AFL midfield wizard aims to stay in Queensland for the rest of his career.
Gary Ablett has poured water on suggestions he will return to Geelong to finish his AFL career, saying he would like a contract extension with the Gold Coast Suns.
Speculation has swirled for weeks about the future of Ablett, who is in his third year with the expansion club, with some pundits tipping the Cats great will return to Victoria in his final playing years.
But in what is sure to be music to the fans of the Suns, Ablett said he is keen to ink another deal to help the club try and win its first premiership.
“I’ve got another two years after this on my contract and hopefully the club will extend from there,” Ablett said.
“I really want to win a premiership up here, that’s a big part of the reason why I came up here,” he said.
“It’d be great to hold up that premiership cup one day and hopefully we can do that before my time’s up.”
The Suns have made big strides in the last two seasons, as their roster of young stars comes to grips with the speed, physicality and consistency of play needed to win regularly in the AFL.
With four rounds left in the regular season, Gold Coast sit in 14th on the ladder and out of the running for the finals.
However, they have turned in several impressive performances, with wins against more fancied teams such as Collingwood in round 17.
And with a soft run through to the final round, with games against Melbourne, Port Adelaide, St Kilda and Greater Western Sydney, the Suns could add at least two more wins to their season tally.
Ablett said if he remains at the club beyond 2015, he is willing to hand over the reigns of captain to ensure a smooth transition for the future of the club.
“I’ve always said as soon as one of these younger boys is ready to step into the captaincy role I’ll be happy to step down, if it’s better for the team and for us to move forward,” he said.
“I don’t want it to be something where I hold on to the captaincy when one of these younger boys are ready to take it over.”
Players mooted to be on the short-list for club leader include Dion Prestia, David Swallow and Jaeger O’Meara.
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