Gary Ablett a superior player to his father, say majority of AFL coaches
AN OVERWHELMING majority of AFL coaches believe Gary Ablett jnr is a better player than his father.
The finding was part of an annual AFL Coaches' Association survey, which was conducted by AFL Media and published on AFL.com.au and in the AFL Record.
Seventy-seven per cent of the coaches said the Suns' onballer was a better player than his old man.
Ablett was also the overwhelming tip to win this year's Brownlow Medal, with 87 per cent of respondents tipping him to take 'Charlie' home for the third time.
However, when the coaches were asked to name who they would recruit if given the power to take one player from an opposition club, Geelong skipper Joel Selwood was the top pick.
Around a quarter of the coaches nominated Selwood, while Fremantle's Nat Fyfe (13 per cent) and Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield (13 per cent) were others to gain a mention.
The coaches listed only five clubs – the Sydney Swans, Fremantle, Collingwood, Geelong and Hawthorn – as being in contention to win the 2014 premiership.
More than 30 per cent of the respondents nominated the Swans as their tip to win the flag, while 27 per cent went for the Dockers.
None of the coaches tipped Port Adelaide – the club that has spent a large part of the season on top of the ladder – to win the Grand Final.
The question about the likely winner of the NAB AFL Rising Star award drew a wide range of responses.
Melbourne's Christian Salem received 13 per cent of the votes, as did Port Adelaide's Jarman Impey and Collingwood's Tom Langdon.
Others mentioned were Brisbane Lions youngster James Aish, Essendon's Joe Daniher, St Kilda's Luke Dunstan, North Melbourne's Luke McDonald, Gold Coast's Kade Kolodjashnij and Greater Western Sydney's Josh Kelly.
The full results of the survey will be published in the round 16 edition of the AFL Record, which is available at all grounds.
R16-23 FIXTURE: Dogs dominate marquee slots, Friday night double-headers are go
The AFL has released the full schedule for rounds 16 to 23 of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season
Three-win Tigers not getting carried away
Ahead of Sunday's game against North Melbourne, Adem Yze says it's about learnings, not results for Richmond
Giants call for 'palatable' quarter lengths, frustration as veteran's injury drags on
Adam Kingsley says he's in favour of stripping four minutes off each quarter, making them the same as the COVID-era duration of 16 minutes, plus time on
Wallsy's touching final gift to his beloved Blues
Despite a connection with four clubs, Carlton was always Robert Walls' true home