World Footy News

Ending months of speculation, the Gold Coast SUNS today announced Geelong champion midfielder Gary Ablett has confirmed he will join the club for the next five years. The 2009 Brownlow medalist, dual Geelong premiership player and four-time All Australian, is widely recognised as the best player in the AFL competition.

Gold Coast SUNS CEO Travis Auld said the announcement is the biggest endorsement of the new AFL team yet with Ablett joining recent player signings Nathan Bock, Nathan Krakouer, Michael Rischitelli, Campbell Brown and Jarrod Harbrow.

“This is an historic day for the AFL’s newest team. These established players will be the solid base from which we build a successful club around a talented young list of young players including Zac Smith, Maverick Weller, David Swallow, Brandon Matera, Charlie Dixon and of course Karmichael Hunt,” he said.

“Gary is the single biggest marquee player in the AFL. We are inspired by the fact he has accepted a huge personal challenge to assist in launching a new AFL team in a developing market.

“We are also inspired by his belief, that we can put together a team that can sustain a window of opportunity to achieve great things.

“We think the excitement Gary brings to the club, the professionalism he demonstrates and his on field leadership will be an enormous benefit to a young group that want to build towards a premiership.

“Our Board, our administration, our sponsors are thrilled and we know our members and the Gold Coast community will welcome Gary and turn out at our new stadium to watch him in action. We hope all football fans will be excited to see his transition as a Gold Coast SUNS player.”

Gary Ablett said reinventing himself both personally and on the football field with the Gold Coast SUNS is very exciting challenge.

“It’s an opportunity to be involved in something from the beginning - to help shape and develop a young talented playing group – one that has the potential to be very successful,” he said.

“I am very excited by the vision of the Gold Coast SUNS, the support the team has already achieved and the quality of the group of people involved. I’m looking forward to the next stage of my career.”

Gold Coast SUNS Senior Coach Guy McKenna said that Ablett will bring much more than his incredible football talent and physical prowess to the club.

“His competiveness, work rate, team ethos, manic training and rehabilitation detail will all provide magnificent leadership to our young group,” he said.

“He brings a level of professionalism from a premiership team and a team that has dominated the competition for much of the past four years which will be invaluable across all aspects of our club.

“We are not just about building a football club. We are about building a successful football club and attracting a successful player such as Gary Ablett to the Gold Coast SUNS was an important part of our plan.”