Junior vs Senior

[Robbo92]

First time posting a poll, just wanted to get an understanding of how most people rate the two Abletts.
I am probably a bit too young to remember Senior in his prime, but for me Junior is probably the best player I've watched extensively. Interested to know what others think. I am aware of the fact there may have been a similar poll to this in the past, but I couldn't find anything.

 

[Pykie]

Gablett Jnr is the best midfielder of the modern era.

Will go down as an absolute great, I rate him above all the modern greats, Voss, Hird, Buckley and he can sit aside the older legends like Bobby Skilton, Dick Reynolds and co, he is in that class.

His father sits on the pedastool above though imo, nicknamed God for a reason, I think along with Carey and Matthews, these three were so different, but just so insanely dominant.

Jnrs record is just about the greatest of all time, in terms of Brownlow votes, MVP's etc, disposal records etc, he's a terrifically consistent player; but I think he only shows the occasional flash of his fathers greatness.

When he drills 2 or 3 goals from the boundary it makes me think of his father, and consider the comparison, but it usually ends there.

It's strange, but I think the 90's was pretty much the golden era of football, when it wasn't over officiated, there was still brutal physicality, no floods, one-on-one contested marking, high goal scoring end to end battles.

Jnr's been such an insanely dominant player at times, it makes me think that unless a true once in a lifetime player comes along, we may sturggle to see anyone touch the heights of Ablett and Carey in the 90's.

It was pretty much right players right era, to see how truly great they were, and I don't think I will see it again in my lifetime.....

 

[Monkey King]

Senior hands down.

 

[HolyWars]

The old man, but junior can still catch him imo. Junior will no question be a Hall of Famer like his dad, and perhaps both will one day be Legends.

 

[Egga]

I can't vote on this. Both too great to be true. Jnr has probably been more consistent for longer, but how can you go past a player dubbed "God" by the whole football watching world?

 

[mavcib]

Senior hands down.

Junior easily , going on the way all you muppets voted in the past on Buckley 0,Voss 3,And Hirdy 2 premierships ..
Better players win premierships ,so it's junior 3 then Nathan Ablett 1 >>>>>>>>>>>>>and senior 0 premierships ...
Just going with the trend of how people vote on here ...

 

[OrdinaryJoel]

Junior easily , going on the way all you muppets voted in the past on Buckley 0,Voss 3,And Hirdy 2 premierships ..
Better players win premierships ,so it's junior 3 then Nathan Ablett 1 >>>>>>>>>>>>>and senior 0 premierships ...
Just going with the trend of how people vote on here ...

Thanks for apparently 'representing' the muppets, but what about your own preference? Is it Junior or Senior?

For what it's worth, I'd have Senior as the better of the pair. He may not've won on the big stage, but to perform on the big stage classifies him as a legend to never win a flag.

 

[toeknee2]

That is a tough poll.
I went with Junior as most of my live memories of Senior were of him getting beaten by Silvagni.

 

[Cicatriz]

Junior easily , going on the way all you muppets voted in the past on Buckley 0,Voss 3,And Hirdy 2 premierships ..
Better players win premierships ,so it's junior 3 then Nathan Ablett 1 >>>>>>>>>>>>>and senior 0 premierships ...
Just going with the trend of how people vote on here ...

When did junior play in his third flag?

 

[mavcib]

When did junior play in his third flag?

Oh that's right my bad .. He jump ship the money hungry mum roll on just like juda$$$ ..
Money over flags ..

 

[Power Raid]

senior was the greatest until junior came along

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

Never really got to see Ablett Snr play.

 

[Claude Balls]

That is a tough poll.
I went with Junior as most of my live memories of Senior were of him getting beaten by Silvagni.

Every so subtle.

 

[The Dice Man]

Im reserving judgment until the end of JNRs career. Ask me a year ago and Id say SNR, but I want to see what JNR does as he traverses the twilights of his career. He could kick 80 in a fwd line as a small fwd for years.

Jurys out.

 

[The Dice Man]

You saw them both play for your club too footscore. 2 of the best players of the modern era, along with Carey.

 

[juss]

I didn't see enough of Senior, was born too late to remember his best. But Jnr is the best midfielder I've ever seen.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

The old man, but junior can still catch him imo. Junior will no question be a Hall of Famer like his dad, and perhaps both will one day be Legends.

He's already surpassed the old man in team and individual accolades but will never be a better footballer than his dad was. I'm in my mid 40s now and would be extremely lucky if I ever saw a player as gifted as Snr again in my lifetime.

That's just how it is.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

I can't remember much of GAS except that he used to tear us a new one quite a bit (which made me dislike him growing up lol). GAJ I've been lucky enough to see play through his prime years - impossible to say who is better. I think you could almost say they are the best F/S duo to play the game though.

 

[pacman]

Snr's best was better but Jnr does it way more often.
Jnr for me.

 

[FFS Kick it]

I still remember Snr that prick great player single handedly slaughtering us. The Gary Ablett snr show was on every time he played the tiges. I would sit and watch and say FFS. As a neutral, he is the only player that I have gone to the footy specifically to watch. Can't say the same about jnr however he is starting to get close.

Every time i watch GC my comments are " there he is again the bald headed trespasser running around getting the footy with no one near him. Surely he is sneaking on the ground when no one is watching. Call security and arrest him for too many possessions."

Both Greats of the game. Ablett snr was the more spectacular like a Ferrari. Jnr like a Rolls Royce.

regards FFS

 

[The Passenger]

i would go senior.

on the weekend that junior matches seniors games tally, you can make a few comparisons but they aren't entirely true comparisons as senior didn't make his geelong debut till he was 22, and senior missed quite a lot of games through injury and suspensions only playing 20 games in a season on 6 occasions.

but i did think it was interesting that despite juniors reputation as the ultimate ball getter, that from the same amount of games senior is going to have more kicks per game than junior (not by a lot, they are almost equal), and if we're being honest it's kicks that are really damaging to the opposition. we are also playing in a day and age where there are a lot more handballs per game, started with the west coast and geelong gameplans of the middle of last decade.

on top of that senior averages just over 4 goals a game and junior sits on 1.3. you'd reckon junior is likely to push forward for the final few years of his career like senior, but he isn't going to be kicking 100+ goals a season. more likely he'll be a 50-60 goal a year forward (which is the equivalent of 80-90 20 years ago)...

senior is in the best 4 players i've seen alongside carey, lockett and hird and i didn't even see much of 80's ablett as too young. junior coming in just behind them.