Ablett is a case study in how absurdly fickle the football following public are.

When the Suns were on the ascent last year prior to his injury, Gaz was being hailed from all corners on how well he has taken to the captaincy role. Since then, and moreso at the beginning of this year, he is now labelled as someone with little leadership qualities.

Burke plucks out his one tackle in eight quarters while he's been taking to the field with essentially one arm as demonstration of a lack of dedication. Last season, Ablett averaged 6.1 tackles a game ranking him 14th in the league. Referencing his tackles in the first two games while injured is not just a cheapshot from Burke, it's a mindless cheapshot.

It seems some people have been waiting for an opportunity to kick a champion at the first sign of weakness. That's all this really amounts to. Jones is my favourite player and I admire the bloke beyond words, but it's a silly comparison.

Edited April 17, 201510 yr by P-man

I think this guy got 'better player' confused for 'better leader'.

Ablett is clearly the better player, an argument couldn't even be made for Jones.
But as far as leadership goes, an argument could be made that Jones is a better leader than Ablett.

Its neither about Leader nor Player.

The context was as an example to follow.

Unless you're also suitably freakish you could never emulate Ablett. You can however apply yourself in the manner of Jones. Thats the point.

Anyone that thinks Nathan Jones is as good as Ablett is totally deeeeeeeluded!.

Not in a month of Sundays!

As Highly as I rate Nathan Jones, Ablett is in another cosmos!

you clearly didn't read the article properly.

Yet Jones is a better reader then Gary, if i wrote a news article that gave a argument given reason for my sentence, an editer would put a headline reading Jones better then ablett, lots of people would read the headline, without reading the story and would think the article was about football ability.

- Jones is an A-grade midfielder and an all-round A-grade human being from all available evidence.

- Ablett is the only reason that Gold Coast was relevant, interesting or competitive in its first two years.

But the thrust of the article, about Jones as a role-model, is absolutely true. Jones efforts to continuously improve, especially to minimise early weaknesses (eg. unreliable kicking, reckless attempts to barge through tackles) and systematically, deliberately add extra capabilities (side-stepping, peripheral awareness, leadership) are a living example of how an AFL player should go about their business.

Throw in the healthy life attitude, and he is a gift to the Demons, outshining any other player in a decade.

So, all in all, I think Nathan Burke has provided an excellent cover letter for his application to be midfield development coach at the Melbourne Football Club.

Who would you pick first in your team (taking in all the factors of skill, courage, leadership, team balance, etc)?

Its neither about Leader nor Player.

The context was as an example to follow.

Unless you're also suitably freakish you could never emulate Ablett. You can however apply yourself in the manner of Jones. Thats the point.

Correct, nowhere is the article does it assert that Ablett is a better player.

That's crazytalk. Ablett is an out and out champ.

It's about "fit".

Its neither about Leader nor Player.

The context was as an example to follow.

Unless you're also suitably freakish you could never emulate Ablett. You can however apply yourself in the manner of Jones. Thats the point.

And it's a flawed point.

Ablett does provide an example to follow in how he trains, prepares and applies himself. I'm yet to hear a report that suggests otherwise. He does chase, tackle, throw himself into packs. He is just as brilliant inside as he is outside. To say he doesn't do these things is to not have watched him play for the past five or so years.

Is Ablett to lose leadership points because his brilliance can't be emulated? That's insane. As long as he is providing an example to follow, he is just as worthy of praise as Jones. Jones is more worthy only from the perspective that he's done it in an environment that has provided him with about a thousand reasons not to do it.

I will agree on the Ablett centric style of the Suns, which the players have had to be corrected upon. But to what extent that is Ablett's fault is very much up for debate.

It's very timely that this article gets written just as Ablett returns to the sidelines and the Suns are struggling at 0-2 with the new coach on board. I'm all for Jones getting greater recognition that he richly deserves, but I don't agree with the method.

It's an interesting read. Burke's reasoning isn't to do with who's the better player but who is the better role model for their respective clubs.

He makes some very good points, and one thing that resonates through the AFL about Jonesy is just how highly he's respected. He is someone who's had to earn everything he's got, it didn't just fall in his lap. When he first arrived at the club they coined his nickname "chunk" because he had such a chunky butt compared to the rest of his body. I'm not saying he was out of shape but jeez you could not fault the way he has worked to get every scrap of strength and fitness out of his body.

I really hope Jonesy is still playing if/when we are next in top 4 contention, he deserves to see some success at this club.

I think the whole article is about who is a better role model that players can spire to.

Not who is the better player !

Ablett is just a freak oozing natural talent there aren't many like that

Jones on the other hand is a dedicated player who bleeds red and blue someone who's reasons cant be called into question.

Dedication, hard work ,loyalty and belief , Jones falls into that bracket .

Therefore I agree with the article in the sense i believe it was written

Edited April 17, 201510 yr by Demon Stalwart

And it's a flawed point.

Ablett does provide an example to follow in how he trains, prepares and applies himself. I'm yet to hear a report that suggests otherwise. He does chase, tackle, throw himself into packs. He is just as brilliant inside as he is outside. To say he doesn't do these things is to not have watched him play for the past five or so years.

Is Ablett to lose leadership points because his brilliance can't be emulated? That's insane. As long as he is providing an example to follow, he is just as worthy of praise as Jones. Jones is more worthy only from the perspective that he's done it in an environment that has provided him with about a thousand reasons not to do it.

I will agree on the Ablett centric style of the Suns, which the players have had to be corrected upon. But to what extent that is Ablett's fault is very much up for debate.

It's very timely that this article gets written just as Ablett returns to the sidelines and the Suns are struggling at 0-2 with the new coach on board. I'm all for Jones getting greater recognition that he richly deserves, but I don't agree with the method.

You can only be an Ablett.. if you have ABletts qualities ( freakish ) ; he's not representative of the vast majority of players. Chunk is far more accessible in terms of what you can achieve for the many and thats the point of the article imho

I also agree with the articles contention that Jones is a better role model for the benefits of hard work and determination. Thats not to take anything away from Gary, as he's a proven champion and diligent trainer, etc. I used to play junior footy with Steve Johnson, but as good as he was, I took no inspiration from him because it was purely his size and natural ability that made him a good player. He was also a bit of an arrogant tool with poor social skills and a low IQ. Meanwhile, there were other guys I played with who weren't as talented, but who trainied hard and did the team things that I would have picked first...

Edited April 17, 201510 yr by Ascobar