You can only limit the damage. That’s the voice of triple premiership captain and 1996 Brownlow medallist, Michael Voss, who has joined a chorus of AFL supporters who believe even the league’s best taggers can’t stop Gary Ablett.
“You’ll never completely shut Gary down. He has proven over a long period of time that he will always get plenty of the ball, no matter what you do,’’ Voss said.
The AFL Hall of Fame member is no stranger to Ablett’s level of brilliance, given he had the nightmarish task of coaching against him in his five-year stint as Lions mentor.
‘Gaz’ averaged 32 disposals in his last three games against a Voss-led Brisbane outfit.
The now-Fox Footy analyst said the challenge is restricting Ablett’s ability to put boot to ball.
“You have to try to tag him to pressure him into handballing instead of kicking,” he said.
“He can have key moments when he rises above the game and just kills you by setting up a goal or kicking one himself.
“Negating those seven to 10 moments in a game is the key. If you prevent those handful of moments from happening and restrict him to 30-odd touches instead of 40-odd disposals, that’s a win.’’