HAVING expected Gold Coast to have already played finals football by now, superstar Gary Ablett wants to be there when the Suns do break their duck.

The two-time Brownlow medallist has been plagued by serious shoulder problems in recent years and will not play again in 2016 after suffering another dislocation in the round 16 win over the Brisbane Lions.

There have been persistent rumours of a return to Geelong, the club where he and his famous father and namesake remain revered figures.

But Ablett, 32, fully anticipates seeing out his career with the Suns, who he joined as their initial captain before the start of the 2011 season.

The midfielder admits he seriously considered retirement back in 2014 when he first injured his shoulder.

"I was 31 at the time, I had been playing for 14 or 15 years and I was asking myself the question 'why was I doing this?'," Ablett told the Channel Nine.

"But I said from the start it's about winning a premiership up there.

"I'm happy with where I am at the moment.

"There has been a lot of hard work go into the last five or six years and I want to be part of that success.

"I have so many great memories from the Geelong Football Club, they will always hold a special place in my heart, but I want to play finals football up there (at Gold Coast).

"We're yet to play finals football (and) I thought we would have at least had a taste of it by now."

The injury-plagued Suns have long been out of finals contention in 2016 and sit in fourth-last spot on the ladder with a 5-12 record.