Ablett was told early in the week by coach Mark Thompson that he would make his debut that weekend against Essendon. By mid-week the media were speculating that Ablett would play his first game and it was officially announced on the Thursday before the game.
Ablett drove up with David Johnson who was also playing his first game that day. “We were both pretty nervous on the way up to Melbourne”, Ablett recalled.
“Walking out onto the oval before the game was amazing”, Ablett said, “I remembered sitting at the MCG watching footy as a kid. It was my dream to play AFL and here I was”.
It was the second time that Ablett had played at the MCG, the first being a Vic-Country game the year before when he was a member of the Geelong Falcons.
Running out onto the ground 15 minutes into the first quarter is a vivid memory for Ablett. “I was over-awed by the experience, there were about 44,000 people watching that day and it was quiet daunting. I found it hard to concentrate”.
Ablett’s first opponent was ironically Mark Johnson, older brother of David. “David and I had to call past Mark’s on the way to the ground to collect something and then two hours later there I was lined up against him”, Ablett said.
The first possession had the crowd holding its breath. Ablett ran into an open goal but chose to handball to Ben Graham instead who was tackled and the ball rolled through for a point. “In retrospect I probably should’ve kicked it but I had so many things running through my head and Ben seemed a better option”.
Thompson was happy with Ablett’s performance and guaranteed him a spot in the team the following week. Ablett played the first 10 games of the 2002. Of Ablett’s performance Thompson said, “I was happy with the way you went, the nerves were expected”.
Ablett’s first goal came in round three against North Melbourne at Telstra Dome. It was during the third quarter when Geelong was a mere five points up that Ablett received a handball from Glenn Kilpatrick. “I was about 40 metres out and it went through, it was amazing,” he said.
