Gary Ablett Sr.

For the AFL football player, see Gary Ablett Jr.. For the English footballer, see Gary Ablett.

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Gary Ablett Sr.
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Debut	1982, Hawthorn Football Club
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

File:Gablett.jpg

Gary Ablett Sr tries for a one handed mark.

Gary Ablett, Sr (born October 1 1961) is a retired Australian Rules Football player. He is generally considered to be one of the game's greatest players, holding an often legendary status amongst spectators and commentators alike. Ablett grew up in the town of Drouin in Victoria's Gippsland region.

His father was a champion horse trainer and his mother was a talented track and field athlete. He was one of eight children, with two of his four brothers playing professional football and all of his siblings succeeding in their chosen sports. One of his sisters is married to former Hawthorn star Michael Tuck. Ablett dropped out of high school at the age of fifteen and became a bricklayer's labourer. During his teenage years, he was charged with criminal offences such as assault and drug possession, and came close to imprisonment on more than one occasion.

Career

In 1982, Ablett was recruited by the Hawthorn Football Club as a wingman, in what was then the Victorian Football League. His first season was unsuccessful, he played only six games and kicked nine goals. At season's end, he returned to his uncle's home town of Myrtleford, and played out the 1983 season there. At that time, his football career seemed over.

In 1984, Ablett was picked up by Geelong, where he moved to the forward line. In the 1984 season, he turned his career around, playing 15 games and kicking thirty-three goals. He was awarded "Best and Fairest" (the highest club-based award in Australian Rules Football) at Geelong that same year. For the next twelve seasons, Ablett was one of the stars of what soon became the Australian Football League. He played in four grand final teams: 1989, 1992, 1994 and 1995, although Geelong lost each time. In 1989, he kicked nine goals and was awarded the Norm Smith Medal, for best player afield in the Grand Final — a match widely regarded as one of the best ever played. In receiving the Norm Smith Medal, he became one of only four players (the others being Maurice Rioli, Nathan Buckley, and Chris Judd) to win the medal playing for the losing side.

In 1986, Ablett became a born-again Christian and has been said to be slightly aggrieved at constantly being referred to as "God" by fans, a nickname based on his virtually limitless abilities, conjuring goals in the most unlikely circumstances. Ablett announced his retirement from football due to personal reasons prior to the 1991 season, but then made a comeback halfway through that year.

Ablett won three consecutive Coleman Medals, for the most goals kicked in a season, in 1993, 1994, and 1995. In those three seasons, he broke the 100-goal barrier each time — a rare feat in Australian Rules. He represented Victoria in State of Origin games eleven times, being the side's captain in 1995. He made the All-Australian team seven times, in 1984, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995, as well as being selected in both the AFL and Geelong Teams of the Century. In total, Ablett played 242 games, and kicked 1,021 goals.

Towards the end of his career Ablett bulked up to an intimidating size. Reknowned as much for his explosive pace and power as his freakish skills, Ablett was also an accomplished aerialist. With strong hands, Ablett became a master of the pack mark, regularly taking spectacular marks in his career, with a highlight being the 1994 Mark of the Year and a mark which was informally dubbed by many as the Mark of the Century.

In 1997, Ablett was the subject of much hype in the clash between Geelong and Sydney Swans in which Tony Plugger Lockett was playing at the other end of the ground. The match was billed by the media as Plugger vs God and set a ground record attendance at the SCG.

At the end of the 1997 season, Ablett announced he would be retiring. He had never been able to deal with the media well, and this may be why, unlike many renowned footballers, Ablett did not become involved in sports broadcasting after his retirement.

Sporting family

Main article: Gary Ablett Jr.

Main article: Nathan Ablett

Ablett's eldest son, Gary Ablett Jr. has followed in his footsteps and now plays for Geelong, as one of the club's most exciting and popular players. Another son, Nathan, was drafted by Geelong at the end of 2004, after initially refusing to play AFL Football because of his father's experience. Nathan has made an impressive contribution in front of goal since his premature promotion to the senior list late in the 2005 season.

Post-career controversies

Ablett became involved in controversy when a young Geelong woman, Alicia Horan, nineteen, died of a drug overdose while in Ablett's hotel room. Some have suggested that it was Ablett's inability to adjust to life after football that led to his involvement with drugs. Whilst Ablett faced no charges over the incident, the initial coroner's inquest did suggest that his negligence had played a role in her death, and much of the media coverage was critical of Ablett. He was later convicted in the Geelong Magistrates Court on drug possession charges and has since undergone several attempts at rehabilitation.

It is generally believed that this incident in particular, is responsible for the AFL Hall of Fame Committee's initial refusal to admit Ablett. In 2004 however, after several years of being overlooked, Ablett asked the Geelong Football Club to stop nominating him, a request that was granted. However on 2 June 2005, against all expectations, it was announced that Ablett would be inducted into the Hall of Fame the following week. [1]

Following this incident the term Gary Ablett is widely used in Australia as Rhyming slang for Tablet, with reference to ecstacy tablets.

See also

• List of born-again Christian laypeople