Gary Ablett, Jr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gary Ablett
Gary Ablett
Personal information
Full name	Gary Ablett, Junior
Date of Birth	May 14, 1984 (1984-05-14) (age 24)
Place of Birth	Victoria, Australia
Recruited from	Modewarre / Geelong Falcons
Draft	40th overall (father/son), 2001 Geelong Cats
Height/Weight	182 cm / 86 kg
Position	Midfielder/Forward
Club information
Current club	Geelong cats
Number	29
Playing Career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2002 –	Geelong	135 (178)
¹ Club statistics to end of Round 11, 2008 season
² Representative statistics to end of {{{repstatsend}}} Career highlights AFL AFL Premiership player (2007) Leigh Matthews Trophy as MVP (2007) All-Australian (2007) AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year Award (2007) AFL Media Association Player of the Year Award (2007) Herald Sun Player of the Year Award (2007) The Age Player of the Year Award (2007) AFL Pre-Season NAB Cup Premiership player (2006) AFL Coaches Association Team of the Year (2005) VFL Premiership player (2002) Geelong Football Club Geelong Best and Fairest Winner (2007) 3rd Geelong Best & Fairest (2005, 2006) GFC Leading Goalkicker Award (2006) GFC Most Improved Player Award (2003) TAC Cup Vic Country (2001)

Gary Ablett, Jnr (born May 14, 1984) is an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder/forward at 1.82 metres (6 ft) and 86 kilograms (190 lb), he is the eldest son of AFL Hall of Famer Gary Ablett, Snr. Ablett was part of the Cats' premiership-winning team in 2007. He has also won a Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFLPA MVP, a Carji Greeves Medal, and was selected to the All-Australian side in 2007.

Off the field, he is a co-owner of the award-winning Coggs Brewing Company.

[edit] Career

Gary Ablett, Jr. at Geelong vs Kangaroos, Qualifying Final, 2007

[edit] Early Career

Gary Jr. was picked up by the Cats under the father-son rule and made his senior debut in 2002. He was selected 12 times in his first season and spent half of the year playing in the reserves, highlighted by helping the Geelong VFL side capture the 2002 VFL Premiership against Port Melbourne at Optus Oval.

[edit] 2007

After spending five seasons as a dynamic small forward who occasionally pushed up the ground, Ablett, armed with improved fitness levels and a newfound ability to overcome taggers, made the permanent move to the midfield in 2007, where he has grown to become one of the best and most influential midfielders/forward pocket/rover forward in the game. This was reflected in his outright favouritism in the 2007 Brownlow Medal, awarded to the player adjudged by the umpires as the best and fairest player in the AFL, his sweeping of individual media awards for the season, and his selection as first rover in the 2007 All-Australian team. However, Ablett ultimately lost out on the 2007 Brownlow Medal to his Geelong teammate Jimmy Bartel. Ablett capped off his outstanding year with a solid performance in the record breaking Grand Final win over Port Adelaide. Gary took out a number of media awards and was voted by other players in the AFL as the Most Valuable Player for 2007. He was awarded the Carji Greaves Medal awarded to the best and fairest player in the Geelong Club for 2007. Jimmy Bartel the Brownlow medalist for 2007 was the runner up. Gary's father Gary Ablett Snr received the Carji Greaves medal in 1984, his first year at the club.

[edit] Statistics

Statistics are correct as of Round 11, 2008 season

[edit] Positions

Ablett is mainly a rover, who occasionally pushes to the forward line.

[edit] See also

• List of Australian rules football families

[edit] References

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (August 2007)

[edit] External links

• Gary Ablett, Jr.'s statistics from AFL Tables

• Gary Ablett, Jr. profile on the Official AFL Website of the Geelong Football Club