For Gary Ablett, having a superstar AFL player for a father often resulted in Jr. constantly having to defend his famous surname during his formative years.

Two Premierships, a Brownlow Medal, and three AFL MVP’s later and it’s safe say the little genius has silenced his lifetime critics.

“I could remember when I got to Geelong there was a lot of talk about whether or not I was good enough to play at the AFL level, and whether I got drafted because of my name,” Ablett said.

“From that day on I have worked hard to prove to people that I was good enough and to know I’m 249 games down – it’s pretty special to me.”

Speaking on the eve of his 250^th AFL Premiership match, Ablett said he couldn’t be prouder to be celebrating the significant career milestone in front of the Gold Coast SUNS passionate members and fans here at Metricon Stadium.

“Obviously I played 192 games for Geelong and 57 games here (with the Gold Coast), but to say I’ve been able to play AFL football was always a dream of mine growing up,” he said.

“I remember thinking if I can pay an AFL game than I would be able to say I played footy at the top level.

“To now be one game shy of 250 is pretty special and I’m just hoping I can go out there against Melbourne, put in a good performance, and get the win.”

Incredibly, Ablett has managed to take his game to another level since making the move up north, whilst shouldering much of the workload around the middle as the star on-baller waited patiently for the Club’s emerging stars to find their feet in the competition.

“I wanted to get up here and take my game to another level and I’ve worked hard over the pre-season and I’m just glad to be playing my role for the team,” he said.

“Every pre-season I try and improve on different areas of my game, and I think a lot of that comes with experience; the more games you play the better you understand the game.”

With Dion Prestia and Jaeger O’Meara taking more ownership around the stoppage work and clearances this year, Ablett says team success is on the horizon for the rising Gold Coasters. 

“I’m super excited about the future.”

“We have to work hard and that is what the boy are doing and I think that has shown in our performances this year.”

“Every training session they work hard and want to improve – I’m loving playing with these boys and looking forward to striving for further success in the future.”