By Ben Collins
Gold Coast SUNS skipper Gary Ablett sent the statisticians scurrying for their record books on Sunday night as he amassed a phenomenal 53 disposals against Collingwood at the MCG.
Ablett's effort – which comprised 31 kicks and 21 handballs – equaled the record set back in 1989 by Greg Williams, who accumulated 25 kicks and 28 handballs (along with six goals) to lead the Sydney Swans to a 50-point win over St Kilda at the SCG.
Ablett easily surpassed his previous best of 46 disposals (13 kicks, 33 handballs), which he achieved in a 48-point win over Adelaide at AAMI Park in round four, 2009.
He is now averaging a remarkable 37.5 touches a game this season.
That Ablett was so dominant in a side that was dominated – the SUNS receiving a 97-point hiding – made his heroics even more meritorious.
Ablett's father Gary senior knows all about producing Herculean solo efforts in losing sides, the most celebrated example being his 14.7 in a 24-point loss to Essendon at the MCG when Paul Salmon kicked 10.6 at the other end. Later that same season, Ablett senior bagged 10.6 and 11.0 in losing teams.
His eldest son's feat against the Pies was mind-boggling.
The 28-year-old started with 11 touches (three kicks, eight handballs) in the first quarter and another 11 (7k, 4h) in the second before powering into overdrive.
In the second half alone, he racked up an extraordinary 31 possessions - 15 disposals (9k, 6h) in the third term and, saving the best for last, 16 (12k, 4) in a frantic finale.
Magpie fans can be a mean lot but even they appreciated the significance of what they were witnessing: a champion with the ball on a string and a chance to make history.
Ablett had 19 contested possessions, an overall disposal efficiency of 70 per cent, along with nine marks, four clearances, four inside 50s, seven rebound 50s and six tackles.
It must be said that he also had a game-high 10 clangers, which detracted from his Dream Team score, which was still a mammoth 186 points.
It must also be said that Ablett's opponent for much of the game, almost inconceivably given the SUNS skipper's output, was afforded best-afield status by some experts. Magpie star Dale Thomas, in 78 per cent game time (Ablett was 95 per cent), gathered 32 possessions and slotted three goals, the last two while playing in attack (away from Ablett) in the last quarter.
Some believed Thomas did more damage forward of centre, while Ablett got most of his touches in the back half, but that's where the game was played for the majority of the match.
Outside the SUNS rooms post-match, a clearly proud Ablett senior was talking to Mal Brown (the father of Campbell), but politely declined to speak about his son's effort when approached by AFL.com.au.
"Nah, nah, talk to him," the Geelong legend said.
A knocked-up Ablett junior hobbled into the post-match press conference with his coach Guy McKenna and was also typically reticent to speak about himself.
Asked about his record-equalling effort, Ablett said: "It doesn't mean much when you lose by 100 points. I had a role today to play and I felt I played it quite well at times."
He then diverted the discussion to what his team would learn from the experience of playing against a top side.
He was slightly more expansive when steered back to the topic everyone wanted to hear more about.
"I went out there and gave it my best shot ... I would have given away 53 touches to win the game," he said.
"It's tough losing because I'm a very competitive person and I go out there to win every week, as the team does."
As for whether he or Thomas won their intriguing duel, Ablett said: "That's for you guys to make that decision."
SUNS coach Guy McKenna – who described Ablett as "just a natural competitor in and around the ball, no matter where he plays" – believed Thomas had an easier role in a side that was winning so much of the ball, particularly around the stoppages.
"We expect Gaz to go with him as best he can, and I thought he did that today. There's times, because of sheer weight of numbers and possessions, that (Thomas) is going to look good," he said.
Thomas said: "Obviously he's a fantastic player, so it was a lot of hard work. I think he had a world-record or a career-record amount of possessions at the end, so the role probably wasn't done that well. But I think the output that he was able to have in the first half was probably limited on what he's capable of doing sometimes."
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley was more than satisfied with Thomas' efforts.
"Very rarely are you on a player for 100 per cent of game time these days, but Daisy had 20 contested possessions, Ablett had 19; Daisy had 11 clearances, Ablett had four. So from that aspect we thought the role that we asked Daisy to play was fulfilled," he said.
"And it wasn't a hard tag.
"[But] he's a great player. Whether you tag him or whether you don't, he's going to get touches. I don't know if he would have got 53 if we'd just have let him run free."
BALL MAGNETS: MOST DISPOSALS IN A GAME*
53 - Gary Ablett Jr (Gold Coast) v Collingwood, 2012
53 – Greg Williams (Sydney Swans) v St Kilda, 1989
51 – Scott Thompson (Adelaide) v Gold Coast, 2011
50 – Tony Shaw (Collingwood) v Brisbane Bears, 1991
48 – Peter Featherby (Geelong) v Melbourne, 1981
48 – Stephen Malaxos (West Coast) v St Kilda, 1987
48 – Tony Shaw (Collingwood) v Geelong, 1984
48 – Dane Swan (Collingwood) v Port Adelaide, 2009
48 – Greg Wells (Melbourne) v Fitzroy, 1980
*VFL/AFL matches in the modern era
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
