Gary Ablett revealed

[FoxC]

From the Sunday Herald Sun http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23940216-11088,00.html

Glenn McFarlane
June 29, 2008 12:00am

FOOTBALL's hottest player talks about Brownlow favouritism, the Cats, his family and life after footy.

Football can be all consuming, so is it good to have a break this week?
GARY ABLETT: I think most of the boys were looking forward to the break, just to give the body a couple of extra days’ rest and to freshen up the head. It gets tough at times because your mates are going out and doing things that young people normally do. The week off is a perfect time to catch up with them.

HOW THE CATS ARE TRAVELLING

Was the big win over West Coast last week the perfect way to go to a break?

Yeah, it is always good to have a break after a win like that. We haven’t reviewed the game yet, but I am sure we will do that after a few days off. Then we move on and look forward to Adelaide.

Was that as good as the team has played since last year’s Grand Final?

I think earlier in the season, even though we had been winning, we weren’t putting four consistent quarters together. It was good to achieve that on the weekend.

Is there a fair bit of improvement given Matthew Scarlett and Mathew Stokes are ready to come back?

Even though we had the win we did, there will be things we can improve on. There is always room for improvement. We have to make sure we jump on top of them, and get the things right we need to.

THE WAKE-UP CALL

Was the loss to Collingwood a good wake-up call?

For sure. Leading up to that match we had been winning games, but hadn’t been putting a consistent four quarters together. We came out that night and they played great footy. We just didn’t play well. Taking no credit away from them, they played fantastic. But we sat down and reviewed the game, looked at what went wrong and what we could do to improve. I think it definitely helped us.

BROWNLOW EXPECTATIONS

How are you handling the pressure of being the shortest Brownlow favourite in history after 13 rounds?

To be honest, I don’t read too much into it. I don’t read the paper a whole heap. I try to stay away from that kind of thing. You hear people talking about it all the time, but I take it week to week. People are always going to have their opinions on things. I am just going to keep trying to play the best footy I can for the team. Whatever happens, happens, I guess.

Does it frustrate you that some people have suggested you already have the medal won?

I don’t worry about it. There is a lot more footy to be played before the end of the season.

FORM IN 2008

How have you rated your season so far compared to 2007?

It’s hard to say. I feel fitter this year. I think as the years go by your body matures and gets used to the load more. I think I am just learning more about the game each year and improving.

Were the games against North Melbourne and West Coast this year as good as you have played individually?

It is very hard to say. I think there are a few games in other years which I thought might have been maybe my best games. I may not have had as many touches (as in the North Melbourne and West Coast games where he had 39 and 37 disposals), but perhaps in terms of my influence on the games.

COMPARISONS WITH DAD

You said on The Footy Show that your dad likes to show you videos to prove he was a better player than you. Do you feel like packaging up a DVD of your past month and sending it off to him?

Mate, I think if I did that there would be a couple (of videos) coming back the other way just as quick. He does it every now and then as a bit of a joke. He has a bit of a muck around and plays them, and let’s me know I will never be as good as him. It’s all a bit of fun.

Do you talk to your dad much about football these days?

He doesn’t talk much about footy at all. He just tells me to go out there, enjoy myself and have fun. That’s about all he says. When I get home he never really brings up footy. It is generally about other things, and that’s good.

BROTHER NATHAN

Is your brother, Nathan, enjoying his time out of the spotlight, and will he play football again in 2009?

He has been able to get away from footy and kind of freshen up the head a bit, and work out what he wants to do in life. He has been spending a lot of time with his friends and doing a lot of travelling. He really does look happy at the moment. I have tried not to talk to him too much about football. He will have to make a decision by the end of the year. Whatever way he goes I am going to support him. At the same time I would love to see him come back because I love playing with my brother.

DEALING WITH TAGGERS

You seem to be a person who always shakes your opponent’s hand after a game. Is it hard to do that when you cop a hard tag as you did against Fremantle and Port Adelaide this year?

The way I look at it, as much as it gets frustrating at times, they (taggers) are out there doing a job and playing a role for their team. They don’t go out there to try to hurt you or anything like that. It is always good to get out there and shake their hand, regardless of whether you win or lose.

Shane Crawford said last week that teams don’t necessarily try to tag you anymore, they try to corral you. Is that what’s happening now?

I still think they play on me. What he might have been saying is maybe they try to corral me more than actually come at me when they are trying to tackle me. I have had teams do that to me in the past. They try to corral me more and get me to kick it. Some teams do it, some don’t. That’s the same for a lot of players. They try to corral them more to stop them running with the ball.

Does it frustrate you being tagged as closely as you were by Fremantle’s Ryan Crowley earlier in the year?

I don’t think any player could say that it doesn’t frustrate them. It definitely gets hard at times. But it is just a part of the challenge in football. If you want to become a great player ... a lot of great players have had to go through that, and so it is just another stepping stone in your playing career to overcome that. I see it as a challenge and enjoy it.

CLOSENESS OF THE CATS

The Geelong team appears to be a very close-knit unit. Has that played a part in the team’s success?

I think that helps our footy a lot. We are a very close bunch of guys down there and we all kind of look out for each other. We are a very team-oriented side, and that’s part of the reason we are playing some good footy as well.

Geelong has signed up most of the uncontracted players. It’s obvious you want to stay together and have more success?

All the guys love playing with each other and we want to continue doing that.

Last year’s Brownlow winner, Jimmy Bartel, has been solid this season, but not as spectacular as last year. Is he the sort of player who you think might really take off in the second half of the season?

He is an amazing player and very important for our side. He has still been playing some great footy. He has really been playing the team role and doing what the team needs. I wouldn’t say he hasn’t been playing great footy. You never know he could take off in the last part of the season.

ATTRACTIVE FOOTY

Footy has changed a lot in the past few years. It has been much more attacking and more attractive to watch. Is that what you like to see?

The game has changed a lot in the last five years. It is a lot quicker than it used to be. I do enjoy that. I think it is great to keep the game free-flowing.

MISSING THE VICS GAME

How frustrating was it to miss playing for Victoria because of your calf injury?

It was very disappointing, mate. It had been such a long time since I had missed a game and for it to kind of happen that week was very disappointing. I did everything I could to try to get up for it. But it wasn’t right to go. I did find it hard, but I had to accept it because that’s a part of footy.

LIFE IN THE MEDIA

You seem to be a lot more confident doing the media now. Is that just a natural maturity?

I think so. Early in my career I was a bit like ‘why do they want to speak to me?’ I was a player who had just come into the game. I felt it was a bit more my name that they were interested in. I didn’t want to have anything to do with that. I wanted to make my own name, and play some good footy. Once I did that, I thought maybe I could do a bit more media and grow over time.

POKER, SURFING AND PROPERTY

Everything has gone right for you this year, except one thing – your girlfriend (Lauren Phillips) beat you in a poker challenge recently?

(laughs). Beginner’s luck, mate. I do enjoy my poker. She had only been playing for a week. She didn’t actually beat me. She ended up higher than me, let’s put it that way. We weren’t on the same table, so she didn’t knock me out. It was a good night. We had some fun.

Aside from poker and footy, what are your other interests?

I enjoy a bit of surfing. Growing up on the coast a lot of my mates surf, so I enjoy getting out and having a paddle when I get some spare time. Spending time with family and friends is very important to me.

You are only 24, but have you given any thought to what you want to do when your football career is over?

I am keen to get into the property development side of things. I have got a few mates who are right into that, so I do a bit of hands-on stuff. They take me through things when they have some developments going on. So that is something I’d love to get into once I have finished football.

THE REST OF THE YEAR

What are your ambitions for the rest of the year, team and individual?

At the moment, I want to enjoy these few days off and not think about footy. For a couple of weeks now, I have been looking forward to the break. The body needs it. Then when we get back, I’m sure we will get the tape out and start thinking about playing Adelaide (on Friday night) before we start thinking about the rest of the year.

LEADER OF THE PACK: ABLETT IN 2008

12 games played over 1235 minutes
357 disposals, 61 marks,
138 contested possessions,
61 clearances, 16 goals

HIS DIRECT OPPONENT

204 disposals, 46 marks,
56 contested possessions,
26 clearances, 2 goals

THE DIFFERENCE

153 more possessions
(12.75 per game and more
than three per quarter)
15 more marks, 82 more contested possessions, 35 more clearances,
14 more goals

FOUR OF A KIND
Ablett’s last month of footy:

R10 v Carlton: 32 possessions

R11 v North Melbourne: 39 possessions

R12 v Port Adelaide: 32 possessions

R13 v West Coast: 37 possessions

Well spoken. Some of these things were first mentioned on The Footy Show.

Good on you Gary. Now please win a Brownlow, a Norm Smith, a few more flags, captain the club and sire some future father-son stars please.

 

[thomo24]

Well spoken. Some of these things were first mentioned on The Footy Show.

Good on you Gary. Now please win a Brownlow, a Norm Smith, a few more flags, captain the club and sire some future father-son stars please.

Yeah he did speak very well, its good seeing him doing more media stuff these days. Haha we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves, but those things are all defiantly on the wish list atm

 

[Ninty]

Thanks for the post... Great read. Let's hope he can keep up his recent form for the rest of the year... He is going to crack that 40 possessions a game soon. ^_^

 

[R1KSTA]

hi there, im just wondering if you guys could help me.
but when searching for todays vfl results i came accross this?



[FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bendigo Bombers [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 107 [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 120 [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Geelong [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Statistics[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 16.11-107

Major Goal Kickers: M. Bolton 4, A. Connaughton 3, K. Bradley 3

Best: M. Bolton, D. Chartres, J. Flaherty
[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 17.18-120

Goal: J. Byrne 4, C. Gardiner 4, T. Hawkins 2, B. Prismall 2, D. Barnes 2

Best: T. Callan, C. Gardiner, T. Hawkins[/FONT]
isnt he playing for the saints now? or is this another young fellow??

 

[Ninty]

Eh, obviously not this year.

Yes he's playing for St Kilda now and Callan is at the Dogs.

AND Bradley is at Dockers, Bolton retired...

 

[FoxC]

Thanks for the post... Great read. Let's hope he can keep up his recent form for the rest of the year... He is going to crack that 40 possesions a game soon. ^_^

Yeah I'm hoping for it to happen in round 17 against Whorethorn.

 

[Shmoses]

hi there, im just wondering if you guys could help me.
but when searching for todays vfl results i came accross this?



[FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bendigo Bombers [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 107 [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 120 [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Geelong [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Statistics[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 16.11-107

Major Goal Kickers: M. Bolton 4, A. Connaughton 3, K. Bradley 3

Best: M. Bolton, D. Chartres, J. Flaherty
[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 17.18-120

Goal: J. Byrne 4, C. Gardiner 4, T. Hawkins 2, B. Prismall 2, D. Barnes 2

Best: T. Callan, C. Gardiner, T. Hawkins[/FONT]
isnt he playing for the saints now? or is this another young fellow??

This'll be from last year, plenty of those players have moved on and the VFL team played Tasmania this week

 

[couchy555]

at the risk of sounding unpopular, and while im always glad to hear from Gary, i dont think it was the most insightful interview, not a hell of a lot learned lol

but then i guess thats the interviewers fault for not asking many things other than the stock questions.

 

[themuddy#3]

hi there, im just wondering if you guys could help me.
but when searching for todays vfl results i came accross this?



[FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bendigo Bombers [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 107 [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 120 [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Geelong [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Statistics[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 16.11-107

Major Goal Kickers: M. Bolton 4, A. Connaughton 3, K. Bradley 3

Best: M. Bolton, D. Chartres, J. Flaherty
[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 17.18-120

Goal: J. Byrne 4, C. Gardiner 4, T. Hawkins 2, B. Prismall 2, D. Barnes 2

Best: T. Callan, C. Gardiner, T. Hawkins[/FONT]
isnt he playing for the saints now? or is this another young fellow??

timmeh is playing for the doggies also. uve gone and got urself an old fixture

 

[FoxC]

at the risk of sounding unpopular, and while im always glad to hear from Gary, i dont think it was the most insightful interview, not a hell of a lot learned lol

but then i guess thats the interviewers fault for not asking many things other than the stock questions.

Spot on couchy. I think it's mostly due to the questions asked that did not elicit more than standard answers.

 

[Copernicus]

at the risk of sounding unpopular, and while im always glad to hear from Gary, i dont think it was the most insightful interview, not a hell of a lot learned lol

but then i guess thats the interviewers fault for not asking many things other than the stock questions.

I would tend to agree, but you can't expect too much incisiveness in the papers these days. He handles himself well anyway.