Prodigal son made the game look easy

TOM Harley was captain of Geelong when a young Gary Ablett Jnr gave him a piece of coaching advice mid-play during a final.

“I’ll never forget one final against St Kilda — I think it was the 2009 grand final,” Harley said.

“I fumbled the ball or fell over and Gary gave me coaching advice as he was going past with the handball receive on the ground. He said, ‘Just stay a bit stronger over the ball’ and off he went.

“He was clearly one of those players that makes the game look easy.”

Harley had just finished his third season at Geelong in 2001 when Ablett joined the Cats as a highly-touted fatherson selection through the national draft.

He came with a famous name and a serious goal sense, but it was Ablett’s sixth season in 2007 that he really fired up.

“He was just a kid, he looked like a kid, but he was able to play at the AFL level really early on in the piece,” Harley said.

“The fact he came in as a father-son to arguably one of the greatest players of all time — with the same name — could have potentially been an enormous burden to carry.

“But once he understood what was required to be elite at AFL level — and that was very much around the work rate in pre-season training and the games — he took his game to an absolute new level in 2007.

“I’d be surprised if there was a more credentialed player since 2007 than Gary, and to have that longevity and the resilience to play for as long as he has is quite remarkable.”

Harley captained the

Cats’ 2007 and 2009 premiership triumphs, in which Ablett played.

The “Little Master”, as he was affectionately known, went on to join Gold Coast Suns on a mega deal at the end of the 2010 season.

However, like many Geelong people, Harley was happy to see Ablett return home at the end of 2017 to finish his career at Kardinia Park.

“It’s such a synonymous name with the Geelong Football Club,” Harley said of Ablett, whose father Gary Ablett was a ninetime leading goalkicker for the Cats.

“They’ve got the Gary Ablett Terrace where they don’t really need to specify whether it’s Jnr or Sr. There is a place for romanticism in footy and that’s played out well for Gary. I know the Geelong people adore the family and have loved watching them play over two generations now — and that’s Nathan included as well.”

With a football resume that few could even dream of — highlighted by eight AllAustralian caps and two Brownlow Medals — a spot in the Australian Football Hall of Fame alongside his father now awaits Ablett.

“I’m sure it’s a fait accompli and I’d be staggered if he doesn’t elevate himself to Legend status pretty quickly as well,” Harley said.

“It’s an enormous career and I don’t think anyone will argue that he won’t go down as one of the absolute all-time greats of the game.

“He can retire knowing that he’s made a lot of people happy and he’s given all that he’s got.”

I’D BE SURPRISED IF THERE WAS A MORE CREDENTIALED PLAYER

SINCE 2007 THAN GARY, AND TO HAVE THAT LONGEVITY AND THE RESILIENCE TO PLAY FOR AS LONG AS HE HAS IS QUITE REMARKABLE.”

TOM HARLEY