How will Ablett fare as leader of the Suns?

Yeah thanks udu07 your probably right

"maintaining the countries number one code mantel by invading two of the NRL’s biggest hubs in the Gold Coast and Western Sydney." What does NRL have to do with it. Irrelevant statement in an otherwise good topic. Or are you looking for a code war debate ?

"Brownlows more important than MVP’s? Only to the media." Not just to the media. The Brownlow has a history, prestigue and a tradition that the MVP can never hope to match. "The brownlow in its current form has too many flaws." Such as? "Ablett went in 3 years straight as favourite for the brownlow and 2nd favourite last year. I believe favouritism has more merit than actually winning the thing as the fight has already been fought and the judges can and tend to get it wrong compared to the punters (us) as we make up a lot larger sampling size than the 3 umpires on the day." Three comments: One, simply because Ablett was the favourite does not mean that he was the best player of the year. Two, if favouritism has more merit than actually winning, then Dane Swan wouldn't mind losing last year. Three, whether the umpires get it wrong is subjective. Furthermore, all awards produce results from time to time which may be regarded as 'wrong.'

Trust

Both Ablett and Swan? Too big an ask, too risky. Hard to know whether Ablett will get the same points regularly, some doubt on that. Also, with Suns having a round one bye, I've decided to not select Ablett in my team - can't remember the last time I left him out - a very, very long time ago.

Brownlows more important than MVP's? Only to the media. The brownlow in its current form has too many flaws. Ablett went in 3 years straight as favourite for the brownlow and 2nd favourite last year. I believe favouritism has more merit than actually winning the thing as the fight has already been fought and the judges can and tend to get it wrong compared to the punters (us) as we make up a lot larger sampling size than the 3 umpires on the day. Who have more important things to worry about?

"the nights become cooler, footy boot sales rocket and office football related gossip flourishes." and footy tipping comps get finalised and supercoach and dreamteams sorted.......and suddenly people are looking for smokies and rookies most likely, that and trying to find out how to fit BOTH Ablett and Swan into your midfield. what WILL be interesting though, is Ablett won't have the same support, ball feeding and blocking support that he had at Geelong. He's still a class player, and Ablett's evasive and extraction skills in heavy traffic are legendary - - however, he's also likely to cop a whole lot more 'close attention'. I do also wonder, how much Gary might play forward, even alongside his brother? For the Suns, having some real quality forward finishing might be crucial with all the young lads. Daniel Harris in the midfield, set for game 150 in Rnd 2, will be super important too as the elder statesman of the team!! It's a long time since he was Vic Country captain and drafted to North Melbourne at the same time as Dylan Smith.

Ablett is a superstar, he would have succeeded at whatever sport he picked (AFL) & will succeed anywhere. A true legend of Australian sport.

Does the Roar even have an editor? Take another look at the article's title: "How will Ablett fair as leader of the Suns?" should read: "How will Ablett fare as leader of the Suns?"

If Ablett is anything like Judd (whom I mention because Judd's move to Carlton wasn't so different to Ablett's move to GC and both are superstars), he should adapt his game, but still maintain a high standard. He might find it difficult at first, however he is a rare talent, and is so versatile he can easily spend time up forward if he struggles in th midfield. "Over the past few years, it has been Gary, and then the rest. He’s been in a class of his own." Extremely debatable. Judd has won two Brownlow Medals at two different clubs (still a far more important award than the MVP), and has done so in two different contexts; firstly as a member of one of the best midfields of the past decade at WCE, and then as a lone gun at Carlton. Ablett is perhaps a superior player, however the gap between him and Judd (if there is indeed a gap) is arguably only minor. If Ablett thrives at GC, and I believe he will, then he might very well establish himself as the competition's absolute best player. If he does not, then I don't think he is that far above the likes of Judd, if in fact he is even above Judd.

I'll be watching the fortunes of the Suns with interest this season. Gary Ablett is a quality player but he won't have the stars around him that he had at Geelong. When the Suns play their first game, the majority of the team will be making their AFL debut. The inevitable injuries will test their depth even further. I wouldn't be surprised if they were competitive early in the season but fall away when injuries kick in. BTW, to the editors, the headline should be "fare", not "fair".