Sun god: Ablett's $9m exit robs Cats of their cream

People still talk about Ron Barassi and his fall-out with Melbourne, and Chris Judd's decision to quit West Coast was followed by a bidding war from three Melbourne clubs, but this move was a bold statement of football's brave new world by the game's favourite son.

It has been anticipated since Ablett was sprung late last year at a meeting in Broadbeach with Gold Coast officials. Yet Geelong refused to believe it until Ablett looked his old bosses in the eye early yesterday and told them he was gone. His speech was punctuated by deep breaths.

"I wouldn't say money's more important than loyalty," he said. "But at the same time, you know, money is a big part of why I've moved but it's not the only reason." When he spoke of his Geelong teammates and how he felt about them, it seemed that Ablett might cry but he took another deep breath.

It was an impressive, if nervous, performance and even if his insistence that he had not made up his mind until two days ago seemed dubious, you wanted to believe him.

For the Gold Coast, expected to make its debut in round two next season, this was the fledgling club's proudest moment, its greatest coup and its most stage-managed event. A small room was booked to give the impression of a crowd but the club need not have worried. This was bigger than Collingwood training before a grand final and bigger than James Hird coaching Essendon. The club is still searching for a co-major sponsor and a naming sponsor for Carrara. Surely Ablett will deliver that.

Afterwards, the visiting Gold Coast group, as well as Ablett and his partner Lauren Phillips, lunched at Silks. The pair, who returned from Hamilton Island on Tuesday night, will return to Queensland next month to look at Gold Coast real estate.

Despite AFL and Gold Coast denials, Ablett's total pay will reap him more than $9 million over his five years with the Suns, when you include third-party arrangements and other marketing deals. Geelong believes the AFL will probably sponsor Ablett to promote the game in Queensland. The Suns insist Ablett's deal inside the salary cap was closer to $1.5 million a year than $2 million.

The club has an extra million dollars to spend on players in its first season to allow Ablett a massive upfront amount over his first two seasons of between $5 million-$6 million. Gold Coast's midfield next season would seriously struggle against Geelong but will include the Brisbane Lions' 2010 club champion Michael Rischitelli, former Kangaroo Daniel Harris and some potentially brilliant teenagers.

Gold Coast has now signed six out-of-contract players and could approach a seventh. Coach Guy McKenna yesterday mentioned the Suns might look for an experienced forward and it has not ruled out approaching Collingwood's Travis Cloke, who has not yet committed to the Magpies and is being forced to take a paycut.

Geelong put on a collective brave face yesterday. Realising the club has given the impression this week of an outfit that has no idea of what is going on internally, the Cats' two most senior executives fronted the media with onfield leaders Cameron Ling, Joel Selwood and Corey Enright.

Contrary to what has been reported, said chief executive Brian Cook, the empire was not crumbling. Football boss Neil Balme said he understood Ablett's decision but was sorry to learn about it on radio while he was driving to Geelong to meet Ablett. Cook said, only half jokingly, that had they known Geelong would lose its best player, the Cats might not have voted for the expansion to 18 clubs.

Cook is a seasoned performer with an excellent track record, having overseen four premierships at two clubs. He knocked back a generous package to become Gold Coast's first CEO. But these past few days must have rattled him. All great dynasties come to an end but coach Mark Thompson's disenchantment with the club would suggest that the eye was taken off the ball.

Cook, after a morning hook-up of the board, said the club was determined to give an "impression" of unity, before correcting himself and using the word "reality". The Cats had made two membership promotional films one with Ablett, one without but just what it will do about its coach's place in its merchandising remains undecided.

Despite some unusual behaviour this season Thompson cold-shouldered the Brownlow, made public his lack of understanding for Ablett's position in a strange interview, and after being thrashed in the preliminary final said his players would not accept their game plan had to change Cook and Balme had no clue the coach was "mentally fatigued".

Now it emerges he has been dealing behind the scenes with Essendon an irony not lost on the Ablett camp or potentially Ken Hinkley, his former assistant whom he pressured to stay and who now could return to Geelong as senior coach should Thompson quit.

Still, the Cats insist they believe Thompson, whose "burn-out" only emerged once it was reported he had agreed to join James Hird at Essendon.

Ablett said yesterday that Thompson was not one of the Geelong people he contacted, but played down talk of a rift.

But it is more than a passing view among commentators that Thompson's positional moves during games cost the 26-year-old his second Brownlow Medal. Ablett's new coach McKenna assured the franchise player he would spend little time up forward next season.

Ablett and Thompson will go to Geelong's best-and-fairest presentation tonight, which Ablett is favoured to win. Although Thompson has continued to deny he will join Essendon, it remains on the cards, although no deal has been signed. Geelong must surely have misgivings about taking him back now.

But Cook said the show would go on, pointing to the team's 13 remaining All-Australians and the club's top-four finish this season. The Cats will now start to rebuild the club earlier than they might have and will make tough decisions on its older players. Cook and Balme would have liked to know earlier about their best player and the belief is that the Cats have been strung along, despite Ablett's insistence he made up his mind two days ago.

When asked how young children who loved Geelong would take his decision, Ablett said: "Everyone's going to have their opinions. I'm sure those kids will grow up one day and understand what I did." The son of the man who was regarded Geelong's greatest player, but who struggled with fame, life and parenthood, then added: "Maybe their mums and dads will explain it to them."