Ablett to lace up the boots for Wickers

GARY Ablett Jr will once again pull on the boots for the second time in two months, this time signing with Central Highlands Football Netball League club Creswick for a one-off game in June.

Fresh off suiting up for the Centrals Trinity Beach Bulldogs in Far North Queensland in mid-May and kicking what would have been a goal of the year contender at the top level, a post on Facebook by Creswick revealed Ablett Jr has signed to play his first game in Victoria since early 2020.

Ablett Jr will line up for the club on Saturday, June 24 against Ballan.

Creswick vice-president Brad Munro told News Corp that conversations with Ablett had started as far back as October.

“During pre-season, which started in October, Ryan [Knowles, the club president] and I discussed and said ‘how do we get someone who can put us on the map a bit, promote the community and someone who has a good following’,” Munro said.

“I did some digging around and with my current work there’s a guy who has got a connection with Gary.

“He got in contact with Sean Tobin, who is Gary’s manager, and then an email I thought was reaching for the stars come out with Gary putting on the red, white and black.”

The club, which is currently winless in 2023, is hoping for a crowd of up to 7000 to flood Doug Lindsay Reserve next month for the match.

It’s set to be the two-time Brownlow Medallist’s third game in the last 12 months, having also featured for Palmerston in the NTFL last year.

– BY SEB MOTTRAM/ SEN