Many say he’s the best to have played the game.
He surpassed the 100 goals in season milestone on three occasions and he is one of only 11 players to have kicked more than 120 goals in a season.
His biggest haul came in 1994 when he registered 129 majors, but today we focus on Round 9 of the 1989 season.
In front a passionate MCG crowd, Gary Ablett Snr tamed the Tigers with a 14-goal performance, which would long live in the memories of many fans.
Today marks 31 years since that very day and former teammate Steve Hocking recalls it well.
“I remember the game being quite overcast and it was a game at the MCG and Ablett put on a show,” Hocking said.
“He loved playing against Richmond and on that particular day I remember him kicking nine (goals) from a wing, and then moving down forward and kicking another five goals down there.
“At one stage he actually handed one off to Billy (Brownless) and Billy got an easy goal from Ablett which didn’t’ happen to often.”
In arguably one of the more complete performances in the history of the game, Ablett also finished the game with 30 disposals and 14 marks.
“There were times when I was playing in the backline where me and my opponent would applaud some of the things Ablett did and on this particular day, that was one of the them.
“What he was able to do on the day was use either side of his body, kick goals both left and right foot and you wouldn’t have known it was a really easy transition for him – it’s just incredible.”
