Ablett v Ablett
AS A FATHER-son combination Gary Ablett snr and Gary Ablett jnr stand above all others.

While family acts such as Ken and Dustin Fletcher, Sergio and Stephen Silvagni, and Tim and Jobe Watson have achieved much success, the Abletts have a unique distinction - both are popular picks as the best player of their era.

So who's the better of the two?

Until recent seasons, this was an open and shut case - Ablett snr, hands down. But with Ablett jnr's sustained excellence over the past three and a half seasons, some experts are now creeping over into his camp.

Former Geelong coach and current Gold Coast board member Malcolm Blight is the latest to jump on the Ablett jnr bandwagon, telling The Courier-Mail the leadership Ablett jnr has shown with the Suns has edged him ahead of his father.

"(Ablett jnr) is a complete footballer," Blight said.

"He is not an outside player or a finisher, he wins his own footy, he defends and he can go forward and be a goalkicker.

"It isn't personal, but Gary snr wasn't the best player because he played … forward, which was all he did."

Blight was also swayed by Ablett jnr's greater team success - he was part of Geelong's 2007 and 2009 premiership sides - his two best and fairest awards to his father's one, and his 2009 Brownlow Medal win.

Blight said Ablett snr had "changed more games than any other player" he'd seen, but said in moving to the Gold Coast Suns, Ablett jnr, like Tony Lockett before him at the Sydney Swans, had taken on the pressure of being the face of a pioneering side.

Blight was also influenced by the fact Ablett snr was more naturally gifted and the smaller, less powerful Ablett jnr has had to work harder for his success.

It's incredibly tough to split the Abletts. Herald Sun chief football writer Mike Sheahan told The Courier Mail he couldn't.

But if anyone's in position to make a call, it's Blight. He coached Ablett snr from 1989-94 when he was at the peak of his powers, has watched Ablett jnr's career closely as a media commentator and now, as a Gold Coast board member, can see just how good he is first-hand.

One caveat, though - don't take the whole debate too seriously.

Comparing players, especially those from different eras, is an intensely subjective exercise. No one is right or wrong. It should be just a bit of fun. 

Patton looms as No.1 draft pick
With the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships kicking off last weekend, we're one step closer to this year's NAB AFL Draft.

The Championships are a stage for the nation's best juniors to showcase their wares to the horde of AFL club recruiters.

Shine and they can vault themselves up the draft pecking order. Get a case of stage fright and they can just as easily slip the other way.

But even before Vic Metro plays its first game in this year's Championships, against NSW/ACT at Blacktown Olympic Park this Saturday, The Age's Emma Quayle is sold on the talents of Eastern Ranges key forward Jonathon Patton.

Quayle says Patton is tipped to be the No. 1 pick in this year's Draft, which would mean he joins Greater Western Sydney. And if that's not enough pressure for the youngster, Quayle says his play in the TAC Cup this season - Patton has kicked 17 goals and taken 26 contested marks in the first six rounds - has drawn comparisons with Brisbane Lions skipper Jonathan Brown.

AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan spoke glowingly of Patton's talents.

"He loves taking marks, he loves kicking goals and something always happens when the ball's around his area," Sheehan told Quayle.

"The team lifts, the crowd lifts, the supporters lift. He's just one of those kids who can have that sort of impact."

Patton's path to this year's Championships has had its potholes. He had surgery on both hips at the end of 2009, has endured a bout of osteitis pubis and missed last year's Championships with a broken thumb.

However, the fact he has been forced to contend with two and, at times, three opposition defenders in the TAC Cup this season should stand him in good stead.

As should his work with former Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd while part of the AIS-AFL Academy program last year - Patton has even adopted Lloyd's trademark of throwing a piece of grass in the air before taking a shot at goal. 

Patton, himself, is looking forward to the challenge of pitting himself against the best junior defenders from outside Victoria.

"I think it will be a good challenge, to think my way through games," Patton said.

Media Watch will observe his performances with interest over the next month.

Pagan's plan to get Hawkins firing
Tom Hawkins was once in a similar position to Patton. A dominant junior key forward, Hawkins was widely touted as one of the brightest key-forward prospects of his 2006 draft year.

But his father, Jack, played 182 games for Geelong from 1973-81, so the Cats were able to steal Hawkins with a third-round father-son pick, No. 41 overall.

Hawkins' entrance into AFL ranks justified the hype surrounding him. Debuting in round two, 2007, he kicked 3.2 against Carlton, and followed up with four-goal hauls against Melbourne in round three and Richmond in round six.

Such was his imposing physical presence, then Carlton coach Denis Pagan was moved to say after Hawkins' debut: "He looks like a likely type and I couldn't help but think he is an 18-year-old Tony Lockett."

However, five years later, Hawkins finds himself struggling for form and yet to nail down a permanent position with the Cats - he now floats between the forward line and the ruck.

In search of answers to Hawkins' woes, the Herald Sun's Jon Ralph spoke with Pagan in his online column The Buzz.

Pagan told Ralph Hawkins' best was still "better than most" but said he'd lost all confidence.

While reluctant to be seen to be giving Cats coach Chris Scott advice, Pagan said he would try to simplify the game for Hawkins, telling him to forget about marks and goals, and concentrate on chasing, tackling, blocking and hitouts to advantage.

Pagan also said Hawkins did not demand the ball enough from his teammates, urging him to scream for it when he's playing forward and to lead more.

In good news for Cats fans, Pagan said Hawkins was not over-rated, with his problems predominantly mental.

If Pagan's right, and Hawkins can get his head right, he will be an imposing player for the Cats. One who will be the perfect replacement for Cameron Mooney up forward when he retires.  
 
In short
Port Adelaide coach Matthew Primus is the big winner from the AFL's commitment to underwrite the Power until South Australian football returns to the Adelaide Oval in 2014-15, chief football writer Michelangelo Rucci says in The Advertiser. With the AFL making its financial support conditional on the Power increasing its football department spending, Rucci says Primus will no longer have to put up with "farcical restraints", such as not having a full-time midfield coach.

Karmichael Hunt's one-match suspension could pave the way for Gold Coast defender Taylor Hine to make his AFL debut following the teenager's impressive performance in the Suns reserves' win over Southport in the NEAFL on the weekend, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports.

The Age's Martin Blake has argued the criteria for the NAB AFL Rising Star award should be changed following the nomination of fourth-year St Kilda player Jack Steven, 21, after round 10. Blake said the award should be limited to first-year players.

Hobart Chamber of Commerce chairman Andrew Kemp says if the Tasmanian Government turns down a proposal for North Melbourne to play two games at Bellerive Oval from next year it would jeopardise Tasmania's chances of one day having its own AFL side, The Age reports.     

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.

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