Ablett falls short in tough contest

CHAMPION Geelong midfielder Gary Ablett concedes he did not meet his lofty standards in Saturday’s 34-point loss to Essendon.

Only once since his breakout year of 2007 has he completed a game uninjured and had fewer possessions — he finished with 17 disposals against the Bombers — and despite spending a fair amount of time in the attacking half of the ground, he also drifted up into the midfield but didn’t impact the contest in his usual manner.

Ablett was hardly alone in putting in a below-par performance and several of his teammates would undoubtedly be sharing his sentiments that they needed to be better against an inspired Essendon outfit.

But the 34-year-old said he would be seeking redemption this Saturday night against Carlton in his first game as a Cat at Kardinia Park since 2010.

“It was a tough game for me and I didn’t get my hands on the ball as much as I would have liked,” Ablett said.

“I really pride myself on getting out and having an impact on the game and I felt I didn’t do that.

“I take that hard but I’m so glad that I’m still able to play football at the top level and I want to make sure I play my part for the team so I’ve got to make sure I improve my game going into next week.”

Ablett registered just one clearance, one inside-50 and, perhaps more alarmingly given he wasn’t finding the footy, just one tackle on Saturday, and drew criticism from several commentators for his apparent unwillingness to chase opposition defenders hard enough when they were running the ball out of Geelong’s attacking 50m arc.

He acknowledged he was still finding his feet in his new role away from the hustle and bustle of the midfield but said he was happy to play where Chris Scott and the team felt he could have the biggest impact.

“It has been a different role for me but I’m just trying to work out where I’m best suited to the team,” he said.

“I played a little bit forward tonight and then came up and played as the extra in the midfield at times but I just didn’t have a good night tonight.

“That happens, we all have bad games of footy, but I’ll bounce