Gary Ablett Jr. (born 14 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). The eldest son of Australian Football Hall of Fame member and former Hawthorn and Geelong player Gary Ablett Sr., Ablett was drafted to Geelong under the father–son rule in the 2001 national draft and has since become recognised as one of the all-time great midfielders. Ablett is a dual premiership player, dual Brownlow Medallist, five-time Leigh Matthews Trophy winner, three-time AFLCA champion player of the year award winner and eight-time All-Australian. During his first stint at Geelong, Ablett won two premierships, two Carji Greeves Medals, a Geelong leading goalkicker award and the 2009 Brownlow Medal. He is also a life member of the club and has been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. At Gold Coast, Ablett was the club's inaugural captain, holding the role for the club's first six seasons, and won four Gold Coast Suns Club Champion awards (including the first three in the club's history), two Gold Coast leading goalkicker awards and the 2013 Brownlow Medal, the first Brownlow Medal in the club's history. Between 2014 and 2018, Ablett suffered a number of setbacks through injury; despite this, Ablett played 357 games, the thirteenth-most in VFL/AFL history at the time. Early life Gary Ablett Jr. was born to Gary and Sue Ablett in the country town of Modewarre, outside the regional centre of Geelong, Victoria. As the eldest boy among four siblings, Ablett's childhood coincided with the peak of his father's footballing career. Along with his brother Nathan, Ablett would regularly attend his father's training sessions and weekly games. Geelong players regarded them as "barefooted pests in the rooms", and would often engage in kick-to-kick sessions with both of the boys. He attended Christian College Geelong during his schooling years. Ablett played junior football with the Modewarre Football Club until he was chosen to play for the Geelong Falcons in the under–18 TAC Cup competition for the 2001 season. Ablett's selection was met with controversy, as some families of other prospective junior players felt Ablett was chosen on the basis of his famous family heritage rather than footballing merit. However, the Falcons' football manager Mick Turner repeatedly dismissed speculation. Nonetheless, as the son of a popular and famous football player from Geelong, Ablett attracted a