against Collingwood in round 16. Despite playing only 15 games, he finished equal-third in the Brownlow Medal with 22 votes. Ablett's shoulder injury affected his 2015 preseason, but he took the field in the Suns' opening game against . He scored two goals and had 19 disposals in the loss, then had 23 disposals and kicked one goal in the round 2 loss to St Kilda, but laid only one tackle across the two games. The shoulder was still causing problems, and the Suns' medical staff sidelined him indefinitely before the round 3 clash with Geelong. Dr Peter Larkins stated four weeks later that the status of Ablett's injury meant that he could "miss the majority of the season". By the end of May, Ablett began to draw criticism from media personalities such as Garry Lyon and Jonathan Brown for his supposed lack of leadership in the struggling Suns side. On top of their numerous losses, some Suns players were displaying poor discipline and Lyon considered Ablett was not doing enough to prevent off-field indiscretions. When he refused to discuss the issues with Lyon on Triple M, Lyon described Ablett as "immature". The following Monday on Fox Footy's On The Couch program, Jonathan Brown lashed Ablett for not taking the field, claiming he was cleared to play by Suns medicos and he should "play through the pain". Ablett addressed these criticisms with a press conference on June 3 saying it was not just an issue of pain and to return early would be "selfish". On AFL 360, Ablett's former coach Mark Thompson defended his decision not to play, stating that Ablett's high standards meant that he would not want to take the field if he could not give 100% effort. Ablett eventually returned for the round 14 game against ; although starting quietly, he was instrumental in the win, gaining 31 disposals and kicking three goals. He continued to perform well in the next two games, racking up 30 disposals in each and kicking four goals, however he was struck down with a season-ending injury in round 17, suffering a medial ligament tear to the left knee in the first quarter of the Suns' loss to . The recovery time required meant that he did not play again in the 2015 season. 2016–2017: Further injury struggles and trade requests Ablett played 14 games for Gold Coast in 2016, averaging 27