Gary Ablett snr | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Gary Ablett snr

Great post NYT. Well said.

(And Lethal has gone on record as saying he deeply regrets that Bruns hit.)


How good was that 89 GF. :eek:
 
New York Tiger said:
I believe Gary Ablett was the best football I have seen. I was lucky enough to be at the 1989 Grand Final, and thinking about what Gary did that day still gives me goose bumps. That day he was Geelong, and off his own boot nearly beat an awesome Hawthorn team. I still remember what a Hawthorn supporter behind me said in the 3rd quarter: “If Geelong can get it to him often enough, they will win.”

Our thoughts should go to Alisha Horan’s family, who grieve at the loss of their daughter. As a person, Gary made some terrible choices.

But where do you draw the line? I consider Leigh Matthews hit on Neville Bruns one of the most shocking incidents in football, but he has been awarded the status of AFL Legend. You would hope Leigh regrets doing it, yet is looked over and forgotten.

As a footballer on any ground he played, Gary has done more than enough to enter the Hall of Fame. He was the reason people like me used to attend Geelong games when Richmond were not the opponent.

We all know of Gary’s strong belief in God, let Him decide Gary’s standing as a person.
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Intersting comparisons NYT, are the bruns family grieving as well? and while we are at it, wasnt Gary into the god thing pre the Horan thing? so what happened to his beliefs then? or do those things come out only when excuses are being sought?
 
New York Tiger said:
dmx said:
Intersting comparisons NYT, are the bruns family grieving as well? and while we are at it, wasnt Gary into the god thing pre the Horan thing? so what happened to his beliefs then? or do those things come out only when excuses are being sought?
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Not sure what you mean DMX
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your offering lethals hit on bruns as a comparison to a death of a young girl, along with offering our thoughts to her family, so i figure the bruns family should get out thoughts too huh?. It seems that you rate a hit on a player in the heat of battle on the same level as the death of a young girl.
 
I think your right DMX I'm not sure God rates quite so high with Gazza these days.

I read the Bruns comparison as simply showing that all sorts of things have happened over the years that people regret, Hall of Famers included. There is NO comparison between the two incidents beyond that.

However the fact remains that The Hall of Fame has no moral or broader community rating attached to it's entry conditions. As tragic as the incident was and as appalling as his behaviour was it doesn't change the things he achieved that directly impact on his ability to be nominated. He should have been in years ago but the AFL, I think quite rightly , were sensitive enough not to do it while the Horan issue was so prominent. He should go in now, there's no reason not to do it.
 
To me, Ablett was the greatest footballer I have ever seen. As a person, I think leaves a lot to be desired. The Hall of Fame should be about football acheivements only, in my opinion. If what footballers did in their personal lives entered into it, then to be fair, everyone who has been inducted or be considered to be inducted, should have thorough checks done on them. In this day and age where media coverage has reached saturation levels, I believe it's unfair on modern day players to be under so much scrutiny for every little thing (and I am in no way trying to downplay the death of Alisha Horan, just trying to make a point) they do, while players from the past got away with a lot. I know of plenty of coverups of serious incidents, admittedly second hand, from well known ex-players by influential officials and supporters. It should be one rule for all.
 
Whether he should or shouldn’t be inducted is up for debate I guess, but its another poor reflection on the man that he couldn’t turn up for an event that honours the games very greatest, nor even be bothered to appear on video for it.
 
Should've happened years ago.

Best player I've ever seen by quite a margin.

I still remember well the day he kicked 14 goals against us playing on the wing.Unbeleivable.
 
I must admit I'm fairly perplexed by the Ablett situation. Not in itself but in the philosophy of the situation.
What makes an icon? Is the painted picture ever the truth.
As a football supporter, I couldn't help marvelling at some of the great games that Ablett played for Geelong. However that image is clouded by:
1. The events of Ablett's life in between him being cast out of Hawthorn and arriving at Geelong.
2. Ablett's alleged influence upon the late Alisha Horan.
3. Any apparent influence that he may have had on his daughter, whom I read in the paper today will be appearing in court.

This phenomenon is not unique to Ablett. It was only last week at the Carlton farewell to Princes Park that they revered one of their icons whom was widely alleged as a coach in SA to have gone through the players' pockets in the locker room while they were on the field of play.

Maybe it is the price we have paid from turning the field of sport over from that of amateurs to modern day professionalism. This shouldnt be so as one would believe that the latter should have its own ethos.

Whatever the cause of this paradox is, I will choose to exist in complete ambivalence to any decision the AFL make because,

When do the AFL ever get it right?
 
evo said:
Should've happened years ago.

Best player I've ever seen by quite a margin.

I still remember well the day he kicked 14 goals against us playing on the wing.Unbeleivable.
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Poor Wayne Peters. A lesson on how a coach can destroy a 1st year player.
 
Pardon my ignorance, but what has he done in his personal life to warrant this reputation??

I know he knew someone who had a drug overdose, but so what?
 
I suspect G Ablett partly regrets the HoF induction because it will put the other incident which he also regrets back in the public eye for another round of judgement. I ask you how many know the name of the third person in that hotel room? I don't but whoever it was they don't get dragged through the media every time Abletts undouted talent as a footballer is discussed.
 
It's one of those photographic things that you hold in your mind from when it happens. I was at the game. I remember going aggro about it in the first quarter. Bartlett putting a poor 1st year goalkicking winger on one of the league's stars. Egan may have eventually gone onto him sometime during the match, but the damage was done.

How would we have reacted last year if Frawley had played Fiona on the league's best. And last year wasnt even Fiona's 1st season.

It's a bit like Dunstall kicking goals against John Manton & Michael Laffy. I prefer to remember champions for their efforts against the best, rather than massacring the unfortunate.
 
New York Tiger said:
I thought Phil Egan  played on him... It has been a while...
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Yeah I seem to remember Egan playing on him too.But I'm sure Phantoms memeory would be more reliable than mine.

I think he had a number of opponents that day but he was genuinely playing on the wing,that I'm sure of.

It's strange it's not mentioned more as one of the great games of all time.That and the day Dunstall kicked 17 against us at Waverly are the 2 most impressive idisplays on  a football field I've witnessed.
 
New York Tiger said:
I thought Phil Egan played on him... It has been a while...
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I think Egan was on him when ablett was 'resting' at full forward in the last quarter. Egan took some revenge on him by taking a speccy in the goal square over him.
 
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