Damian Barrett Says Geelong’s List Manager “Didn’t Want” Gary Ablett

'He didn't drive the Ablett thing'


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Damian Barrett has claimed that Geelong’s list manager Stephen Wells “didn’t want” Gary Ablett to come to the Cats in the recent trade period.

Ablett moved to Geelong with Gold Coast’s pick 24 and a round 4 pick in 2018, while the Cats sent back pick 19 and next year’s second round pick.

Speaking on his podcast The Sounding Board, Damo said that Wells’s preference would have been to keep Darcy Lang, who went to Carlton for pick 58 and a swap of future fourth rounders.

“Stephen Wells didn’t want to lose Darcy Lang, he didn’t actually want Gary Ablett,” Barrett said.

“He didn’t drive the Gary Ablett thing.

“Now obviously they’re all in, they’re a team, and they make a decision, and the public presentation of that is ‘we are all in on it’, but… he wasn’t driving it anywhere near as much anywhere near as much as other people at that footy club.”

Co-host Craig Hutchinson agreed with Barrett’s assessment.

“I think if you’d probably asked him (Wells) privately would he rather Darcy Lang or Gary Ablett there next year he might have even said Darcy Lang,” Hutchy said.

Geelong take on Ablett’s former club Gold Coast in their first game of the pre-season in Townsville in on March 4.

Rudi Edsall

26 October 2017

Article by:

Rudi Edsall




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