No rest at pointy end for Gazza

GEELONG veteran Gary Ablett says he does not expect to be rested in the final three weeks of the home-and-away season as the Cats aim to solidify their position on top of the ladder before finals.

Ablett has played 18 games this season, missing only one match, through suspension, and is confident his body can get through his team’s clashes with North Melbourne, Brisbane Lions and Carlton before the pre-finals bye.

“I don’t think so, no, my body is feeling pretty good at the moment,” he told K rock’s Fresh Daily program when asked if would be rested.

“I want to make sure that I finish the season off strongly and that I can play my part in helping the team get back to playing the type of football we know we can play.

“I don’t think I will be resting, and obviously there is a bye before the finals, which will be a bit of a rest for the guys, but we spoke after the (Fremantle) game about how disappointed we were with the performance on the weekend and it is not one of those things that you just turn up to finals and it all clicks.

“We need to make sure we are training hard during the week, we are working hard on the areas that we need to fix up, and that will start this weekend against North.”

Ablett signed a two-year deal when he arrived at Geelong at the end of 2017 and comes out of contract this year.

He said while he felt that physically he could go on next season into a 19th year of AFL football, he would have the discussion about his future with the Cats at a later date.

“We’ll sit down at the end of the season and just work out what that looks like for everyone moving forward,” he said.

“For me, at this stage, it’s just about focusing on this year and hopefully bringing home that Premiership Cup.

“Physically, I think I could go on again, but I’ve been in the system 18 years and it is a long time. I just didn’t want to make an early decision, I wanted to see how this year played out, and I will sit down with the club at the end of the year and we will work out what is best for everyone moving forward.”