Opinion Gary Ablett Senior

[Whit3y]

You'd probably buy every version of the bible, whether you were Christian or otherwise, just to be certain that you've read the same version that Ablett Snr. has.

praise the lord

 

[Cataholic]

Well mate - it comes down to who you believe

Malcolm Blight was on Mike Sheahans show - and Sheahan asked him about Abletts training etc - and Blight said - i think it was in his 1st year - or early years - that he had meetings with Ablett - and threatened to sack him - for continually missing training sessions during the year

I dont care how good he was ( and he was fantastic) hes totally ruined it and blemished it with that tragic incident- Polly Farmer summed it up best - Karl Langdon interviewed him on the TV - and asked Polly a direct question - Do you feel sorry for Ablett - and Polly said ( and i will never forget it ) - Sure i feel sorry for Gary - but i feel alot sorrier for the girl whose dead

When i think of Geelong champions- i dont even think of Ablett Snr - i think of blokes like Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel - who are both champions on and off the field

The moral and philosophical debate aside, I think everyone would agree, as Daz posted earlier, that Ablett Senior provided us with simply the best footy viewing of all time.

He left observers incredulous with his skill, such that people came in droves just to watch him play, regardless of who they followed.

This shouldn't be forgotten or under-estimated. The GFC was in the depths of despair after many, many fruitless years, and Ablett gave us something to cheer about, to help us forget our situation for just a little while, much like Phar Lap and Bradman did when Australia was in the grip of recession and war.

His exploits nourished our morale, because, god forbid, there was little else to be excited about at the time.

 

[Claude Balls]

Seems a good time to post this now that he has a book coming out.
Just need some feedback please on this short video. It runs for 10 minutes and it is highlights from Gary's 93 season. I am trying to keep it as short as possible but there are some marks and goals in there that I think could still be cut out in order to keep it flowing.

Have compiled most of his work in the 80's, along with seasons 90, 91, 92 but any feedback on which plays I should include or not include would be helpful.

Can't believe 4:19...

 

[Claude Balls]

The notion he didnt train is just a lie. I can tell you for absolute fact that while he may not have trained with his team mates, he trained. eg. The preseason of 85 i think it was, he didnt do a session with the boys until the camp that they had in Anglesea which from memory was in late Feb. There was a little bit of chatter that Gazza hadnt trained, and guys were bitching. That was until he turned up at camp and won EVERY test. He won sprints. He won strength. The only thing he didnt win was a distance run but even then he was in the top 20. Turns out Gaz had been in Balnarring or somewhere up in NSW hunting pigs. With no gun. Just a big **** off knife and a dog. He was fit as ****. So yeah. The urban legend is he didnt train. He did, it was just different.

Can't remember where I read it, but I distinctly remember a quote of his where he states he didn't need as much time as the other players to get up to the required match fitness. He reckoned 8 weeks was all he needed and anything beyond that was superfluous.

 

[The rabbi]

You'd probably buy every version of the bible, whether you were Christian or otherwise, just to be certain that you've read the same version that Ablett Snr. has.

Except the Greek New Testament.
Gazza cannot read Koine Greek.

 

[The rabbi]

The moral and philosophical debate aside, I think everyone would agree, as Daz posted earlier, that Ablett Senior provided us with simply the best footy viewing of all time.

Pretty hard to dispute that.

 

[Strangled Cat]

Except the Greek New Testament.
Gazza cannot read Koine Greek.

No worries! He'd just call up his old mate Spiro Malakellis and get him to translate for him.

 

[Rainfall]

Can't believe 4:19...

Who was the guy wearing currently Thurlows number 40 who Ablett passed on to kick a goal 10m out just after 4 19

 

[Catsmaninamerica]

I think that it has as much to do with the fact that he is not very articulate and probably needs a ghost behind him to write most of his stuff so that it is palatable for a general audience.
Although I did read where he used some analogy to Peanut Butter to argue for creationism and that made me cringe. But I would not expect much from him on such topics. He is a retired football player and one of the best that I have ever seen, if not the most gifted. It is not like he has a PhD in Ancient Near Eastern studies.

Maybe i let myself get too worked up - but this is such bullshit. Have you ever had a conversation with Gary Rabbi? He is actually quite articulate. The way people just make assumption facts, based on a 5 second media grab is outrageous.

 

[The rabbi]

No worries! He'd just call up his old mate Spiro Malakellis and get him to translate for him.

It's ancient Greek. Even Spiro would have trouble.

By the way, ever tried reading 13th c English? It is a lot more recent than Koine Greek.

 

[Catsmaninamerica]

Insulting. Having faith does no way imply he should be perfect. His way of putting it into practice might sit uncomfortably with you, but it was real in 89 when he was on the rails, and real when he was off the rails 10 years later. What got him through the darkest period of his life was his faith, as he has described openly.
Who knows where he would be today without it.
There is a an excellent interview with Sam Newman where Gary Jnr talks about this topic.



No, whether that is a question or a statement. Who are we to judge?

Spot on VDubs. The opinionated know it all atheists around the place shit me to tears. On one hand they carry on like little bitches if they and their opinion arent respected. But good luck trying to get them to respect another persons difference of opinion.

 

[Catsmaninamerica]

I have only seen small pieces that were published in the news papers. It did not read well. If he published a book that just had pictures I may be interested.

He did...

 

[The rabbi]

He did...

Have any more info?

 

[Catsmaninamerica]

Well mate - it comes down to who you believe

Malcolm Blight was on Mike Sheahans show - and Sheahan asked him about Abletts training etc - and Blight said - i think it was in his 1st year - or early years - that he had meetings with Ablett - and threatened to sack him - for continually missing training sessions during the year

I dont care how good he was ( and he was fantastic) hes totally ruined it and blemished it with that tragic incident- Polly Farmer summed it up best - Karl Langdon interviewed him on the TV - and asked Polly a direct question - Do you feel sorry for Ablett - and Polly said ( and i will never forget it ) - Sure i feel sorry for Gary - but i feel alot sorrier for the girl whose dead

When i think of Geelong champions- i dont even think of Ablett Snr - i think of blokes like Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel - who are both champions on and off the field

Rich coming from Polly, who after having all of the footy community rally to give him money via a fundraising night, continues to piss it away at the Mirabooka TAB. #glasshouses Again. Not absolving Gaz of Alisha Horans death. he has to live with it. But she was a grown woman who chose to do drugs. Yep he shouldnt have been there doing them alongside of her. But she chose to do them.

 

[Strangled Cat]

It's ancient Greek. Even Spiro may have troubles.

By the way, ever tried reading 13th c English?

That looks more like German than English.

 

[Catsmaninamerica]

My understanding with Blight is that it was very much PRE-season training Ablett didn't always do, and that was before Blight. I recall reading the other players all gave a cheer when he was present at Blight's first ever training session after taking the job.

Like all things, the legend reads better than reality, so that's what people want to believe. It's interesting that Tommy Hafey - not a coach who tolerated a lack of fitness easily - to my knowledge never said one word against Ablett. So there's that as well.

Two coaches did not get along with Ablett - Devine (after his God comments) and Ayres. As far as I'm aware Hafey and Blight had no issues and it was reflected in his football.

Spot on. Gaz HATED Devine. but he wasnt the lone ranger there. You'll struggle to find one Cat from the 87 side who could stand him. Actually, Johnny Devine was lucky that Jacko didnt bash him... But thats another story...

 

[Catsmaninamerica]

Have any more info?

His Ironbark book was mainly pics...

 

[The rabbi]

That looks more like German than English.

And there is a good reason for that. English derived largely from a Germanic language.

English is primarily a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects, brought to Britain by Germanic invaders and/or settlers from the places which are now called North West Germany and the Netherlands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_English_language

 

[The rabbi]

His Ironbark book was mainly pics...

Yep, not familiar with that.

 

[Shai]

The notion he didnt train is just a lie. I can tell you for absolute fact that while he may not have trained with his team mates, he trained. eg. The preseason of 85 i think it was, he didnt do a session with the boys until the camp that they had in Anglesea which from memory was in late Feb. There was a little bit of chatter that Gazza hadnt trained, and guys were bitching. That was until he turned up at camp and won EVERY test. He won sprints. He won strength. The only thing he didnt win was a distance run but even then he was in the top 20. Turns out Gaz had been in Balnarring or somewhere up in NSW hunting pigs. With no gun. Just a big **** off knife and a dog. He was fit as ****. So yeah. The urban legend is he didnt train. He did, it was just different.

Gary Dundee..? Thanks 4 the laugh..

 

[Go Hoops]

Insulting. Having faith does no way imply he should be perfect. His way of putting it into practice might sit uncomfortably with you, but it was real in 89 when he was on the rails, and real when he was off the rails 10 years later. What got him through the darkest period of his life was his faith, as he has described openly.
Who knows where he would be today without it.
There is a an excellent interview with Sam Newman where Gary Jnr talks about this topic.

I've heard senior talk about his religion ad infinitum. I'm much more interested in the way he's lived it.

 

[Shai]

My understanding with Blight is that it was very much PRE-season training Ablett didn't always do, and that was before Blight. I recall reading the other players all gave a cheer when he was present at Blight's first ever training session after taking the job.

Like all things, the legend reads better than reality, so that's what people want to believe. It's interesting that Tommy Hafey - not a coach who tolerated a lack of fitness easily - to my knowledge never said one word against Ablett. So there's that as well.

Two coaches did not get along with Ablett - Devine (after his God comments) and Ayres. As far as I'm aware Hafey and Blight had no issues and it was reflected in his football.

For me it speaks loudly that 2 men who I admired, both as players and coaches, (more Tommy than Mal in the coaching area) did not slam Ablett.

Can't remember where I read it, but I distinctly remember a quote of his where he states he didn't need as much time as the other players to get up to the required match fitness. He reckoned 8 weeks was all he needed and anything beyond that was superfluous.

Thoroughbreds come to hand in 6-8 weeks..

Rich coming from Polly, who after having all of the footy community rally to give him money via a fundraising night, continues to piss it away at the Mirabooka TAB. #glasshouses Again. Not absolving Gaz of Alisha Horans death. he has to live with it. But she was a grown woman who chose to do drugs. Yep he shouldnt have been there doing them alongside of her. But she chose to do them.

You are so right, every1 has the choice.

 

[Cosmic Energy]

Well mate - it comes down to who you believe

Malcolm Blight was on Mike Sheahans show - and Sheahan asked him about Abletts training etc - and Blight said - i think it was in his 1st year - or early years - that he had meetings with Ablett - and threatened to sack him - for continually missing training sessions during the year

I dont care how good he was ( and he was fantastic) hes totally ruined it and blemished it with that tragic incident- Polly Farmer summed it up best - Karl Langdon interviewed him on the TV - and asked Polly a direct question - Do you feel sorry for Ablett - and Polly said ( and i will never forget it ) - Sure i feel sorry for Gary - but i feel alot sorrier for the girl whose dead

When i think of Geelong champions- i dont even think of Ablett Snr - i think of blokes like Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel - who are both champions on and off the field

It's seems to be a mix of both, the lack of training thing. It's certain that he wasn't the greatest trainer of all time, would miss group sessions, or would sneak off the ground for certain sessions, but I think the point catsmaninamerica was making was that he did do some work away from the club. I believe later in his career he would do weights away from the club, maybe contributing a little bit to the 'legend' that he was all natural. You don't go from an 81kg half forward (albeit very powerful already) at Hawthorn in 1982 to 95-100kg without putting in some work over the years. Obviously he put a lot into the skills side of things as well, as well as inheriting some power & speed attributes.

John Kennedy allowed Leigh Matthews to miss a night a week for a period of time after the birth of his child, so perhaps we can say not all footballers are created equal.

On the 'character' stuff, it doesn't matter to me when comparing on field champions. I find judging too much a bit of slippery slope, and perhaps a position we hold today might not be one we'll hold in the future depending on the circumstances life throws at you and those around you. Remembering Gary had a series of run-ins with the police & a fairly serious (& seemingly drug-related) grievous bodily harm charge/conviction BEFORE Geelong even recruited him for 1984. So I suppose if he shattered anyone's belief of him as anything other than a troubled guy in 2000, it's really only because people had propped him up to where he didn't belong in the first place. Even guys who seem like 'champions off the field' now may turn out not be so in future. I suppose the worst case is when people actively promote themselves as champions on & off the field of sport, only for the myth to be shattered at some stage. Not sure Ablett did that to any great extent if at all, he might have had a few people wishing he could be that way.

 

[The rabbi]

Maybe i let myself get too worked up - but this is such bullshit. Have you ever had a conversation with Gary Rabbi? He is actually quite articulate. The way people just make assumption facts, based on a 5 second media grab is outrageous.

My comment about him not being very articulate is mainly due to some of his comments about evolution in an excerpt in the News paper.
He is certainly no dummy, but he does not have a very good grasp on the issues relating to religion and the sciences. But as I said before, I wouldn't expect him to. He is a retired footballer who did not have much of an education. I cannot imagine him reading Dawkins or even Simon Conway-Morris for that matter.

Have you ever had a conversation with Gary Rabbi?

I really don't like to state these type of things publicly so I will say this and no more.
He was boarding in the same house that I rented with some mates in Highton for quite some time.
It is very hard to spend time with people who share the same abode and not have conversations at some stage.

Any further questions to me, by anyone, that relate to the personal life of Gary will not be responded to.

 

[FredLeDeux]

Spot on VDubs. The opinionated know it all atheists around the place shit me to tears. On one hand they carry on like little bitches if they and their opinion arent respected. But good luck trying to get them to respect another persons difference of opinion.

Everybody is entitled to have others respect their right to their own opinion.
Nobody is entitled to have their actual opinions respected.