was. Rather than admit that it was heroin, Ablett told her it was cocaine, which they both then ingested, leading to Horan's overdose. Ablett was charged with, and pleaded guilty to four drugs charges, and was convicted and fined $1500.
Concussion lawsuit
In April 2023, Ablett commenced legal proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria against the AFL and the Geelong and Hawthorn football clubs claiming breach of duty and negligence over AFL-related brain injuries that he suffered during his playing career.
Statistics
In 2019, a sharp-eyed "footy history enthusiast" by the name of Stephen Wade noticed a statistical discrepancy while watching a YouTube video of a 1982 game that had been uploaded in 2017. He found a discrepancy with the goal total, as he saw Ablett kick two but was only credited for one. Wade brought his discovery to the attention of Col Hutchinson, the AFL's statistics and history consultant, who updated the official records. The goal, which had been erroneously attributed to Hawthorn teammate Richard Loveridge for 37 years, increased Ablett's total goal tally from 1,030 to 1,031.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|style="background:#CFECEC; width:1em"|
|Led the league for the season only
|-
|style="background:#b7e718; width:1em"|
|Led the league after finals only
|-
|style="background:#DD6E81; width:1em"|
|Led the league after season and finals
|}
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1982
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 35 || 6 || 10 || 13 || 47 || 21 || 68 || 26 || || 1.5 || 2.2 || 7.8 || 3.5 || 11.3 || 4.3 ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1984
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 15 || 33 || 28 || 238 || 61 || 299 || 86 || || 2.2 || 1.9 || 15.9 || 4.1 || 19.9 || 5.7 ||
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1985
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 20 || 82 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 67 || 274 || 62 || 336 || 135 || || 4.1 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 3.4 || 13.7 || 3.1 || 16.8 || 6.8 ||
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1986
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 15 || 65 || 49 || 185 || 39 || 224 || 101 || || 4.3 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 3.3 || 12.3 || 2.6 || 14.9 || 6.7 ||
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1987
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 17 || 53 || 38 || 200 || 46 || 246 || 86 || 19 || 3.1 || 2.2 || 11.8 || 2.7 || 14.5 || 5.1 || 1.1
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1988
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 21 || 82 || bgcolor="CFECEC"| 62 || 253 || 42 || 295 || 117 || 19 || 3.9 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 3.0 || 12.0 || 2.0 || 14.0 || 5.6 || 0.9
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1989
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 23 || 87 || 54 || 378 || 68 || 446 || 151 || 29 || 3.8 || 2.3 || 16.4 || 3.0 || 19.4 || 6.6 || 1.3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1990
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 17 || 75 || 43 || 224 || 47 || 271 || 100 || 21 || 4.4 || 2.5 || 13.2 || 2.8 || 15.9 || 5.9 || 1.2
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1991
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 12 || 28 || 27 || 144 || 21 || 165 || 55 || 20 || 2.3 || 2.3 || 12.0 || 1.8 || 13.8 || 4.6 || 1.7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1992
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 21 || 72 || 54 || 324 || 61 || 385 || 118 || 33 || 3.4 || 2.6 || 15.4 || 2.9 || 18.3 || 5.6 || 1.6
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1993
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 17 || bgcolor="CFECEC"| 124 || bgcolor="CFECEC"| 60 || 233 || 13 || 246 || 111 || 10 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 7.3 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 3.5 || 13.7 || 0.8 || 14.5 || 6.5 || 0.6
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1994
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 25 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 129 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 79 || 263 || 30 || 293 || 130 || 15 || 5.2 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 3.2 || 10.5 || 1.2 || 11.7 || 5.2 || 0.6
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1995
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 22 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 122 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 85 || 264 || 19 || 283 || 148 || 18 || bgcolor="CFECEC"| 5.5 || bgcolor="DD6E81"| 3.9 || 12.0 || 0.9 || 12.9 || 6.7 || 0.8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1996
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || 17 || 69 || 31 || 159 || 31 || 190 || 71 || 13 || 4.1 || 1.8 || 9.4 || 1.8 || 11.2 || 4.2 || 0.8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 1997
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 5 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || -
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 248
! 1031
! 690
! 3186
! 561
! 3747
! 1435
! 197
! 4.2
! 2.8
! 12.8
! 2.3
! 15.1
! 5.8
! 1.0
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 248
! 1031
! 690
! 3186
! 561
! 3747
! 1435
! 197
! 4.2
! 2.8
! 12.8
! 2.3
! 15.1
! 5.8
! 1.0
|}
Honours and achievements
Team
- McClelland Trophy (): 1992
Individual
- Norm Smith Medal: 1989
- 3× Coleman Medal: 1993, 1994, 1995
- 4× All-Australian team: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
- 4× VFL/AFL Team of the Year: 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990
- Carji Greeves Medal: 1984
- Leigh Matthews Trophy (AFL MVP Award): 1993
- 9× Geelong leading goalkicker: 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
- Geelong Team of the Century
- Geelong captain: 1995–1996
- 2× Alex Jesaulenko Medal: 1985, 1994
- Geelong F.C. Hall of Fame
- Australian Sports Medal: 2000
- Centenary Medal: 2001
- Australian Football League Team of the Century 1897-1996
- VFL/AFL players with 1,000 goals
- 8× State of Origin (Victoria): 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 (c)
- Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year: 1993
- Australian Football Hall of Fame: 2005 Inductee
- 5th on all-time leading goal-kickers
- All-time leading goal kicker for Geelong F.C. (1021 goals)
- Only player to have won Coleman Medal and kicked 100 goals in three consecutive seasons (1993–1995)
- Oldest player to kick 100 goals in a season (33 years old in 1995)
- Most goals in an AFL/VFL Grand Final (9 goals in 1989 Grand Final)
- Most goals in an AFL/VFL finals series (27 goals in 1989)
- Highest goals-per-game ratio in Geelong F.C. history (4.22 goals per game)
- 4-time runner-up in Carji Greeves Medal (1985, 1993, 1994, 1995)
- 3-time third-place getter in Carji Greeves Medal (1986, 1989, 1990)
See also
- After the siren kicks in Australian rules football
- Alf Williamson
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
- Gary Ablett's profile at AustralianFootball.com