Gary Ablett is happy for others to decide who they feel is the better Ablett while he focuses on achieving success with the Gold Coast SUNS.
Ask him and he will happily inform you that he rates his legendary father as the better player. It’s an opinion formed after watching and then mimicking his every move as a youngster following his dads career.
This weekend the Gold Coast SUNS skipper will equal his father’s game’s record of 248 Premiership matches when he runs out against Carlton at Metricon Stadium, a feat the skipper spoke exclusively to goldcoastfc.com.au about today.
“I’m not too far off the 250 now and at least if I do get past my Dad’s number of games then at least I can say I have done something else he hasn’t.”
“First a Brownlow and now this,” he laughed.
Ablett Snr rose to game in the late 80’s and early 90’s, finishing his career as one of the most prolific goal-kickers in AFL/VFL history.
A selection in the AFL Team of the Century, AFLPA MVP, three-time Coleman Medallist and a Norm Smith Medallist headlines the long list of individual accolades Ablett’s superstar father achieved during his 248 games in the national code, during a career that spanned over fourteen years.
If all goes well, Ablett will only share the 248 games mark for a week, with his 250th to be celebrated in front of an adoring Gold Coast Crowd and against Melbourne on August 10th.
“To be honest it’s not something I’ve thought about too much, but there’s certainly not too many thing he didn’t achievement.”
“At the end of the day it’s another game to me.”
When asked if he had his sights on equally his father’s goal-kicking tally of 1,030, the Gold Coaster said he was fighting in a different weight class.
“I’m not sure, I think I’m about 1,000 or so off so I don’t think I’ll be able to kick that many in the next couple of years.”
But with his team’s young crop of talent now on the rise, and a healthy mix of veterans steering the ship, Ablett said he was looking forward to watching his club develop on and off the field in the years beyond 2013.
“It’s exciting for me and I want to just keep playing footy and keeping looking after the body.”
“Hopefully we can have some success with this club in the near future and continue building towards something special.”
