Whichever way you look at it, Gary Ablett is going to be an extremely tough prospect for the Kangaroos’ midfield on Saturday night at Metricon Stadium.
Brad Scott had an innovative plan that he shared during the week at Aegis Park.
“We’re thinking about bringing up three or four cars and when he (Ablett) gets into the car park we’ll block him in so he can’t get out of his car,” Scott said.
After labelling Ablett as the best player in the competition, Scott suggested he would send a tagger to the Suns captain.
Considering it’s unrealistic to think just one Roo will shadow Ablett for the entire evening, his opponents will have to be wary of the his consistency throughout games.
Averaging 32 disposals a game so far in 2013, Ablett’s relentless attack is obvious when you break down the quarters.
| Quarter | Average disposals |
| 1st quarter | 8.2 |
| 2nd quarter | 8.1 |
| 3rd quarter | 7.2 |
| 4th quarter | 8.5 |
Illustrating Ablett’s ability to hurt his opponent all over the ground, he is also first at the Gold Coast in total disposals inside the forward 50. He kicks goals, and he sets up scoring shots.
| Statistic | Total | Gold Coast rank |
| Disposals in forward 50 | 55 | 1st |
| Goals | 13 | 2nd |
| Score assists | 14 | 2nd |
Figuring out who will spend time on Ablett as the game progresses is tricky. Ryan Bastinac has runn with quality opposition this year, as demonstrated by his superb job on Hamish Hartlett in Round 6.
However four of Bastinac’s five highest possession games in 2013 have come in wins, perhaps suggesting it is a fine line between asking the midfielder to perform a defensive role and releasing him to win his own ball.
Taylor Hine could also be an option for Scott. In Round 4 the former Sun was excellent on Brisbane’s Daniel Rich, restricting the left-footer to just 15 touches.
There is also the factor of Hine playing against his old club. It could mean he is more familiar with the tactics used in close at stoppages to give Ablett that little bit of extra space and can use that knowledge to bridge the gap.
Ben Cunnington and perhaps even Andrew Swallow may be required defensively from stoppage to stoppage. Regardless of who it is, it will take a team effort from siren to siren to stop a player Scott called one of ‘the best players of his generation'.
