Newbridge brings in Ablett Jnr to take on Machine

DUAL Brownlow medallist and premiership winner Gary Ablett Jnr is in Newbridge’s team to tackle Bridgewater in Saturday’s 10th round in Bendigo Bank Loddon Valley FNL senior football.

Among the newest inductees to the AFL Hall of Fame, Ablett will represent Newbridge as part of the Carlton Draft.

As the Maroons are bolstered by one of the game’s best of the past 25 years, Bridgewater welcomes another AFL premiership winner in Gary Rohan to its team.

It’s going to be a huge task for Ablett and his newest teammates to take the points against Bridgewater.

The many fans making their way to Deepcore Drilling Oval in Newbridge’s Riverside Park will be rapt to see Ablett’s skills.

The match starts at 2.15pm.

Ablett’s remarkable career of 357 matches in the AFL included stints with Geelong (2002–10), Gold Coast (2011–17), and Geelong (2018–20).

He celebrated premiership success with the Cats in 2007 and 2009, and earnt the Brownlow Medal as league fairest and best in 2009 and 2013.

An eight-time All-Australian, Ablett was the Leigh Matthews Trophy winner across five seasons.

For the Jayden Cordy-coached Newbridge, the hype about Ablett representing the Maroons has grown week by week.

The Maroons roll into this match on 16 premiership points and against an opponent on the rebound from a three-point loss on Macorna’s turf.

Defeat pushed the Lachie Sharp-coached Bridgewater from top to third on the ladder.

In attack or midfield, Gary Rohan adds plenty of athleticism, marking strength and pace for the Mean Machine.

A 204-match career in the AFL began with the Sydney Swans, where he played in two grand final losses.

Rohan was traded to Geelong and played in the grand final loss to Richmond in 2020.

Two seasons later he celebrated premiership success with the Cats.