Geoff Ablett

Geoff Ablett
Personal information
Full name Geoffrey Norman Ablett
Born (1955-03-13)13 March 1955
Drouin, Victoria, Australia
Died 29 April 2026(2026-04-29) (aged 71)
Cranbourne, Victoria, Australia
Original team Drouin
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position Wing
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
1973–1982 Hawthorn 202 (135)
1983–1984 Richmond 16 (12)
1985 St Kilda 11 (6)
Total 229 (153)
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Geoffrey Norman Ablett (13 March 1955 – 29 April 2026) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s and 1980s. He later served as a member of the Casey City Council.

Football career

Ablett spent the majority of his career with Hawthorn, playing 202 games on the wing. Ablett finished with short stints at Richmond and St Kilda. His younger brother Gary Ablett Sr is a Hall of Fame inductee. A third brother, Kevin, also played for Hawthorn, Richmond and Geelong. Geoff Ablett was known for his burst of speed as player, winning the AFL Grand Final Sprint competition four times.

Politics and anti-corruption investigation

In December 2008 and 2013, Ablett was elected mayor of City of Casey Council, one of Victoria's biggest councils.

Ablett was the unsuccessful Liberal Party candidate for the Electoral district of Cranbourne at both the 2010 and 2014 Victorian state election.

He was a councillor at the City of Casey when it was dismissed in 2020. This dismissal of the council followed an investigation by the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission into “allegations property developer John Woodman paid City of Casey councillors in exchange for favourable planning votes.” The hearing heard that Ablett “received more than $300,000 from Mr Woodman”, including “$5,000 a month to look after” a racehorse that Woodman was a part owner of. Ablett responded that racehorses “are very expensive to keep.”

In July 2023, Ablett was named as a key figure in IBAC's Operation Sandon report. He was found to have promoted local developer John Woodman's interests on council in exchange for payment, having 'received more than $500,000 in payments and other financial benefits from Mr Woodman between 2010 and 2019.' Woodman also made donations to Ablett's campaigns when he was the Liberal Party candidate for Cranbourne in 2010 and 2014.

Personal life and death

Ablett was the brother of AFL player Gary Ablett.

His son Ryan, who was once rookie listed at Hawthorn, died in 2009 at the age of 27.

Ablett died from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Cranbourne on 29 April 2026, at the age of 71.

Statistics

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1973 Hawthorn 27057187917N/a0.00.710.11.111.32.4N/a
1974 Hawthorn 22520293648144565N/a0.81.214.63.217.82.6N/a
1975 Hawthorn 22214193044334760N/a0.60.914.52.016.52.9N/a
1976 Hawthorn 22311223655542058N/a0.51.015.92.418.32.5N/a
1977 Hawthorn 2248153957847375N/a0.30.716.53.319.73.1N/a
1978 Hawthorn 22515213549144562N/a0.60.814.23.617.82.5N/a
1979 Hawthorn 21611242316729846N/a0.71.514.44.218.62.9N/a
1980 Hawthorn 21916232749637066N/a0.81.214.45.119.53.5N/a
1981 Hawthorn 21719232736233543N/a1.11.416.13.619.72.5N/a
1982 Hawthorn 224212636013149189N/a0.91.115.05.520.53.7N/a
1983 Richmond 458870219115N/a1.61.614.04.218.23.0N/a
1984 Richmond 411491462517131N/a0.40.813.32.315.52.8N/a
1985 St Kilda 15116101873121838N/a0.50.917.02.819.83.5N/a
Career 229 153 234 3394 789 4183 665 N/a 0.7 1.0 14.9 3.5 18.3 2.9 N/a

References

  1. ↑ "Victorian MPs and two councillors accepted money and donations to further developer's goals, Ibac finds". the Guardian. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "Grand Final Sprint - Winners, Entrants, History - HARD BALL GET". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Anderson, Jon (16 April 2023). "Geoff Ablett says IBAC has blood on its hands over investigation". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Cranbourne - 2010 Victorian Election - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  5. ↑ "Cranbourne - Victorian Election 2014 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)".
  6. ↑ "Casey council sacked for four years as watchdog finds bullying, 'unacceptable behaviour'". 18 February 2020.
  7. ↑ "Developer at centre of corruption inquiry paid councillor $5k a month to look after horse that didn't race". ABC News. 28 November 2019.
  8. ↑ "download". www.ibac.vic.gov.au.
  9. ↑ "IBAC Operation Sandon report news LIVE: Corruption watchdog tables report into allegations of corruption at City of Casey". The Age. 27 July 2023. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "The Abletts - a hierarchy of football's greatest family". www.sportingnews.com. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  11. ↑ Ablett family hit by tragedy
  12. ↑ "Vale Geoff Ablett – a great player in his own right". The Footy Almanac. 5 May 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Geoffrey Norman Ablett
  14. ↑ "Death notice for Ablett, Geoffrey Norman (Geoff)". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 8 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  15. ↑ Geoff Ablett's player profile at AFL Tables