Gary Ablett lauded by Eddie McGuire for ‘one of the most touching, beautiful moments’ of the season

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has drawn attention to a Queensland hub moment he labelled “one of the most touching, beautiful moments” of the season.

McGuire pointed to a “practice match” involving Geelong star Gary Ablett, who had been part of the ‘transition hub club’ in recent weeks with fellow AFL players, including Dan Hannebery and Shane Edwards.

Speaking on Triple M’s Hot Breakfast, McGuire lauded how generous Ablett was with his time both during and after the practice match.

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“One of the best things I’ve ever seen was a couple of days ago. All the kids, little kids from five years of age up to 13 or 14, came from everywhere when Gary Ablett went out with Levi, his little baby in his hands and ran around and played in a practice match,” he said.

“Then Gary stayed out on the ground for the best part of 90 minutes with every kid playing footy with them. It was unbelievable.

“Parents of kids and wives and girlfriends of all the opponents in the AFL all ran and got photos of the great Gary Ablett being out there with their kids.

“It was just one of the most touching, beautiful moments.

“Not only that, all the other players out there just wanted to play with Gary!”

Ablett is set to rejoin teammates on Tuesday after the transition hub stint, which would leave him available for Sunday’s match against Sydney.