ABLETT DYNASTY CONTINUES
New baby has footy world abuzz
HE’S the son of a gun who became a gun and then a Sun, returned home, and now has a son of his own.
Geelong footy star Gary Ablett Jr and his wife Jordan welcomed their first child into the world on Tuesday.
While the typical details that accompany a birth announcement — name, weight and eye colour — are yet to come, the couple did divulge the baby’s gender on their social media posts.
“Our beautiful baby boy is finally here”, they declared across Twitter and Instagram on Thursday night.
It was the news that got Cats fans excited, drew Melbourne TV crews to Geelong yesterday to taste the reaction on the streets and tested the production deadline at the Geelong Advertiser.
While it might be a tad premature to start speculating on whether a three-day-old child will end up being an elite footballer, that’s where much of the attention naturally turned.
Married at the start of 2016, the Abletts played their own part in this conjecture in July when they announced their pregnancy through Exclusive Insight, Gary’s website that shares first-hand stories from athletes and entertainers.
A photo taken in the Geelong changerooms showed “Dad” and “Grandad” Cats jumpers and boots hanging alongside tiny replicas, with a question mark on the back of the mini-guernsey.
“We’re both excited to announce that we are expecting our first child,” their accompanying statement said.
“It’s hard to put into words just how happy we are.
“We’ve known this for a few months now but decided that we wanted to keep it between just the two of us and our families for as long as we could.”
With Geelong’s women’s team now just days away from its debut in the AFLW, the prospect of another Ablett lining up in the blue and white hoops was live whether the couple had a boy or girl.
But there’s no doubt the arrival of a lad to follow in the footsteps of his famous father and grandfather, Gary Senior, heightened the excitement of footy fans.
“No pressure, but may your baby boy be a premiership player for the mighty Cattery in 18 years time!” posted Lucas Eldridge. “Here’s to a future no.3 for the cats #ablettfactor,” added Heath Farnsworth.
Perhaps a more sobering thought for Cats fans was the realisation that, should he choose footy as a career and be good enough to play at the elite level, the new bundle of Ablett joy would also — under present rules — be equally qualified to go to the Gold Coast Suns as a father-son selection as he would be to land at Geelong.
The Ablett family is Australian football’s greatest dynasty, its mystique enhanced by Gary Senior’s mercurial football ability and dislike of the public spotlight.
At least 10 members of the extended family have played at the game’s highest level.
They include Gary Senior and his sons Gary Jr and Nathan, his brothers Kevin and Geoff and brother-in-law Michael Tuck.
Gary Sr’s uncle Len played in the VFL while his nephews Luke Ablett and Shane and Travis Tuck played in the AFL.
Coincidentally, the baby already being touted as the Cats’ first draft pick in 2037 arrived the same day one of the AFL’s other great families moved closer to adding to its remarkable history.
When Tom Hird trained with Essendon at Tullamarine on Tuesday Bombers fans started imagining him lining up in the red and black next year.
If he does so he will follow in the footsteps of his father James — who played against both Gary Ablett Sr and Jr — and his grandfather and great-grandfather, both named Allan.
When the Cats trained at Deakin Uni’s Waurn Ponds campus yesterday morning, new father Gary Jr was a noticeable absentee, rightfully enjoying some paternity leave and quiet time with his family.
After attending the Cats’ family festival last Saturday he’d been away from the club most of the week as the baby’s due date passed.
It’s understood most of the club’s players and staff learned of the new arrival through those social media posts Thursday night.
Patrick Dangerfield — like Gary Jr a young dad and Brownlow medallist — said the news lifted spirits at the club, which welcomed
Gary Jr back into its fold last year.
“It is wonderful, and certainly having your own kid, you can really appreciate just how much it changes your life, so I am looking forward to meeting little Ablett,” Dangerfield said.
“There is no greater or wellknown family than the Ablett family in AFL footy so we are super excited for them.
“It will be great to see him and it is very exciting for both Gaz and Jords.”
Like many observers, former Cats captain Michael Turner was waiting for news of the young Ablett’s name.
A quarter of a century before Gary Jr burst on to the AFL scene, Turner was a young Cats star following in the footsteps of a father who’d left a major mark on the club.
A wingman like his dad Leo — who played in the Cats premierships of 1951 and 52 — Turner was captain of Geelong when Gary Ablett Sr made his club debut in 1984, and later guided Junior through his formative footballing years at the Geelong Falcons.
He said Gary Jr always coped well with the intense scrutiny that accompanied his famous moniker, and forecast the new Ablett might one day face similar attention.
“Gary Jr had grown up with it, and when he came through our (the Falcons’) program being Gary Ablett’s son didn’t bother him one bit,” Turner said
“He was very level-headed and pretty grounded for a 17-year-old. But it would worry me if they called the baby Gary Ablett the third.
“It’s not for me to say what they should call him. But I would’ve thought Gary Ablett’s been done and Gary Ablett the third should be avoided at all costs.
“It’s up to Gary and his wife how they bring up the child. But he is going to get a lot of scrutiny and a lot of publicity, and I think with Gary (Jr’s) experience he’ll know how to handle it.”