Universal Love The end is nigh for Gary Ablett; we will never see a player like him again

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Some of us had the pleasure (or misfortune) of watching Gary Albert Sr fly above our heroes & light up the scoreboard while he was dominating our clubs for 14 years. We thought he was one of the greatest players we had ever seen - as prolific a scorer as any that played the game. A once (or twice) in a lifetime type of player! (Jason Dunstall was also a pretty good scorer - I'm a Hawk supporter for 49 years)

Only 5 or 6 years after his father had retired, Gary Ablett Jr burst on to the scene and we soon saw another type of greatness! And his greatness lasted for almost two decades!

There are many opposition players that I have been happy to see retire. Everyone knows the type - annoying players that can make you feel like you have an ant in your underwear.

Gary Albert Jr wasn't that kind of player. It was usually a joy to watch him play - even when he pirouetted through an opposing midfield and served a perfect pass on a platter to a leading forward. Or watching him pounce on a contested ball & quickly split the center of the big sticks! It was artistry! And it didn't matter too much if your club was the victim of his magic! Greatness should always be appreciated!

I was 14000km from Brisbane when I woke up at 3am to watch the Grand Final on Saturday morning. I moved to the US many years ago. (I'm not a fan of the nighttime start - for purely selfish reasons!)
I was soon saddened to realize that I was watching the final game of Junior's great career. When his elbow was driven into the ground, I was pretty certain he'd done his shoulder & that was how his career would end!
Summoning the courage of a champion & utilizing the wonders of modern medicine, he came back on in an attempt to squeeze one more magical performance from his aging body. Sadly, it was not to be!

As I watched the curtain slowly fall on Ablett's career last Saturday, a phrase came to me from the early days of Bigfooty. It often appeared at the end of posts from a mythical poster & huge, imaginary Cats supporter known as Pat Healy. It was always -
"C'MON THE MIGHTY CATS GET IT ON!" If you've been in this forum as long as Gary Albert Jr has starred in the AFL, you might remember Healy. The Healy thread was always interesting & often quite hilarious!

This just seems like an appropriate Bigfooty way to usher Ablett from the AFL! He will be missed! Greatly!

C'MON THE MIGHTY CATS GET IT ON!
 
Not sure if it's been posted but if you pre-order Gaz's book from BigW you can get it for $24 + $3.90 delivery... bargain!

 
I'm not one who ever has inside information on players and all those sort of things.
Except Gaz a little bit.
Easily the nicest and by far the most humble footy player Ive ever met.
And not even for a footy player. Really nice and humble for a normal person.
Wish him well.
 
Is there any media or interviews with him post retirement? Might be a bit recent still. Been through the highlights. So much skill. Didn't think I'd be that bothered when he retired but it actually stung. There was a time there where if I wanted to watch good footy being played I could always trust Gary to entertain. My team certainly fell short at that time 😂

Missed out on seeing his dad. Bloody glad I got to see nearly two decades of Jnr.
 
Thank you Gary Ablett. It’s all been remarkable and lucky to have seen him, lucky to have him play for us. Glad he came back to finish off in Geelong. I don’t expect to see his like again.
 

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