Will Gazza come back ?

[Senatorguesty]

I see the situation as akin to a husband who is a highly successful man (Ablett) who has become bored with his wife (GFC) and left her for a younger and more attractive woman (GCS). He lied to his wife through out their final year together all while he was getting everything organised with this new younger woman who was soon to be the new focus in his life.

That faitful day arrived when he announced to his wife that he was leaving her for a younger woman. His reasoning was an insincere and contrived speil about how he had achieved everything he could in the relationship and that he didn't see how it was possible that she could offer him anything worth hanging around for. As heart broken as she was, she knew that this day was coming, and was actually quite relieved that the lies were over and she could just move on.

After the betrayal, she had to endure further heartache as a long time close friend and mentor walked out on her under similar circumstances, citing a lot of odd emotions before finally returning to his roots to a place where who grew up (Bomber Thompson). But when one door closes, another one opens, and so with the help and support of a great family (Cook, Costa, Balme and co), a new friend and mentor came along into her life (Chris Scott) with an immediate impact.

With the help of her new friend and mentor, she had finally got her life back on track and her focus turned completely back to doing those things that she does best in her life. At that point where she had accepted and moved on from all the heartache, it dawned on her that she was actually better off without her husband. She was achieving and accomplishing so many things that she never realised she could before, due to her controling husband taking all the glory for everything.

Things were not so rosey up north, where her ex husband had moved to live the glamour life with his glamour girlfriend. Serious cracks were starting to appear in the relationship, as it dawned on him that his younger girlfriend, who had been gifted with the best of everything life had to offer from her extremely wealthy and persuasive father (Demetriou), was just a young and immature girl with no life experience. He had come to the realisation that to make it work, the relationship was going to need time and a lot of hard work as well as a lot of patience. After all, she is just a niave kid who needs time grows up and nurturing to reach her potential.

As time goes on and the ex wife has almost reached the pinnacle of her craft, something the ex husband never saw happening again, he starts to question whether he had made the right choice in leaving her. He starts to question himself about whether it was actually him holding her back rather than the other way around. This disillusionment becomes so strong that he couldn't bare to see his ex reach the pinnacle without him being a part of it that he leaves the country to get away from it all.

He returns to the country after all the fanfare is over, hoping for a fresh start himself. Things could not have gone worse. He finds out that his brother has been shafted, and that in the process he may have been duped as she set his brother up with a job only to get what she was after and then dump the brother once he was in too deep to get out of the relationship. It is almost as if he has finally realised what he actually lost, but he had to let it go first to realise this. He has probably by now realised as well that if it were not for his ex, he wouldn't be the man he is today. Something which his current girlfriend would never have been able to make him.

He may well think that by himself he has been equipped with the tools to succeed in this relationship, but as a team he achieved so much more with his ex than with his new girlfriend. He can now see that the rest of his years in his prime will be spent nurturing her, when he could now have been spending the rest of his prime enjoying the fruits of success and preparing himself for a long and happy retirement with the childhood sweetheart who he had grown up with and known all his life due to his fathers extensive and successful involvement with her family. But he has made his bed, now he has to lie in it...

As for the ex wife, things have never looked better. 18 months on and so much has been achieved in so little time. So much confidence and self belief has been gained from being able to get up after being kicked while she was down and written off as a lost cause by the public who thought she would never recover. No one will ever question again her heart and will as she has proven to the world she is stronger than just about anything else that exists within it.

Now when you look at it from the perspective of this analagy, do you really see the ex wife letting her husband back into her life? No, I didn't think so either. She has forgiven, but definitely not forgotten. She will speak to him, hell she will probabaly catch up for a coffee, and undoubtedly wishes no ill on him, for she still loves him deep down and chrishes all the good times together, but she can not trust him ever again and knows that to let him back into her life in any capacity like previous (wearing the blue and white hoops) would serve no benefit at all, and something which he certainly does not deserve. So Gaz, like the husband, is just part of what was great, but nonetheless now history.

thats actually quite a fitting analogy I think.
Well done!

 

[catman 71]

I was sorry to lose Gazza to that stupid team, but was more annoyed that Demetriou worked it out so that GC had every avenue to grab him.

That being said, I still admire Gary Ablett as a player, but now it is more like I admire Buddy Franklin or Chris Judd as a player. They have great skills, but I don't want them doing well against us.

However, red and gold isn't his colour. He would look better fitted out in white with blue hoops.

People who hold a grudge like that must also hold a grudge against Doug Wade, who left us to go to North Melbourne for more money. Or they are the type who boo Leigh Colbert when he is boundary-riding for leaving us high and dry.

I am sorry to see Gazza and Bomber leave, but they haven't hurt us. We got a great new coach and have won a flag without them. I think that it has also allowed Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood to increase their own game, instead of "protecting Gazza", James Kelly has improved markedly and if Gazza had stayed, a great young player like Allen Christensen would not have played in the GF last year. So it's all good.

How good it would have been though last Monday against the Hawks to have had Gazza kicking to Hawkins and Pods when both are in-form.

To those who are angry at those who left us high and dry, just remember, "Success is the best revenge" and we had the success, while Gold Coast (with Gazza) and Essendon (with Bomber) didn't.

 

[catman 71]

thats actually quite a fitting analogy I think.
Well done!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

That analogy also fits Mark "Bomber" Thompson, both figuratively and literally, as he left his wife for another woman.

So "commitment" isn't "Bomber's" middle name.

 

[CamTinley]

I see the situation as akin to a husband who is a highly successful man (Ablett) who has become bored with his wife (GFC) and left her for a younger and more attractive woman (GCS). He lied to his wife through out their final year together all while he was getting everything organised with this new younger woman who was soon to be the new focus in his life.

That faitful day arrived when he announced to his wife that he was leaving her for a younger woman. His reasoning was an insincere and contrived speil about how he had achieved everything he could in the relationship and that he didn't see how it was possible that she could offer him anything worth hanging around for. As heart broken as she was, she knew that this day was coming, and was actually quite relieved that the lies were over and she could just move on.

After the betrayal, she had to endure further heartache as a long time close friend and mentor walked out on her under similar circumstances, citing a lot of odd emotions before finally returning to his roots to a place where who grew up (Bomber Thompson). But when one door closes, another one opens, and so with the help and support of a great family (Cook, Costa, Balme and co), a new friend and mentor came along into her life (Chris Scott) with an immediate impact.

With the help of her new friend and mentor, she had finally got her life back on track and her focus turned completely back to doing those things that she does best in her life. At that point where she had accepted and moved on from all the heartache, it dawned on her that she was actually better off without her husband. She was achieving and accomplishing so many things that she never realised she could before, due to her controling husband taking all the glory for everything.

Things were not so rosey up north, where her ex husband had moved to live the glamour life with his glamour girlfriend. Serious cracks were starting to appear in the relationship, as it dawned on him that his younger girlfriend, who had been gifted with the best of everything life had to offer from her extremely wealthy and persuasive father (Demetriou), was just a young and immature girl with no life experience. He had come to the realisation that to make it work, the relationship was going to need time and a lot of hard work as well as a lot of patience. After all, she is just a niave kid who needs time grows up and nurturing to reach her potential.

As time goes on and the ex wife has almost reached the pinnacle of her craft, something the ex husband never saw happening again, he starts to question whether he had made the right choice in leaving her. He starts to question himself about whether it was actually him holding her back rather than the other way around. This disillusionment becomes so strong that he couldn't bare to see his ex reach the pinnacle without him being a part of it that he leaves the country to get away from it all.

He returns to the country after all the fanfare is over, hoping for a fresh start himself. Things could not have gone worse. He finds out that his brother has been shafted, and that in the process he may have been duped as she set his brother up with a job only to get what she was after and then dump the brother once he was in too deep to get out of the relationship. It is almost as if he has finally realised what he actually lost, but he had to let it go first to realise this. He has probably by now realised as well that if it were not for his ex, he wouldn't be the man he is today. Something which his current girlfriend would never have been able to make him.

He may well think that by himself he has been equipped with the tools to succeed in this relationship, but as a team he achieved so much more with his ex than with his new girlfriend. He can now see that the rest of his years in his prime will be spent nurturing her, when he could now have been spending the rest of his prime enjoying the fruits of success and preparing himself for a long and happy retirement with the childhood sweetheart who he had grown up with and known all his life due to his fathers extensive and successful involvement with her family. But he has made his bed, now he has to lie in it...

As for the ex wife, things have never looked better. 18 months on and so much has been achieved in so little time. So much confidence and self belief has been gained from being able to get up after being kicked while she was down and written off as a lost cause by the public who thought she would never recover. No one will ever question again her heart and will as she has proven to the world she is stronger than just about anything else that exists within it.

Now when you look at it from the perspective of this analagy, do you really see the ex wife letting her husband back into her life? No, I didn't think so either. She has forgiven, but definitely not forgotten. She will speak to him, hell she will probabaly catch up for a coffee, and undoubtedly wishes no ill on him, for she still loves him deep down and chrishes all the good times together, but she can not trust him ever again and knows that to let him back into her life in any capacity like previous (wearing the blue and white hoops) would serve no benefit at all, and something which he certainly does not deserve. So Gaz, like the husband, is just part of what was great, but nonetheless now history.

This is brilliant

Bomber Thompson played more of a role as marriage guidance counsellor (to GAJ) while having a bit on the side.

 

[romeoh]

I'm not abusing the difference of opinion, I'm abusing how some people choose express that opinion.

I would also love to hear who you personally know at the club who would disprove the comments I made?

The reality is, the boys would accept Gaz back.

Well it already been said in that marvellous analogy and technically speaking the burden of proof rests with you I believe, however that is by the by. (And I don't know anyone at the club- but not the point.)
Isn't it more complex than that-the point is can you speak for all the players, all the admin, all the coaching staff and all the supporters? If we look at the posting on this idea, it is about half/half-people are either holding onto their anger or have simply moved on or would love him back-and unless there is serious majority support for the return of the prodigal son, then isn't it too divisive? The club is so stable and that is such a crucial factor in the success of the era and why would anyone want to upset that especially when we don't need him?

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I see the situation as akin to a husband who is a highly successful man (Ablett) who has become bored with his wife (GFC) and left her for a younger and more attractive woman (GCS). He lied to his wife through out their final year together all while he was getting everything organised with this new younger woman who was soon to be the new focus in his life.

Now when you look at it from the perspective of this analagy, do you really see the ex wife letting her husband back into her life? So Gaz, like the husband, is just part of what was great, but nonetheless history now.

You seriously think if Ablett is still an AA-level player in his early 30s and wants to come back to Geelong for, say, 350k a year for two years, Geelong would react like a jilted ex-wife? Wow...I hope they're not that petty.

And again, what was he supposed to do with regards to telling Geelong his decision (assuming he had already made it while he was playing with the Cats)? AFL rules prohibited him from handling it any other way. All he did was play like an absolute professional for the entire year and block everything else out.

 

[Strangled Cat]

You seriously think if Ablett is still an AA-level player in his early 30s and wants to come back to Geelong for, say, 350k a year for two years, Geelong would react like a jilted ex-wife? Wow...I hope they're not that petty.

And again, what was he supposed to do with regards to telling Geelong his decision (assuming he had already made it while he was playing with the Cats)? AFL rules prohibited him from handling it any other way. All he did was play like an absolute professional for the entire year and block everything else out.

I do not think at the age of 31 he will be an AA player. But even if he is, I very much doubt that he'd want to come back that late for that little money. He won't spend 5 years on the GC list getting flogging after flogging just to leave when they may be showing a bit of upside if he thinks he can still produce the goods and contribute. If the planets align for those Ablett apologists and he's an AA player at 31 who wants to come back and play for unders with the Cats, do I think that the GFC would even want him back? I honestly do not think so. I really do believe that he will be welcome back to the club in just about every capacity except playing for in the blue and white hoops.

As for AFL rules prohibiting players from saying where they were going the following year prior to the completion of the season, that's the first I've heard of that. I didn't actually realise that deception was a prerequisite for signing on to an expansion club. The AFL really are a bunch of dirty pricks, aren't they? So that leaves me with one question though, when Bock announced 2 rounds before the end of the season to the Crows that he was heading north to chase the surf (and the $$$), what was the repercussions from the AFL for doing that? The only consequence that I can recall for Bock was that the Crows refused to play him for the last 2 games of the year.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I do not think at the age of 31 he will be an AA player.

That's in three years time. He could have a significant drop off between now and then and still be an AA-calibre player, considering he is, you know, the best player in the league right now (in his late 20s) and everything.

But even if he is, I very much doubt that he'd want to come back that late for that little money. He won't spend 5 years on the GC list getting flogging after flogging just to leave when they may be showing a bit of upside if he thinks he can still produce the goods and contribute.

Are you serious? I suggest you re-read your analogy, because you've suggested pretty much the exact opposite there, that he would be pining for Geelong to take him back and they would refuse to accept. If he would never want to come back, then who cares how the Geelong Football Club reacts? It seems you've written a thousand words about a broken relationship in which neither party wants the other back.

If the planets align for those Ablett apologists and he's an AA player at 31 who wants to come back and play for unders with the Cats, do I think that the GFC would even want him back? I honestly do not think so. I really do believe that he will be welcome back to the club in just about every capacity except playing for in the blue and white hoops.

I guess we'll agree to disagree then. If Ablett wanted to come back and he still had two years left in the tank, the Cats would snap him up in a heartbeat, if they could afford him. The players are still friends with him and have the utmost respect for him. And these are people who accepted less money to try to keep the group together. His ex-teammates love the guy and keep in regular touch with him, not to keep up appearances, but because they are still friends and will always be friends.

As for AFL rules prohibiting players from saying where they were going the following year prior to the completion of the season, that's the first I've heard of that. I didn't actually realise that deception was a prerequisite for signing on to an expansion club. The AFL really are a bunch of dirty pricks, aren't they? So that leaves me with one question though, when Bock announced 2 rounds before the end of the season to the Crows that he was heading north to chase the surf (and the $$$), what was the repercussions from the AFL for doing that? The only consequence that I can recall for Bock was that the Crows refused to play him for the last 2 games of the year.

There was a 'window' for the Suns and now the Giants to sign uncontracted players to deals to tie them to the expansion clubs. Hence the dreaded proclamation of any uncontracted player from your own club that he is 'putting off contract talks until the end of the season.'

Here is an example of how the Giants circumvented it with Davis:

http://tensport.com.au/news/theroar/AFL-Eddie-McGuire-unleashes-on-cheating-GWS.htm

While Davis announced his future to the Adelaide Crows, the waters were muddied by an unusual statement from GWS chief executive Dave Holmes, who actively attempted to frame his club as playing by the AFL’s strict uncontracted players rules:

“Under the AFL rules regarding uncontracted players, we are not in a position to officially agree to terms or come to any arrangement, agreement or understanding with Phil and his management team until after the conclusion of the season,” Holmes said.

“We discussed an opportunity with Phil’s management during the year, however that is all we are able to confirm at this stage of the season.”

http://tensport.com.au/news/theroar/AFL-Eddie-McGuire-unleashes-on-cheating-GWS.htm

Of course, the AFL is loath to dig any deeper, because if the happen to find any improprieties, they would be obliged to send the Bocks, Davises and Abletts of the world back to their original clubs, leaving their precious new franchises in developing markets as lambs to the slaughter.

Besides, Ablett has maintained that he only came to his decision during the trade period. Whether we believe it or not, there is little that we can say to disprove that, apart from our own suspicions (the Suns membership advertisement, with a picture of Ablett's head photoshopped on a Gold Coast player's body and Ablett's refusal to speak out against it; the fire sale of Ablett senior and Ablett junior Geelong memorabillia).

I can't think of a single player who has made it clear that he is leaving, while still being part of a team that is contending that season. Bock was part of a Crows side where it didn't matter if he played the last two games or not, Davis was injured and also part of a crappy Crows team. Would we really have been happier had Ablett taken the Braith Anasta path? I prefer the way we do it, thanks. And the AFL isn't the slightest bit interested in making their expansion teams less competitive than they already are. The Geelong-supporting public would not have viewed him any more positively now than they currently do, but by telling the world in May, 2010, he could quite conceiveably have derailed the season even more than it was already derailed by the speculation.

 

[Cool Cat]

I see the situation as akin to a husband who is a highly successful man (Ablett) who has become bored with his wife (GFC) and left her for a younger and more attractive woman (GCS). He lied to his wife through out their final year together all while he was getting everything organised with this new younger woman who was soon to be the new focus in his life.

That faitful day arrived when he announced to his wife that he was leaving her for a younger woman. His reasoning was an insincere and contrived speil about how he had achieved everything he could in the relationship and that he didn't see how it was possible that she could offer him anything worth hanging around for. As heart broken as she was, she knew that this day was coming, and was actually quite relieved that the lies were over and she could just move on.

After the betrayal, she had to endure further heartache as a long time close friend and mentor walked out on her under similar circumstances, citing a lot of odd emotions before finally returning to his roots to a place where who grew up (Bomber Thompson). But when one door closes, another one opens, and so with the help and support of a great family (Cook, Costa, Balme and co), a new friend and mentor came along into her life (Chris Scott) with an immediate impact.

With the help of her new friend and mentor, she had finally got her life back on track and her focus turned completely back to doing those things that she does best in her life. At that point where she had accepted and moved on from all the heartache, it dawned on her that she was actually better off without her husband. She was achieving and accomplishing so many things that she never realised she could before, due to her controling husband taking all the glory for everything.

Things were not so rosey up north, where her ex husband had moved to live the glamour life with his glamour girlfriend. Serious cracks were starting to appear in the relationship, as it dawned on him that his younger girlfriend, who had been gifted with the best of everything life had to offer from her extremely wealthy and persuasive father (Demetriou), was just a young and immature girl with no life experience. He had come to the realisation that to make it work, the relationship was going to need time and a lot of hard work as well as a lot of patience. After all, she is just a niave kid who needs time to grow up and nurturing to reach her potential.

As time goes on and the ex wife has almost reached the pinnacle of her craft, something the ex husband never saw happening again, he starts to question whether he had made the right choice in leaving her. He starts to question himself about whether it was actually him holding her back rather than the other way around. This disillusionment becomes so strong that he couldn't bare to see his ex reach the pinnacle without him being a part of it that he leaves the country to get away from it all.

He returns to the country after all the fanfare is over, hoping for a fresh start himself. Things could not have gone worse. He finds out that his brother has been shafted, and that in the process he may have been duped as she set his brother up with a job only to get what she was after and then dump the brother once he was in too deep to get out of the relationship. It is almost as if he has finally realised what he actually lost, but he had to let it go first to realise this. He has probably by now realised as well that if it were not for his ex, he wouldn't be the man he is today. Something which his current girlfriend would never have been able to make him.

He may well think that by himself he has been equipped with the tools to succeed in this relationship, but as a team he achieved so much more with his ex than with his new girlfriend. He can now see that the rest of his years in his prime will be spent nurturing her, when he could now have been spending the rest of his prime enjoying the fruits of success and preparing himself for a long and happy retirement with the childhood sweetheart who he had grown up with and known all his life due to his fathers extensive and successful involvement with her family. But he has made his bed, now he has to lie in it...

As for the ex wife, things have never looked better. 18 months on and so much has been achieved in so little time. So much confidence and self belief has been gained from being able to get up after being kicked while she was down and written off as a lost cause by the public who thought she would never recover. No one will ever question again her heart and will as she has proven to the world she is stronger than just about anything else that exists within it.

Now when you look at it from the perspective of this analagy, do you really see the ex wife letting her husband back into her life? No, I didn't think so either. She has forgiven, but definitely not forgotten. She will speak to him, hell she will probabaly catch up for a coffee, and undoubtedly wishes no ill on him, for she still loves him deep down and cherishes all the good times together, but she can not trust him ever again and knows that to let him back into her life in any capacity like previous (wearing the blue and white hoops) would serve no benefit at all, and something which he certainly does not deserve. So Gaz, like the husband, is just part of what was great, but nonetheless history now.

This. Well done, great analogy. And you have said it all in a way that will not piss anyone off (unlike my earlier efforts lol). I hope this can help others see why many of us feel that there can never be any going back. The wife would only take the husband back in this situation if she had low self esteem or no self respect. Our club has both qualities in bucketfuls these days.

 

[Cool Cat]

I was sorry to lose Gazza to that stupid team, but was more annoyed that Demetriou worked it out so that GC had every avenue to grab him.

That being said, I still admire Gary Ablett as a player, but now it is more like I admire Buddy Franklin or Chris Judd as a player. They have great skills, but I don't want them doing well against us.

However, red and gold isn't his colour. He would look better fitted out in white with blue hoops.

People who hold a grudge like that must also hold a grudge against Doug Wade, who left us to go to North Melbourne for more money. Or they are the type who boo Leigh Colbert when he is boundary-riding for leaving us high and dry.

I am sorry to see Gazza and Bomber leave, but they haven't hurt us. We got a great new coach and have won a flag without them. I think that it has also allowed Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood to increase their own game, instead of "protecting Gazza", James Kelly has improved markedly and if Gazza had stayed, a great young player like Allen Christensen would not have played in the GF last year. So it's all good.

How good it would have been though last Monday against the Hawks to have had Gazza kicking to Hawkins and Pods when both are in-form.

To those who are angry at those who left us high and dry, just remember, "Success is the best revenge" and we had the success, while Gold Coast (with Gazza) and Essendon (with Bomber) didn't.

To clarify, I feel the same way. Good luck to gaz, I enjoy watching him play and will do for years to come - unfortunately, the way things were set up, he had to betray us to get to where he wanted to be, and that was a situation not entirely of his making. However, it is what it is now, and if anyone thinks there is any going back they are either deluded, or hopeless romantics (not necessarily a bad thing). But it's time to move on now and enjoy what we've got. It's been very satisfying seeing the cats do extraordinarily well despite the setbacks of late 2010.

 

[Grizzly_82]

The fact that Gaz chased them and not the other way round make me think the club wouldn't welcome him back as a player.

Can't forgive him for chassing the suns and pretending for over a year that he didn't know what to do, never mind the comment he made that if the suns win a flag it'll mean more the the '07 and '09 flag.

Enjoy the money, I can only hope you never win another flag ever.

 

[LifeSpan-Void]

If any of you genuinely believe that Gary will move back to dreary old Geelong from gorgeous sunny Gold Coast then you've got rocks in your head. He loves the lifestyle that getting paid so much affords him, he tweeted as much just before he announced his move to GC.

 

[Grizzly_82]

He can stay the **** up there... Never seen a player so keen to leave after winning a flag. Besides his lazy brother... Hmmm must be in the blood

 

[Turbocat]

Strangled , nice post. Fan of Mad Men? Sounds like one of their episodes

Anyway , since this is not an actual marriage where both parties where on equal ground , I'm not sure its the perfect analogy. Im not sure its the ex wife so much as the ex husband. Don't see him wanting to come back.Ablett back to Geelong just sounds to much Snow White and & the wicked Witch or something. Its a fairytale ending that some would like and as we know fairytale ending are rare in AFL. Take the emotion out this its tale of money and power , and the money is up north.

Where the analogy falls down I think is the nurturing of the new girlfriend while the old wife goes from strength to strength. I have no reason to doubt that by the time his 5 year contract is up , the girlfriend will be doing quite nicely , on and off the ground.Will GC be in a better place than us in 2015? Who knows but I highly doubt the AFL sitting on their hands if they dont start to climb. The would want to be finalists by 2015. If not the AFL will intercede , they have to much riding on it. Its a stacked deck and part of that will mean GA as highly paid player then coach , then so be it.

Re Geelong , GA may well be a player that would be worth having in any side at 31. His old m.an moved to FF at that age and started kicking goals. GA may do something similar. Geelong being pragmatic may well consider doing it if Ablett wanted to come back. But I dont see that happening, for just like with the Rugby converts , it will be in several parties interest to keep GA up there and happy.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Strangled , nice post. Fan of Mad Men? Sounds like one of their episodes

Sounds a lot more like Bill Simmons in this article to me (the first mailbag response)...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/021010

 

[Scottland2007]

I'll start this by saying Gaz is a great player, but Geelong has not suffered for his leaving. (you could argue 2010 was a distraction, just as you could argue we wouldn't have won 09 granny without losing 08, it's all speculation). Geelong have a history of training up players and not pulling them from other clubs. Ottens I believe was the last player we traded in. Geelong don't have a history of bringing in elder players either, with the exception of Orren, who I don't think we would have got if Blake played on, Mummy stayed and basically our ruck stocks didn't go from "chocolates to boiled lollies". The other player is Pods, who i guess came to replace Nablett and when Tomohawk was developing a bit slower. We don't have a history of picking up older players, so it is unlikely we get Ablett back, unless we were still a chance at a flag but missing a good midfielder. I think it is unlikely.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Ottens I believe was the last player we traded in. Geelong don't have a history of bringing in elder players either, with the exception of Orren, who I don't think we would have got if Blake played on, Mummy stayed and basically our ruck stocks didn't go from "chocolates to boiled lollies". The other player is Pods, who i guess came to replace Nablett and when Tomohawk was developing a bit slower. We don't have a history of picking up older players, so it is unlikely we get Ablett back, unless we were still a chance at a flag but missing a good midfielder. I think it is unlikely.

We traded for Drum in 2009. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if we have a sniff around for an experienced ruckman and/or a big defender in the 2012 trade week.

 

[Scottland2007]

We traded for Drum in 2009. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if we have a sniff around for an experienced ruckman and/or a big defender in the 2012 trade week.

Your right about Drum. I think we would look to trade in a ruckman if Vardy and Simpson didnt recover from their injuries.

 

[Boxhead_31]

Your right about Drum. I think we would look to trade in a ruckman if Vardy and Simpson didnt recover from their injuries.

Not sure there are going to be too many available at the end of the year, but if we do go after one what do we give up to get one? For if it comes down to the PSD GWS and GC hold all the cards here again

 

[Strangled Cat]

That's in three years time. He could have a significant drop off between now and then and still be an AA-calibre player, considering he is, you know, the best player in the league right now (in his late 20s) and everything.



Are you serious? I suggest you re-read your analogy, because you've suggested pretty much the exact opposite there, that he would be pining for Geelong to take him back and they would refuse to accept. If he would never want to come back, then who cares how the Geelong Football Club reacts? It seems you've written a thousand words about a broken relationship in which neither party wants the other back.



I guess we'll agree to disagree then. If Ablett wanted to come back and he still had two years left in the tank, the Cats would snap him up in a heartbeat, if they could afford him. The players are still friends with him and have the utmost respect for him. And these are people who accepted less money to try to keep the group together. His ex-teammates love the guy and keep in regular touch with him, not to keep up appearances, but because they are still friends and will always be friends.



There was a 'window' for the Suns and now the Giants to sign uncontracted players to deals to tie them to the expansion clubs. Hence the dreaded proclamation of any uncontracted player from your own club that he is 'putting off contract talks until the end of the season.'

Here is an example of how the Giants circumvented it with Davis:

http://tensport.com.au/news/theroar/AFL-Eddie-McGuire-unleashes-on-cheating-GWS.htm



http://tensport.com.au/news/theroar/AFL-Eddie-McGuire-unleashes-on-cheating-GWS.htm

Of course, the AFL is loath to dig any deeper, because if the happen to find any improprieties, they would be obliged to send the Bocks, Davises and Abletts of the world back to their original clubs, leaving their precious new franchises in developing markets as lambs to the slaughter.

Besides, Ablett has maintained that he only came to his decision during the trade period. Whether we believe it or not, there is little that we can say to disprove that, apart from our own suspicions (the Suns membership advertisement, with a picture of Ablett's head photoshopped on a Gold Coast player's body and Ablett's refusal to speak out against it; the fire sale of Ablett senior and Ablett junior Geelong memorabillia).

I can't think of a single player who has made it clear that he is leaving, while still being part of a team that is contending that season. Bock was part of a Crows side where it didn't matter if he played the last two games or not, Davis was injured and also part of a crappy Crows team. Would we really have been happier had Ablett taken the Braith Anasta path? I prefer the way we do it, thanks. And the AFL isn't the slightest bit interested in making their expansion teams less competitive than they already are. The Geelong-supporting public would not have viewed him any more positively now than they currently do, but by telling the world in May, 2010, he could quite conceiveably have derailed the season even more than it was already derailed by the speculation.

My analogy was about the here and now. Ablett thought he was jumping off a sinking ship and that his dinghy was headed straight to the promise land. Like the whole football world, Ablett would have expected a complete capitulation of the GFC and Bomber leaving would have cemented that feeling. Ablett never thought he would have to deal with the emotions of GFC getting into a Grand Final as I suspect he thought that if we weren't otherwise a train wreck, we would have at least spiralled down a path to self destruction. This I honestly believe is something which I think Gary would have actually handled better than us winning another Premiership, but with the added kick of not needing him to do so.

I honestly believe that Gary found it difficult to deal with the fact that whether he was or wasn't playing for GFC, it made absolutely no difference to the teams performance. This I'm sure made him feel very insignificant. Perhaps maybe, the ethos of the GFC where the team is greater than the individual, never actually made sense to Gary until he saw it for his own eyes. So when the penny did drop, little Gary's ego got hurt just a little bit. He thought he was the lifeblood in a biological system whereby his absence was not consistent with organ survival. But nothing could have been further from the truth in that respect.

You are right about the "thousand words about a broken relationship in which neither party wants the other back" part, because I never said otherwise. The thread title questioned whether Ablett will come back and I say emphatically no. Neither party would have each other back, but that is not to say that to decide against it would be an easy decision for either, as both still have feelings for each other. I answered the question more from the perspective of the "jilted" wife, where she does not need him or his services, as she has not only coped fine without him, but actually become better and stronger.

If you take a look at it from Gary's perspective, I think he thought it would be easier than this. I don't think Gary ever wants to go back, and if you asked him I'm sure he'd say he doesn't regret what he did for himself. But that's not to say that he didn't grossly underestimate some of the consequences for his decisions, ones which I have glossed over before that affected him more than anyone else. Gary's perspective is one that at the completion of 5 years, all the groundwork will have been completed, and GC should be a strong club on paper, and he will have had a lot to do with that. So why would he leave just when the fruit is ripe for the picking?

I watched the GC v Essendon game last night and once again I marvelled at the talent on show from the little master. Whilst I do not take note of stats alone as I feel that's for the Supercoach gurus to worry about, it's amazing to think the Gary for the first time since champion data have been recording stats, went on to have three 40+ possession games in a row, with a third of them being contested. I also have to admit that I was grossly mistaken when I thought that Gary would struggle by himself at the Suns with no protection around him. Even by himself, clubs can't find a suitable tag to curtail his influence.

The one observation that I will make about Gary is that I think he would rather be the big fish in the small pond rather than a big fish fighting with all the other big fish in a bigger pond. He wanted to become a better player for himself, he needed a new challenge (which perhaps involved being a captain as well). Gary has succeeded in doing this, as the football world has stood up and taken notice. He has gone from being a highly skilled player in a well drilled football club with champions all around him, to being an all out superstar amassing record number of possessions whilst showing the young guys how it's done.

One thing is for certain, Gary may well not get another Premiership medallion again, but I suggest he will break a few more records before he retires. He will most likely end up winning every GCS B&F medal consecutively until he retires, as well as winning a Brownlow medal in a side which will finish close to, if not the bottom of the ladder. 22 Premiership medallions are handed out every year, and Gary already has 2 of those. But to have in the trophy cabinet 7 (at a guess) consecutive B&F's, and a brownlow medal won in a losing side, Gary's personal legacy will be forever etched into Footballing folklore. Let's just hope though that if young Gary does miss out on a Brownlow by a whisker, or that there is a years gap in between winning 6 or 7 club B&F's, or that he's not inducted into the hall of fame as a legend in his lifetime, that he can keep his emotions in check. Because, to achieve all of that only to be perceived as a selfish player, would be nothing short of tragic.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

Gary is a champ already fast approaching legendary status and highly respected individual.

To think otherwise is just plain wrong.

I personally believe he will be involved in some capacity at the GFC again. He loves the club and is still clearly on good terms with the core group. He will be welcomed back if he decides to come back, but who knows what the future holds.

I hope we see him playing in the hoops again, if not, I hope we see him come back in some football department. If the club is ever on struggle street again, am sure Ablett will be the first to stick his hand up and help.

Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy watching a great player.

 

[Strangled Cat]

Strangled , nice post. Fan of Mad Men? Sounds like one of their episodes

Anyway , since this is not an actual marriage where both parties where on equal ground , I'm not sure its the perfect analogy. Im not sure its the ex wife so much as the ex husband. Don't see him wanting to come back.Ablett back to Geelong just sounds to much Snow White and & the wicked Witch or something. Its a fairytale ending that some would like and as we know fairytale ending are rare in AFL. Take the emotion out this its tale of money and power , and the money is up north.

Where the analogy falls down I think is the nurturing of the new girlfriend while the old wife goes from strength to strength. I have no reason to doubt that by the time his 5 year contract is up , the girlfriend will be doing quite nicely , on and off the ground.Will GC be in a better place than us in 2015? Who knows but I highly doubt the AFL sitting on their hands if they dont start to climb. The would want to be finalists by 2015. If not the AFL will intercede , they have to much riding on it. Its a stacked deck and part of that will mean GA as highly paid player then coach , then so be it.

Re Geelong , GA may well be a player that would be worth having in any side at 31. His old m.an moved to FF at that age and started kicking goals. GA may do something similar. Geelong being pragmatic may well consider doing it if Ablett wanted to come back. But I dont see that happening, for just like with the Rugby converts , it will be in several parties interest to keep GA up there and happy.

I've never heard of that show so I googled it. Wiki reckons it's on SBS so maybe I'll have to check it out. Reading about it, it actually sounds quite interesting.

I agree with everything you said. We may well be past it by 2015 while GC are just hitting their straps, but that's still more than anyone else expected. We got up for another fight when we were expected to not have any fight left in us at all.

 

[you pick one]

Hallo,wake up, get over it, he's gone, move on get a life after Gaz or shift to the Goldie and follow the Suns.

 

[Stoney]

Gary is a champ already fast approaching legendary status and highly respected individual.

To think otherwise is just plain wrong.

I personally believe he will be involved in some capacity at the GFC again. He loves the club and is still clearly on good terms with the core group. He will be welcomed back if he decides to come back, but who knows what the future holds.

I hope we see him playing in the hoops again, if not, I hope we see him come back in some football department. If the club is ever on struggle street again, am sure Ablett will be the first to stick his hand up and help.

Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy watching a great player.

Agree.

People who label him selfish are obviously distant outsiders who don't actually know the bloke.

Perhaps you should've been down in the Gippsland region when the bushfires were going on, and seen some of the unheralded work this bloke did, assistance this bloke contributed to families who had just lost their houses and livelihoods.

Its things like that which speak greater volumes about the integrity and character of a man, moreso than a decision to switch football clubs.

Its also quite ironic that the Geelong boys have all kept in such close contact and maintain excellent friendships with Gaz, especially if he was really a backstabbing, self-absorbed, selfish, big-fish/small-pond type.

I would've thought that the blokes who knew him best would be in a better position to judge his character than a bunch of sad-sacks on bigfooty?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we need him. Absolutely not. But a lot of dribble gets posted on this site, and people suggesting he wouldn't be welcomed back to the club are grossly misguided.

 

[catman 71]

This is brilliant

Bomber Thompson played more of a role as marriage guidance counsellor (to GAJ) while having a bit on the side.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

It seems that Bomber was having a bit on the side with his actual marriage as well!

It seems the guy doesn't know about commitment!