Geelong Cats coach lauds 'supreme' Gary Ablett after AFL thriller
Gary Ablett's starring role in Geelong's stunning AFL comeback victory over Melbourne shows he has lost none of his desire to win, coach Chris Scott says.
Ablett led the way at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night as the Cats overcame a 29-point deficit to secure a two-point victory courtesy of a Zach Tuohy goal after the siren.
The dual Brownlow Medallist had 14 of his 31 disposals in the final term, combining with Patrick Dangerfield, Tim Kelly, Mitch Duncan and Joel Selwood to ensure the Cats dominated the centre clearances when the game was on the line.
Geelong's midfield resurgence provided a glut of supply to spearhead Tom Hawkins, who booted four of his seven majors in the fourth quarter.
Ablett's form has been heavily scrutinised since the Cats last year secured a trade to bring their most famous son back to Kardinia Park.
But with the seventh-placed Cats' bid for an AFL finals berth back on track, Scott couldn't be happier to have the 34-year-old at his disposal.
"Gary's last quarter was supreme around the ball," Scott said.
"(It tells you) that he wants to win, that he loves playing with this group.
"We have a group of players at the moment that love playing with each other.
"We're not always getting it right at the moment but when we do, it's not difficult to generate enthusiasm when you have a group that have a lot of care for each other."
James Harmes tagged Selwood in the first half and held him to just eight disposals before being sent to Dangerfield in the second half.
Geelong's artillery of midfield weapons ultimately proved too much for the Demons to overcome.
Three of Geelong's remaining five games will be played at GMHBA Stadium and Scott said the Cats would take plenty of confidence into the home stretch.
"It was a real credit to the resilience and the fight in the group because there would be occasions where teams are in that situation and they turn up their toes," he said.
"But you just can't say that about our group at the moment.
"It does set you up for something special if you have that in a group because it's very hard to manufacture it if it's not there organically."
