Geelong Advertiser names Cats’ top 50 players, Gary Ablett Jr misses top 10
GARY Ablett Jr may be widely regarded as a better footballer than his father, but his reputation has earned him no favours in a list of the top 50 Geelong players of all time.
Ablett’s ranking has emerged as one of the biggest shocks of the comprehensive Geelong Advertiser list after he failed to make the top 10.
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The rankings have been crafted by legendary historian Col Hutchinson, who has not missed a Geelong match since 1963 and has made a life out of researching the great Australian game.
The list is also believed to be the most comprehensive Geelong player countdown ever undertaken, given it also includes champions from the VFA “forgotten years” period between 1877 and 1896.
Hutchinson refused to be seduced by what Ablett Jr has achieved since joining Gold Coast at the end of the 2010 season, judging him purely on his deeds at Geelong.
He was ranked one place behind Teddy Rankin, who played 88 games from 1891-96 and is known as the first player to touch the ball on the ground every 10 yards instead of bouncing it.
Other surprises include the omission of two of the club’s seven Brownlow medallists, though Patrick Dangerfield’s one-year stint, as spectacular as it was, left him short of satisfying the criteria that was used to assess the credentials of the 1334 players to ever represent the Cats at senior level.
Click here to see 11-20 in the countdown and recap earlier instalments below.
Hutchinson’s top 10 will be revealed at geelongadvertiser.com.au tomorrow.
To catch up:
Selection criteria: Selection is based on the following attributes: statistical achievements, length of service, consistency, skill, courage, concentration, durability, adaptability, determination, vision, capability of performing in vital matches and at vital moments in matches, ability to quell important opponents, and the capacity to play entertaining football. The lack of opportunities in earlier eras for players to achieve some statistical achievements is taken into account.
Originally published as They ranked Ablett Jr where?