In part two of an exclusive interview, young Geelong star Gary Ablett discusses his decision to join Geelong, the choice of number 29 over the number five his father made famous with the Cats and looks at his first two years as an AFL player.


Was Geelong always the club you wanted to play for or would you have been happy to go somewhere else where perhaps the pressure would not have been so great?

Geelong was my number one choice. I live around here and could stay at home but if that wasn’t the case I was willing to go somewhere else. But if Geelong thought I was good enough then I wanted to play here.

Did the club talk to you much about coming down?

We had a couple of meetings before I got drafted and talked about a few things. I felt comfortable and think we are both happy that I am here.


You spent a lot of time at Skilled Stadium as a kid. You must have some good memories of being here as a kid?

It was like coming home. All the boys have been fantastic. I have a lot of memories of being here. It’s not the same guys obviously that were around when my dad was playing, but I do have a lot of good memories of being here and in the rooms.


Last season was your first year in the AFL. What sort of expectations did you place on yourself?

It was to play a senior game. That was my goal. I got that, I played the first 10 games so I thought I was going pretty well, but in the end I just got two in the second half of the year. That was my goal and I was pretty happy with my first year.


Were you surprised to get picked for that first game against Essendon?

It was that long ago I can’t even remember! Mark said I was pretty close to getting a game in the pre-season cup and he gave a few of the other young guys a go, and then he said you’ve been playing good enough footy in the reserves and we’ll give you a chance. He gave me a chance in a practice match and I played that one, then we went up to Adelaide and I played again. Then I got picked for round one.


That first game was one to remember. There were over 50,000 fans on hand and I guess it was an atmosphere that you wouldn’t have experienced before.

It was amazing. I really found it hard to concentrate. It was pretty overwhelming. I can still remember running into goal and stuffing up, but that’s footy for you.


You rotated off the bench a fair bit in your first year. Whenever you ran on there was a huge buzz in the crowd. Did you notice the reaction you caused?

I did notice it in the first couple of games I played but then I learnt to forget about all of that. That was an important thing to be able to shut all that out and I learnt to do that and it’s been a lot easier since.


Your first season was capped off with the VFL premiership. Talk to us about what that meant and has it made you hungrier for more success?

It was awesome. It was something I will never forget, it is difficult to explain just how good it was. It was great to win the VFL but it would be awesome to win the (AFL) premiership. That’s the goal.


Geelong has the youngest list in the AFL. Does it help to have so many teammates that are around the same age as you?

It did help, especially the year I got drafted. There were seven or eight young blokes all coming in from the draft so that made it that little bit easier. We are a really tight group. Dave Johnson’s place is like a half way house. You can normally find a few of the boys around there.


Turning to this season. Did you set yourself goals for 2003 and have you met or exceeded them?

Coming into the season, I just wanted to play more senior games than I did last year. I would have been happy if I got 13 for the year, but I’ve got 20 now so my goal is to play every game for the year.


How is your relationship with Mark Thompson and how do you find his style?

He’s really good. He’s easy to talk to and I think most of the blokes find him that way. I learn new stuff everyday from him and he knows what he’s talking about.


You are only 19 now, but look ahead at your career. Do you think you will still be playing in 15 years?

I’d like to play 10-12 more years but you can never tell these days with injuries and those sought of things. I just play it each week and see what happens. But I would love to play for as long as I can here at Geelong.


There was a huge expectation when you joined the club and a lot of people thought you would wear number five. How did you end up with number 29?

I didn’t really choose number 29. I didn’t mind what number I got to start with as long as it wasn’t number five. It would have added that bit more pressure that was already on me and I just wanted to make my own mark and make my own number and they gave me 29. I’m pretty happy with 29 and I think I will keep it for the next couple of years at least.


There are a lot of kids with number 29 on their backs at games these days. That must make you feel pretty good.

Ken Hinkley was a popular player here!