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Goodes or Ablett Jr: who is better?

Roar Guru
28th January, 2014
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Roar Guru
28th January, 2014
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1476 Reads

They’re both dual premiership players, dual Brownlow Medallists, have featured in over ten All-Australian teams and have played just under 600 AFL games between them.

But just who is the better player between Adam Goodes and Gary Ablett Jr?

Adam Goodes
Goodes is not only a superstar in his own right, but he is an ambassador for the game and his profile only got raised higher when on the weekend he was named the 2014 Australian of the Year for his efforts in tackling racism in the game.

His ability to handle such a case, when a teenage fan called him an “ape” in a Swans victory over Collingwood last May, was a main factor in him being given the top honour by Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

This comes on top of his highly decorated career which includes two Brownlow Medals, inclusion in the All-Australian team four times, being part of the Sydney Swans’ premiership sides of 2005 and 2012 and a place in the 300 club.

Additionally, he was also named the AFL’s Rising Star in 1999, and with the notable exception of 2013 in which he only played the first half of the season, rarely missed a game due to injury.

His career continued to blossom at the same time the Sydney Swans enjoyed on-field consistency, in which they rarely missed the finals and were regular fixtures deep in finals series.

In 2003, when Goodes shared the Brownlow Medal with Nathan Buckley and Mark Ricciuto, the Swans were not expected to do well under new coach Paul Roos (in fact, most experts tipped the Swans for the wooden spoon that year) but surprised everyone by finishing fourth at the end of the season.

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A big highlight of that season was not only defeating top-placed Port Adelaide in the finals series, but also being the only side to defeat the all-conquering Brisbane Lions side twice during the regular season.

As a result of that qualifying final victory over Port, the Swans won through to the preliminary final, but the team’s lack of experience, which would eventually grow through the next decade, cost them dearly against the Lions.

Making that loss all the more disappointing was that the Swans were only a kick down at the final change; it was in the final quarter in which the experience of the Lions counted the most, as they eventually won through to their third consecutive premiership.

That breakthrough season was to set the precedence for the most successful era in the club’s history since relocating from South Melbourne at the end of 1981.

A breakthrough premiership would come in 2005, ending the longest premiership drought in AFL history. Goodes was part of a well-rounded team which also included “Leaping Leo” Barry, “Big Bad Barry” Hall, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton and co.

It came after early in the season, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou criticised the team and coach Paul Roos for playing an unattractive brand of football, something which was highlighted in a 43-point loss to St Kilda in May that year.

That loss marked the turning point in the Swans’ season and from there the team would only lose three more times that year, all of which were single-digit margins and two of which were against the top two teams in the league, Adelaide and West Coast.

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And although they were narrowly unsuccessful in defending their flag the following year, the Swans still remained in contention for the premiership and it was that year in which Adam Goodes would shine throughout the league, capturing his second Brownlow Medal and confirming himself as one of the greats of the game.

A couple of lean years would follow, culminating in the Swans suffering their worst season since 1995 and finishing 12th in 2009.

But despite the poor season, Goodes still featured in the All-Australian team for the third time, after previously featuring in his two Brownlow Medal years.

Flash forward three years and the Swans would again stand on the premiership podium, as Goodes became dual Swans premiership players with Jude Bolton, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Ryan O’Keefe.

That’s Adam Goodes.

Now onto Gary Ablett Jr.

Ablett is another superstar in his own right and his career mirrors that of Goodes, with two Brownlow Medals, inclusion in the All-Australian team since 2007 and featuring in two of Geelong’s three most recent premierships, in 2007 and 2009.

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The son of Gary Ablett Sr., who never featured in a premiership side or won the Brownlow Medal, made his AFL debut in 2002 but it was only in 2007 in which he would first come to the attention of the AFL world, as the Cats ended their 44-year premiership spell with a 119-point annihilation of Port Adelaide in the grand final.

Entering that season, the Cats were coming off a poor 2006 season and started the new season poorly, being 2-3 after Round 5. It was after the Round 5 loss to the Kangaroos in which Paul Chapman criticised the club’s culture and demanded that the club overturn its reputation of underachieving for the better.

That, and a thorough assessment of the club from the top down, from the board to the players, would set the precedence for the most dominant era in the AFL since Essendon topped the ladder between 1999 and 2001, winning its most recent premiership in the middle year (2000).

Fifteen straight victories followed, starting with a 157-point thrashing of Richmond at Telstra Dome and ending when it suffered a narrow loss to Port Adelaide at its Skilled Stadium backyard.

Ablett would, with Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel, as well as Cameron Ling, Matthew Scarlett, Paul Chapman, Steve Johnson, and a host of others, eventually feature in the Cats’ first premiership side since 1963.

The following year, the Cats would compile the most dominant home-and-away season since the class of Essendon from 2000, but they would fail to defend their flag, going down to Hawthorn in the decider.

Season 2009 would, however, prove to be the real breakout season for Ablett. Not only would the Cats reclaim their place on the premiership podium, he would achieve what his father couldn’t and that was to win the AFL’s highest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal.

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The following year, with the impending entry of the Gold Coast Suns into the AFL for the 2011 season, speculation started to grow that Ablett would make the move up north and become their marquee signing.

But it would not deter his form, as he would back up his Brownlow Medal year with another excellent season for the Cats as they ultimately failed to reach the grand final for the first time since 2006.

In the days following the Cats’ preliminary final loss to Collingwood which ended their premiership defence, the worst fears were confirmed when he officially made the high profile move to the Gold Coast Suns.

Geelong fans knew it was coming, but they still sensed a bit of betrayal and they subsequently labelled Ablett as a “traitor”. That, and the departure of Mark Thompson as coach after a decade led to many believing the Cats’ time at the top was over.

But it was not to be.

The appointment of Chris Scott as the club’s new coach, with Cameron Ling having been appointed captain a year earlier, signalled a new era for the club and it started with the Cats moving on from Ablett’s departure to once again reclaim its place on the premiership podium with victory over Collingwood in the 2011 grand final.

While the Cats dominated, Ablett was to captain a severely inexperienced side which was made up of mostly teenage draftees as well as an influx of experienced players from Hawthorn (Campbell Brown), Adelaide (Nathan Bock), and the Brisbane Lions (Michael Rischitelli and Jared Brennan), as well as rugby league import Karmichael Hunt.

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Not surprisingly, the Suns struggled on the field and finished with the wooden spoon in their inaugural season, and copped the mother of all thrashings when Essendon dished out a 139-point thrashing under the roof of Etihad Stadium, scoring a record 15.4 (94) in the first quarter alone, in Round 6.

But in all the doom and gloom, Ablett’s form which he displayed at Geelong did not diminish, and he would feature in the All-Australian team for the fifth year running and play his 200th AFL game in Round 11.

And last year, Ablett produced another exceptional season to land a second Brownlow Medal as the Suns started to improve on the field, culminating in them winning eight games during the season, more than their first two seasons combined.

He also earned selection in the All-Australian team for the seventh year running and brought up his 250th AFL game late in the year.

His phenomenal 2013 season, and the improvement of the Suns on the field, have many AFL experts predicting big things ahead for the club within the next few years.

That was the first year of a “20-ONE-3” initiative, launched at the end of 2012, in which it aims to sign up 20,000 members and win a premiership by the end of 2015.

The 20,000 members appears a realistic target, but the premiership may have to wait another few years as the Suns continue their development on the field.

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They still lag behind the standard that have been set by Geelong (for whom Ablett featured in their 2007 and 2009 flags), Hawthorn and Sydney, who between them have netted seven of the last nine flags.

Eventually, in a few years time, the Suns will have their moment of breakthrough and it won’t be long until they start playing finals, possibly as early as this upcoming season.

Ablett’s pre-retirement goal would have to, undoubtedly, be to not just feature in, but captain, the first Gold Coast Suns premiership winning team.

The Son of God will turn 30 in May however there are still some good years left in him, as he continues to lift the Suns up the ladder.

Which is now what leads us to the big question: just who is better between Ablett and Adam Goodes?

Goodes is without doubt the Roger Federer of the AFL when you look back at what he has achieved in his career, while Ablett is in the role of Rafael Nadal whereby the Suns captain is now clearly the best player in the game.

Adam Goodes was 23, 25, 26 and 32 when he shared the Brownlow Medal with Nathan Buckley and Mark Ricciuto, won the 2005 premiership, won the Brownlow Medal individually and won the 2012 premiership respectively.

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Goodes featuring in the Swans’ 2012 premiership at 32 compares to Federer winning Wimbledon that same year, though the Swiss Maestro was only a month shy of turning 31.

Goodes won his first Brownlow Medal at age 23. Federer won his first Grand Slam title at age 21. Likewise, Goodes had his most dominant season in 2006, the same year Federer had his most dominant season.

The Swans champion has just turned 34 and will come off contract at the end of this year, so you’d have to think that this year will be his final season.

In the same manner, Federer appears to be approaching the tail end of his career as his best form starts to diminish with a slide down the world rankings.

Ablett, on the other hand, was 23, 25 and 29 when he featured in Geelong’s 2007 premiership winning team, won his first Brownlow Medal before featuring in the Cats’ 2009 premiership winning team and won Charlie for a second time respectively.

As has already been mentioned, Ablett is now 29 and has just come off yet another phenomenal season which culminated in him winning his second Brownlow Medal.

That phenomenal season was also the same year in which Nadal had his most dominant season, in which he recovered from a knee injury and reclaimed the mantle as the best tennis player in the world.

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Unlike injury-prone Nadal, however, Ablett has never suffered a serious injury, and neither has Goodes’, the second half of last season aside.

Featuring in a developing Suns side has meant that Ablett has featured in a winning side less frequently than what he was accustomed to at the Cats, where their winning culture was a key factor in Ablett becoming the player that he is today.

But his 2013 season will inspire the other Suns players to perform better and start a winning culture of their own at the club, which is now in its fourth year of existence.

By contrast, Adam Goodes knows what it’s like to win matches regularly and the 2012 premiership is proof of that.

In 2003, the year of his first Brownlow Medal, the “Bloods Culture” was born, initiated by “Captain Courageous” Brett Kirk. This culture has continued into the present era, and many of its players are embracing it like never before, including new recruit Lance Franklin.

Goodes plays his part in every match for the Swans but has had the occasional slip up, including being suspended for the first time in his career in mid-2008 for engaging in rough conduct with Melbourne’s Clint Bartram.

He was also suspended early in 2012 for sinking his knees into Port Adelaide’s Jacob Surjan in an incident which raised eyebrows across the AFL world for the manner in which the incident was handled.

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We won’t go further into the details about Goodes’ misdemeanors because this article is meant to ask the question about who is the better player out of Goodes and Ablett.

His input is not only the keys to the Swans’ success. As has already been mentioned, he became the target of a racism incident in Round 9 last year whereby a teenage fan called him an “ape”.

Clearly offended, Goodes pointed out the fan who was subsequently evicted from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, then, the following day, he let his feelings be known when he spoke to the media about it.

It was that act and his response to it which was central to him being named the 2014 Australian of the Year. And he has no plans to stop the fight against racism not just in the AFL, but also all of Australian sport.

Such is the influence on Goodes on the team is that they are still able to carry on without him, and that was evidenced in the second half of 2013 when a knee injury suffered against Port Adelaide in Round 13 ended his season.

Without him, the Swans still maintained their place in the top four, but eventually more injuries to key players would undermine their premiership defence and they would later fall in the preliminary final to Fremantle.

By contrast, the Suns are yet to win a match when Ablett is missing due to injury, though expect that record to improve in the coming years as his retirement looms.

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The last time Ablett was missing from a winning side was way back in 2010, when Geelong defeated Richmond by a whopping 108 points at Skilled Stadium in Round 6.

Now onto the on-field match-ups.

Since entering the AFL in 2011, the Suns are yet to beat Sydney, despite having the home ground advantage in two of their three meetings so far (soon to be three from four).

This, for the most part, is due to the severe inexperience in the Suns squad as opposed to the all-star Sydney line-up which has now featured in fifteen of the last eighteen AFL finals series.

Across those three meetings, Ablett has only polled one vote against them; this is in comparison to having polled 14 votes in twelve previous meetings against Sydney, all coming during the dominant days at Geelong, including three best-on-ground performances.

So if you consider only the last three matches, it seems that Sydney finally have him sorted out, though in one of them Ablett was injured and had to be subbed off in the first quarter (their very first meeting).

That victory for the Swans was their first on the Gold Coast since 1987.

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Goodes, on the other hand, has only polled ten Brownlow Medal votes against Geelong (seven in the Ablett era) but has had two best-on-ground performances against them, first in a heavy 51-point loss in Round 7, 2009, and second when the Swans broke their 12-year Geelong curse in Round 23, 2011.

In the former, however, Ablett was missing due to injury, but it did not affect the Cats’ overall performance, remembering that this was in the midst of their most dominant era while at the same time the Swans set about rebuilding their list after so long at the top.

And now, to the conclusion.

Both players have enjoyed highly decorated careers, achieving two of the most important accolades in the AFL: a premiership and the Brownlow Medal. Both have also won numerous club best-and-fairests.

Goodes has played over 300 AFL games, while Ablett passed the 250 mark in Round 20 last year.

The difference in this is the age; Goodes reached his milestone at age 31, while Ablett could reach the milestone by either late 2015 or early 2016, depending on how the Suns fare this and next year as far as continual on-field progress is concerned. Ablett would also be 31 by then.

Ablett has, however, won more than just those two accolades; he has also been praised by the players and the coaches; he has won the Leigh Matthews Trophy for the AFLPA’s Most Valuable Player five times, and also won the AFLCA’s Champion Player of the Year three times (2007, 2008 and 2009; Goodes also won this award in his second Brownlow Medal winning year of 2006).

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The interesting stat is that, neither of them have yet won a Norm Smith Medal.

In the two premiership sides that Ablett has featured in, Steve Johnson (in 2007) and Paul Chapman (2009) were determined to be the better players on the day, while in the two sides that Goodes was part of, Chris Judd (on the losing side in 2005) and Ryan O’Keefe (2012) were the clear standouts.

Given the Gold Coast Suns will only be starting their fourth season in the AFL this year, a grand final appearance before Gary Ablett retires appears unlikely, but is not impossible.

However, the Swans will still remain in premiership contention by virtue of their star-studded playing list that they have assembled for this year, so there is still time for Goodes to join Simon Black in having won a premiership, the Norm Smith Medal and membership in the 300 club.

All he needs is a standout performance in the next Swans premiership team.

And finally, the verdict: It’s hard to separate these two players, but taking recent individual performances on the field into account, it’d be hard to go past Gary Ablett, Jr

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