Geoff Ablett’s time at St Kilda was only brief and was just a small part of a fine overall career at the top level.
Geoff, who passed away on May 5 at the age of 71 after a battle with Motor Neurone Disease, played 11 games in his sole season at St Kilda in 1985.
His greatest days were in his 202 matches with Hawthorn from 1973 to 1982 where he was rated one of the fastest players in the competition and when he wasn’t winning premierships he managed to win the footballers’ sprint three times in a row.
He also earned a Big V jumper in the Victorian B side.
After a protracted clearance battle he crossed to Richmond for the 1983 and 1984 seasons. Knee and hamstring injuries limited him to 16 games across two years at Punt Road and when the Tigers were feeling the pinch financially he was traded to St Kilda. He played 11 of the first 12 games and in seven of those matches he had more than 20 disposals including a 31 possession tally against Footscray in what proved to be his second last game in the red, white and black.
Vale Saint Geoff.
