For the past two and a half years Gary Ablett has led the way on and off the field for the Gold Coast SUNS, patiently waiting as the Club’s list of emerging stars found their feet in the AFL.
Ablett says he has no regrets about his decision to join the Gold Coast telling goldcoastfc.com.au he was excited to see the rest of the season unfold after being impressed with the teams form in recent weeks.
“It’s great to have played 50 games at the club but at the end of the day it’s just another game,” he said.
“It’s been a challenging couple of years but I think over the last few weeks we’ve really seen some improvement in the team, we just have to make sure we continue to keep moving forward.”
The prime-time Saturday night clash will also mark a special occasion for the 241-game superstar, with Ablett set to return to his old hunting ground for the first time as a player since his defection to the Gold Coast.
“I am a little nervous but at the same time very excited,” Ablett said.
“It should be good to get back there because I haven’t played there in two years and I use to love played on that ground.
“It’ll be good to see if much has changed and also hopefully put in a good performance as well.”
It’s clear the club’s 41,345 members haven’t stopped hurting from losing of their favourite sons, with the much-anticipated Round 10 fixture selling out prior to the start of the home-and-away season.
“The game was sold out 10 weeks ago, so it’s pretty exciting to get down and play in front of the Geelong supporters and also against my ex-teammates again,” he said.
After Cat’s leader Joel Selwood exploded for 32 disposals and elite forwards Tom Hawkins and Paul Chapman kicked a combined 8-goals in their unconvincing 14-point victory over the Gold Coasters in their last battle at Metricon Stadium, Ablett said his midfield accomplices would have to get on top of the centre clearances whilst the forwards made the most of their opportunities around goals.
“They have so many great players, and are very similar to Hawthorn in how they win the contested football with their strong bodies,” said Ablett.
“If we can get it into our forwards quickly then we’re going to give our goal-scorers then we will give ourselves the best chance of competing one-on-one.”
While the Gold Coasters came close to achieving the impossible against the Hawks in their clash at the G’ last weekend, Ablett said the playing group had still gained plenty of confidence and would travel down south with a belief that kick the winning score against one of the greatest AFL teams in the modern era.
“It’s going to be a great challenge for us, and while we will still gain something out of it if we lose, we’re definitely going to be going down there to get the win.”
