Round 10, 2013, in Geelong marked three significant footballing events that the 30,082 in attendance at Simonds Stadium will remember forever.

Firstly, it was the inaugural match played under lights at Kardinia Park since the venue began hosting Geelong Cats VFL/AFL games in 1941.

Secondly, it marked the return of former Cats superstar Gary Ablett Jnr to his old stomping ground for the first time after making the switch to the Gold Coast SUNS for the 2011 AFL season.

Ablett admitted to feeling both excitement and nerves ahead of the clash.

“To get back and play on a ground I’d played on so many times in front of supporters that were always so good to me over the years, it was something that was exciting,” he said.

“I won’t lie, I was a little bit nervous at the same time.”

The GC SUNS captain finished the match with a game-high 34 disposals, but it was his impossible goal at the 12-minute mark of the final quarter that will long be remembered by Cats and SUNS fans alike.

With Gold Coast trailing by 25 points, the ball was bombed long into the forward line where it spilled off the hands of a one-on-one contest between the SUNS’ Tom Lynch and Geelong’s Corey Enright.

Ablett was the first to arrive, collecting the crumbs with Cats defender Cam Guthrie hot on his heels. Lynch provided the block on Guthrie for his skipper but Enright was still there to provide intense pressure on the Little Master.

“I kind of got pushed towards the boundary line because my opponent kind of played on the inside of me and tried to push me towards the boundary line,” Ablett recalled.

What happened next is a moment that will go down in footy folklore.

Pressed hard against the boundary line 45 metres out from goal, Ablett slammed the ball onto his boot and watched on as the Sherrin sailed high into the air and spiralled through the big sticks for one of the majors of the season.

“There was no-one in the goal square to centre it to so I thought I’d have a shot and it went through,” Ablett said of the magical moment.

“As soon as I kicked it, I knew the way I kicked it that it kind of was gonna get that reverse swing. But yeah I wasn’t sure whether it was going to get the distance or not and it ended up working out.”

The reaction of the crowd told the story. Initially the thirty thousand in attendance were left stunned and in a state of complete silence, before rising in unison to applaud their former hero.

“I don’t think I’ve heard the crowd ever at Kardinia Park go in complete silence when an opposition player kicks a goal and then stand and applaud,” former teammate and fellow Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel said.

First-year player Jaeger O’Meara was one who marvelled at his captain’s efforts and the subsequent crowd reaction.

“It probably was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen on a footy field and I know the crowd went nuts,” O’Meara said.

Ablett’s former Cats teammates including Enright, Harry Taylor and captain Joel Selwood all confessed to being equally in awe.

“I’m still unsure how it went through. The way that it spun it should have never gone through but he’s Gary Ablett, he can do it all,” Selwood said.

“We weren’t surprised but at the same time, it should have never happened. It’s only something he could probably do.”