How Gary Ablett Jr got busted ahead of trade request to Gold Coast in AFL's ‘gotcha' moment
However, unlike Lance Franklin's move to Sydney, Gary Ablett's shock defection from Geelong to the Gold Coast didn't stay quite as secret.
But in fairness to Ablett, sometimes you're just plain stiff.
As part of Code Sports' exclusive Deal Makers series, Scott Gullan lifted the lid on how a rival team busted Ablett talking to the Suns while he still had a year to run on his Geelong contract.
It proved to be the ultimate AFL 'Gotcha' moment.
The Suns and Ablett's manager Liam Pickering thought they were safe when they agreed to a December meeting with the expansion club in Broadbeach.
After all, there is nothing suspicious about an AFL player enjoying some sun on the Gold Coast.
Unfortunately the apartment building where the secret meeting took place also happened to be where Port Adelaide were staying for a pre-season camp with the Power players quickly reporting the sighting of Ablett and Suns officials.
Unlucky, Gaz!
The unfortunate mishap didn't stop the trade from going through though.
Ablett became the Suns best-ever player, their inaugural captain, their first Brownlow Medallist – and could have had another if he hadn't suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in round 15 of 2014.
After six years on the Gold Coast. Ablett requested a return to Geelong after the 2016 season, and was finally granted his wish a year later in 2017.
Gullan revealed how other trade stories – including Bomber-turned-Lion Joe Daniher – were broken simply because of where they were held.
Incredibly managers and clubs iron out the details multimillion-dollar deals in public – often using cafes and restaurants around Melbourne to broker massive deals.
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