# Geoff Ablett

Geoff Ablett (born 13 March 1955) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1970s and 1980s, and later a local government councillor and Liberal Party candidate for state office, who was found by an anti-corruption investigation to have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a controversial property developer in exchange for favourable planning decisions.

## Football career

Ablett spent the majority of his career with Hawthorn, playing 202 games on the wing. Ablett finished with short stints at Richmond and St Kilda. His younger brother Gary Ablett Sr is a Hall of Fame inductee. A third brother, Kevin, also played for Hawthorn, Richmond and Geelong. Geoff Ablett was known for his burst of speed as player, winning the AFL Grand Final Sprint competition four times.

## Politics and anti-corruption investigation

In December 2008 and 2013, Ablett was elected mayor of City of Casey Council, one of Victoria's biggest councils.
Ablett was the unsuccessful Liberal Party candidate for the Electoral district of Cranbourne at both the 2010 and 2014 Victorian state election.
Ablett was a councillor at the City of Casey when it was dismissed in 2020. This dismissal of the council followed an investigation by the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission into “allegations property developer John Woodman paid City of Casey councillors in exchange for favourable planning votes.” The hearing heard that Ablett “received more than $300,000 from Mr Woodman”, including “$5,000 a month to look after” a racehorse that Mr Woodman was a part owner of. Mr Ablett responded that racehorses “are very expensive to keep.”
In July 2023, Ablett was named as a key figure in IBAC's Operation Sandon report. He was found to have promoted local developer John Woodman's interests on council in exchange for payment, having 'received more than $500,000 in payments and other financial benefits from Mr Woodman between 2010 and 2019.' Mr Woodman also made donations to Ablett's campaigns when he was the Liberal Party candidate for Cranbourne in 2010 and 2014.

## Personal life

Ablett is the brother of AFL legend Gary Ablett.
His son Ryan, who was once rookie listed at Hawthorn, died in 2009 at the age of 27.

## Statistics

| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T |
| 1973 | Hawthorn | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 71 | 8 | 79 | 17 | — | 0.0 | 0.7 | 10.1 | 1.1 | 11.3 | 2.4 | — |
| 1974 | Hawthorn | 2 | 25 | 20 | 29 | 364 | 81 | 445 | 65 | — | 0.8 | 1.2 | 14.6 | 3.2 | 17.8 | 2.6 | — |
| 1975 | Hawthorn | 2 | 22 | 14 | 19 | 304 | 43 | 347 | 60 | — | 0.6 | 0.9 | 14.5 | 2.0 | 16.5 | 2.9 | — |
| 1976 | Hawthorn | 2 | 23 | 11 | 22 | 365 | 55 | 420 | 58 | — | 0.5 | 1.0 | 15.9 | 2.4 | 18.3 | 2.5 | — |
| 1977 | Hawthorn | 2 | 24 | 8 | 15 | 395 | 78 | 473 | 75 | — | 0.3 | 0.7 | 16.5 | 3.3 | 19.7 | 3.1 | — |
| 1978 | Hawthorn | 2 | 25 | 15 | 21 | 354 | 91 | 445 | 62 | — | 0.6 | 0.8 | 14.2 | 3.6 | 17.8 | 2.5 | — |
| 1979 | Hawthorn | 2 | 16 | 11 | 24 | 231 | 67 | 298 | 46 | — | 0.7 | 1.5 | 14.4 | 4.2 | 18.6 | 2.9 | — |
| 1980 | Hawthorn | 2 | 19 | 16 | 23 | 274 | 96 | 370 | 66 | — | 0.8 | 1.2 | 14.4 | 5.1 | 19.5 | 3.5 | — |
| 1981 | Hawthorn | 2 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 273 | 62 | 335 | 43 | — | 1.1 | 1.4 | 16.1 | 3.6 | 19.7 | 2.5 | — |
| 1982 | Hawthorn | 2 | 24 | 21 | 26 | 360 | 131 | 491 | 89 | — | 0.9 | 1.1 | 15.0 | 5.5 | 20.5 | 3.7 | — |
| 1983 | Richmond | 4 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 70 | 21 | 91 | 15 | — | 1.6 | 1.6 | 14.0 | 4.2 | 18.2 | 3.0 | — |
| 1984 | Richmond | 4 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 146 | 25 | 171 | 31 | — | 0.4 | 0.8 | 13.3 | 2.3 | 15.5 | 2.8 | — |
| 1985 | St Kilda | 15 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 187 | 31 | 218 | 38 | — | 0.5 | 0.9 | 17.0 | 2.8 | 19.8 | 3.5 | — |
| Career | Career | Career | 229 | 153 | 234 | 3394 | 789 | 4183 | 665 | — | 0.7 | 1.0 | 14.9 | 3.5 | 18.3 | 2.9 | — |
vteAblett family tree :
George*
Norman*Henry*Lillian née Williamson*Reuben Williamson*
LenAlfred*Alf Williamson
GeoffKevinGary Sr.Fay Tuck née Ablett*Michael Tuck
MichaelRyanLukeGary Jr.NathanShane TuckTravis Tuck :
Notes
An asterisk denotes that the family member was never VFL/AFL-listed. Non-VFL/AFL-listed family members were not included in the family tree unless they were necessary to provide a connection between family members.
Michael is disconnected because, while he is part of the family, it is unknown how he is related to the other members.
When the family member's surname is not stated, their surname is Ablett. :