I CAME BACK TO WIN FLAG
GAZ FIRED UP: SPORT
OPPORTUNITIES to play this deep in September don’t come around every year, even for somebody as decorated as Gary Ablett.
It will be the first time in nine years one of the biggest names in football runs out in a preliminary final on Friday when Ablett breaks through the banner against Richmond.
The road to his sixth appearance at the penultimate round of the season has taken Ablett to the Gold Coast and back and he now faces his own battle with Father Time.
As Luke Hodge officially announced his playing career was over after Brisbane fell out of the finals on Saturday, his Geelong Falcons teammate and fellow 2001 draftee took a moment to reflect.
“I’ve been very blessed to be in the game as long as I have. I’ve always said when I first came into the system my goal was to play one AFL game,” Ablett said.
“You fast-forward 18 years and 340 odd games, it’s been a good part of my life and I know I’m blessed to be doing what I love.”
The determination to embrace the opportunity of playing deep in the finals has become a mantra for the Cats in recent weeks.
When Hodge hung up his boots at Hawthorn in 2017, he declared that taking chances in big games creates even more openings as the years pass.
“We’re probably lucky enough that every 10 years, there will be four opportunities we’ll be able to come back as a group and celebrate what we’ve achieved as a footy club,” he said.
The possibility that Ablett might be doing what he loves for the final time at the top level this weekend is very real for the dual Brownlow medallist. While he still wouldn’t be drawn into whether he will return in 2020, Ablett said he was focused on Friday.
“I know it’s been a really long time for me,” he said.
“It’s a really good opportunity. That’s why we play footy, to play finals and to have a crack at winning the grand final. That’s why I came back to Geelong, to ultimately win a grand final.”
In his five preliminary finals, Ablett has averaged 29.4 disposals and one goal a game.
Arguably the signature moment of his career remains the snap over his left shoulder in the 2007 preliminary final against Collingwood. He famously collected 40 touches in the corresponding game three years later in what would be his final game in hoops until 2018.
Ablett won’t be expected to find the footy as much as he did during his peak on Friday, but Geelong will need him to hit the scoreboard if it is to take hold of what could be a legend’s final opportunity.
THAT’S WHY WE PLAY FOOTY, TO PLAY FINALS AND TO HAVE A CRACK AT WINNING THE GRAND FINAL. THAT’S WHY I CAME BACK TO GEELONG, TO ULTIMATELY WIN A GRAND FINAL. GARY ABLETT