MALCOLM Blight has watched him up close for almost three seasons, yet he's still amazed by the exploits of Gary Ablett.
It was just two years ago that Blight said Ablett jnr had passed his Hall of Fame father as a player.
Now the former Adelaide premiership coach says the younger Ablett is in the conversation as the greatest ever player.
The Suns captain ran rings around Collingwood at Metricon Stadium on Saturday, racking up 49 touches and two goals in what Blight described as "damn well near the perfect game".
"I've had over two-and-a-half years of watching him close up every day - it's been great," Blight, Gold Coast's coaching director, said.
"And he's done it under duress - it's not as though he gets the ball outside. That's what makes him special, and above the rest."
It's that mix of inside and outside ball winning and ball use that has Blight shaking his head in amazement.
He said Chris Judd was the only player of the modern era to have a similar gift – a gift, Blight said, he first noticed while watching Ablett play for Geelong in the mid-2000s.
"I was with Greg Wells, brother of [recruiting manager] Stephen Wells, and we went and watched Gary play a Friday night game against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium," Blight recalled.
"We sat down the Geelong end, behind the goals. I think he had 13 kicks, three goals in the first quarter. Game over.
"We'd both watched Gary snr a lot, and I stood there watching him … it was hard to describe how someone could find the ball and be that brilliant and finish it off."
Now Ablett will equal his dad's number of career games when he runs out for the 248th time on Saturday against Carlton at Metricon Stadium.
Blight said the two were like chalk and cheese, but one thing that would vault the younger Ablett above his father and many others was his longevity.
He has just turned 29, is playing better than ever and is contracted to the Suns until the end of 2015, when he could be very close to the 300-game mark.
Ablett is a shoo-in for his seventh All Australian this year and is in the running for his second Brownlow Medal to go with his two premierships at Geelong.
"The CV is going to be massive," Blight said.
"I'm a great believer in longevity. The number of games you play means a hell of a lot. It means you've been able to withstand all the luck and fortune, and have the ability, and put up with training and pre-seasons.
"He equals dad and it looks like he might go flying past dad."
Michael Whiting is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
