Gold Coast’s greatest ever player, Gary Ablett Jr, returned to the Suns on Tuesday with a checklist of must-do’s for his former teammates ahead of their semi-final clash against local rivals Brisbane, adamant the Suns have the team to go all the way.
Ablett conceded nerves got the better of him in the closing stages of the Suns’ first final, and he missed the closing stages of the epic win over Fremantle that set up a finals Q-clash, checking the scores after the Suns’ longest-serving player, David Swallow, kicked the matchwinning point.
A two-time premiership player with Geelong before joining the Suns for their maiden season, Ablett never played in a final in his seven seasons with the Gold Coast.
But he played in 25 across his two stints with the Cats and had some key advice for the Suns players who he said impressed him with their composure in the nailbiting win over the Dockers.
“I’m a big believer in, it doesn’t matter what game you play in, whether it’s the regular season or a grand final, you should always prepare the same,” said Ablett, who retired after Geelong’s 2020 grand final loss to Richmond.
“And that’s the challenge, making sure the players are getting out and preparing the way they normally would, getting the most out of every training session.
“Then when you get into the game, you’ve got to stay composed, play instinctive footy, read the game, and I think they did that really well last week.
“I think they (the Suns) are good enough to win the premiership, without a doubt.
“They’ve experienced finals football now and I believe they have the list that can win a premiership.
“It’s going to be hard, they have to play at their best to beat teams like the Lions and Cats, but they can do it.”
Despite his confidence in the Suns, however, Ablett did suggest his other old team, Geelong, would be “hard to beat”.
The Suns hit their second final with confidence not only after taking down Fremantle in Perth but also after knocking off the Lions by 66 points in round 21.
It broke a run of five-straight local derby losses and Suns star Touk Miller, said it gave them a “blueprint” to end the reigning premiers’ season.
“If we lost that game … it might have been a different story, a bit more challenging coming into this game,” he said.
“It probably gave us a blueprint of what it looks like (to win).
“From our perspective and our camp, we’d love nothing more than to get the wood over them in a game as important as this.”
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