Abblett bows out: ‘He’s a pleasure to play with, awful to play against’

GEELONG captain Joel Selwood says football may never see a player of Gary Ablett’s ilk again as the Cats pick up the pieces from another finals heartbreak.

Selwood described the season as a “step forward” after Geelong broke its preliminary final hoodoo in order to reach its first grand final in nine years.

“It’s one of the harder ones to see off,” Selwood said of Ablett.

“He’s had a hell of a career. “I was a Geelong supporter growing up, so I wasn’t only his teammate but I was a fan of what he was able to do for a long period of time.

“He’s given this game more than anyone over a 20-year period.

“A credit to Richmond tonight, just to show that respect.

“We’re going to miss him, I reckon, because there might not be another one like him.”

Teammate Patrick Dangerfield labelled Ablett a “champion of the game”.

He said it was not a surprise to see him return to the field after aggravating his troublesome shoulder early in the game.

“He is incredibly strongwilled, mentally tough, whatever adjectives you would like to use to describe someone who is incredibly resilient,” Dangerfield said.

“He is all that and above. “It is emotional for us all to see the back of his playing days.

“In my time in the game I haven’t seen someone dominate for a genuine decade.

“He’s a pleasure to play with, awful to play against and I count myself lucky, as we all do, that I’ve been able to experience him.”

The Cats were again unable to keep pace with a rampaging Tigers outfit that caused similar damage in last year’s preliminary final match-up.

“We knew they were going to get the momentum at some stage,” Selwood said.

“I can’t really remember what missed shots we had … we’ve kicked 7.8, so maybe we missed a couple that we could have (kicked).”