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The AFL career of reluctant Geelong forward Nathan Ablett is over, with the 2007 premiership star keen to pursue a career in the building industry.
Ablett, the youngest son of Geelong legend Gary Ablett senior, was considering a return to football after resuming training with the club’s VFL side in early July.
But an ankle injury sustained playing basketball thwarted his attempt at a comeback.
While the club had hoped Ablett’s run with the VFL squad would rekindle his desire to play football again, he told the team’s leadership group a fortnight ago that he was not interested in adding to his 32 game career, saying his future now lay as a builder.
“He’s done a fair bit of thinking and he’d like to be a builder,” Geelong president Frank Costa said.
“He’d like to learn the trade from a good builder and he’d like go right up north for that, to get away from the cold down here – I’m not talking Brisbane but well north of Brisbane.”
“He’s fairly sure he doesn’t want to play AFL footy at that level, he doesn’t want whatever comes with it – the glamour and pressure of being in the spotlight and we’ve got to respect that.”
The reclusive 22-year-old shocked the Cats when he walked out on the in November last year, just two months after kicking three goals in the club’s drought-breaking premiership victory over Port Adelaide.
In January he returned to the club to announce he would take a break from AFL football but left open the possibility of playing in the VFL.
While the club had given Ablett all year to make up his mind, they needed to hear from him to satisfy the league’s requirements of lodging all player contracts by October 31.
Costa said the club did not try to persuade Ablett, who is the brother of one if its present-day stars, Gary Ablett junior, from changing his mind but respected his wishes.
“The club will support the decision because he’s been a very good fella for us,” Costa said.
“The Ablett name has been very important to the Geelong Football club, we respect that.
“We’d much rather he’d stay and play football for Geelong but we can’t force that.
“We’re disappointed he is not playing for Geelong. He’s got a lot of ability I think he would have been a fantastic footballer for us even this year, if he had of done a full pre-season.
“But that’s life, you’ve got to want it.”
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