By Michael Whiting
Malcolm Blight may disagree, but Gary Ablett jnr still believes his father is the best footballer of all time.
Comparisons between the two Abletts have raged since Gary jnr made his debut against Essendon in round one of 2002 and have been sparked again by Blight on the eve of his 200th match.
Blight, who coached Gary snr at Geelong and is now a GC SUNS board member, told News Limited Ablett jnr had already ticked more boxes than his father and would only widen the gap the more he played.
He said the Gold Coast SUNS captain's two premierships and Brownlow Medal, feats never achieved by Ablett snr, tipped him over the line, and while it was "nothing personal", Gary snr played almost exclusively as a forward.
But Ablett jnr, who plays his 200th against West Coast at Patersons Stadium on Saturday, disagrees with the Hall of Fame inductee.
"I still rate my dad as the best player of all time," Ablett jnr said.
"The only thing I do better than him is handball and I let him know about that. He used to say to me, 'mate why would you bother handballing when the goals are in front of you?' But yeah, thanks Malcolm.
"It's very hard to compare us as players. I've played a lot more in the midfield, he took a lot more hangers and kicked a lot more goals.
"He’s the best footy player [of all time] in my opinion. Until someone special comes along, I don't think it's going to change."
The 27-year-old said being compared to his father was a "little annoying" at the start of his career but did not bother him now.
While their worth cannot be measured solely in statistics, Gary snr played 248 matches and kicked 1030 goals, while Gary jnr played 192 for Geelong, and now 199 in all, and has kicked 267 goals.
The Brownlow medallist said the comparison and scrutiny in his early years in Geelong only spurred him on to greater heights.
"There was a lot of people saying the reason I got drafted was because of my name, I wanted to prove those people wrong," he said.
"I moved on from that pretty quickly and hopefully I've made a name for myself now. I enjoyed the challenge a lot.
"It was probably a big reason why I didn't do a lot of media and didn't take the number five jumper (his dad's) at Geelong, I wanted to prove I didn't get drafted because of my name. I wanted to get out and make my own name in football. Hopefully I've done that now."
After signing a five-year deal with the GC SUNS in the off-season, Ablett jnr said he was loving the challenge of leading the fledgling club.
Speaking at a team recovery session at Kurrawa Surf Club, the skipper was in a jovial mood, making jokes and sharing a laugh with reporters.
He said the move north was a fresh start and leading the club to a few premierships would be "very satisfying".
He points to the 2007 and 2009 premierships with Geelong as the highlights of his 199 games, but also said the 2007 preliminary final against Collingwood (won by Geelong by five points) and his very first match against the Bombers were memorable.
"I remember when I played my first game," he said. "I thought if I do a serious injury and never played another game at least I've achieved what I wanted to achieve as a kid.
"Hopefully I can continue on and play 250 and a few more after that."
