- Joined
- Sep 22, 2000
- Posts
- 62,351
- Reaction score
- 41,712
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- Ford
Onya Gaz 
Cats get cream as Ablett signs
Thursday, December 29
Jay Clark
GARY Ablett has signed a new long-term contract that will see him play out the prime of his career at the Geelong Football Club.
Cats' chief executive Brian Cook yesterday said the club was delighted that Ablett had jumped back on board well before his current contract expired at the end of next season.
``Gary was fantastic about it,'' Cook said.
``He probably could have shopped around a bit but he didn't do that at all.
``The original offer we put on the table was fair and reasonable for all parties and we were able to put that one away quite quickly, which is great.''
While Cook would not speculate about how long the contract tied the magical small forward to Geelong, it is understood to be either a three- or four-year deal worth more than $1 mildhlion.
The signing is a massive coup for the Cats, with Ablett coming off his best season in the hoops as one of the competition's premier ball players.
He finished third in Geelong's best and fairest last season with 24 games and 26 goals to his name.
Ablett's manager Michael Baker said Gary was thrilled to re-sign at the club he loved.
``He's really happy at Geelong and he just wanted to get the contract out of the way as quickly as he could,'' Baker said.
``It just gives him an opportunity to concentrate on his footy rather than worrying about all the what-ifs and what-nots.''
Cook said Ablett's signature was a priority for Geelong as the club worked to avoid some of the problems experienced with having so many players out-of-contract last season.
``This year we had a bit of a tough time because we had something like 26 players out-of-contract, whereas next season we've only got about 12,'' he said.
``So we had a few priorities and Gary was the first to get over the line and that is something we are very happy about.''
Cook said the uncertainty surrounding the television rights deal complicated contractual matters last season and were still causing headaches as the AFL moves to strike a new deal with Channel Nine.
Ablett last extended his contract for two years in 2004, which tied him to Geelong until the end of 2006.
Cats get cream as Ablett signs
Thursday, December 29
Jay Clark
GARY Ablett has signed a new long-term contract that will see him play out the prime of his career at the Geelong Football Club.
Cats' chief executive Brian Cook yesterday said the club was delighted that Ablett had jumped back on board well before his current contract expired at the end of next season.
``Gary was fantastic about it,'' Cook said.
``He probably could have shopped around a bit but he didn't do that at all.
``The original offer we put on the table was fair and reasonable for all parties and we were able to put that one away quite quickly, which is great.''
While Cook would not speculate about how long the contract tied the magical small forward to Geelong, it is understood to be either a three- or four-year deal worth more than $1 mildhlion.
The signing is a massive coup for the Cats, with Ablett coming off his best season in the hoops as one of the competition's premier ball players.
He finished third in Geelong's best and fairest last season with 24 games and 26 goals to his name.
Ablett's manager Michael Baker said Gary was thrilled to re-sign at the club he loved.
``He's really happy at Geelong and he just wanted to get the contract out of the way as quickly as he could,'' Baker said.
``It just gives him an opportunity to concentrate on his footy rather than worrying about all the what-ifs and what-nots.''
Cook said Ablett's signature was a priority for Geelong as the club worked to avoid some of the problems experienced with having so many players out-of-contract last season.
``This year we had a bit of a tough time because we had something like 26 players out-of-contract, whereas next season we've only got about 12,'' he said.
``So we had a few priorities and Gary was the first to get over the line and that is something we are very happy about.''
Cook said the uncertainty surrounding the television rights deal complicated contractual matters last season and were still causing headaches as the AFL moves to strike a new deal with Channel Nine.
Ablett last extended his contract for two years in 2004, which tied him to Geelong until the end of 2006.
