Gary Ablett is the special guest for this year’s AGL Loy Yang NGFNL Grand Final Dinner.
Wednesday 6th September – 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start
Italian Australian Club Morwell
Limited Tickets are available by emailing admin@ngfnl.com.au
Gary Ablett has had a stellar career!
Arguably the greatest player in AFL history, Gary Ablett Jnr will be remembered as one of the true champions of the game. The son of AFL Legend, Gary Ablett Snr, Gary Jnr entered the AFL in 2001 with a huge weight of expectation.
Starting his career as a crafty small forward, who showed nous around goals and tremendous evasive ability, it wasn’t until his 2007 season when he moved into the midfield that everyone realised how good a player he could be. This culminated in Geelong winning the 2007 Premiership over Port Adelaide by 119 points and Gary collecting the following individual awards. AFLPA MVP, AFLCA Player of the Year, All Australian, and Club Best & Fairest.
From 2007 until 2014, Gary was the most dominant player in the game even though during this time he made the huge decision to leave his beloved Cats at the end of 2010 and join the AFL’s newest team, the Gold Coast Suns. This news sent shockwaves through the industry, however in true fashion Gary did not let this affect him. Whilst the first year for the team was a struggle, Gary added his fifth consecutive All Australian jumper and was named Captain, as well as winning the Club Best & Fairest.
As the inaugural Captain of the Club, Gary continued to shoulder much of the load in the first few seasons as his highly talented but younger teammates continued to mature. Winning a second Brownlow Medal in 2013 to add to his first one in 2009, Gary was in peak form in 2014 before suffering a serious shoulder injury in Round 16 which ended his season. Gary’s form until that stage of the year was unrivalled, which was reflected in the Brownlow Medal votes when even though he missed the last 6 games of the season, Gary still finished second and just four votes behind the winner.
Unfortunately the last three seasons at the Gold Coast were hampered by his shoulder injury which he re-injured in 2016. However in true style, when Gary took to the field whether he be injured or not, he would always get the most attention from the opposition yet still manage to play extremely well.
Achievements
• Brownlow Medal 2009 & 2013
• Gold Coast Suns Best & Fairest 2011, 12, 13 & 17
• Geelong Best & Fairest 2007 & 09
• AFLPA MVP 2007, 08, 09, 12 & 13
• All Australian 2007, 08, 09, 10, 11 (c), 12 (vc), 13 (vc), 14
• AFLCA Player of the Year 2007, 08 & 09
• Premiership Player 2007 & 09
• Gold Coast Leading Goal Kicker 2012 & 13
