Gary Ablett Jr has been unanimously voted into this year’s Australian Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, a fitting recognition for a player whose career ran from wide-eyed uncertainty to the game’s highest individual honours. The decision places the former Geelong and Gold Coast star among the most decorated footballers of his era.

The Hall of Fame call came in February, but Ablett said he did not know the waiting-time rules when it landed. That made the honour feel even more unexpected, even if his record leaves little room for debate: 357 games, two premierships, two Brownlow Medals, six club best and fairest awards, eight All-Australian selections, five players’ MVP awards, three coaches’ best player awards and nearly 450 goals.

That resume is why his selection was a formality to many around the game. Ablett entered the Hall of Fame from the 2001 Super Draft and went on to become one of the defining players of this century, a career built on brilliance at Geelong and then again at Gold Coast. For a forward-moving league, the numbers alone would have made the case.

But Ablett’s own reflection cut through the statistics. He said he had been thinking about what it meant to be recognised at the end of his career and called it a great honour. He said he felt incredibly fortunate to have team success and individual awards, and added that he was proud of the work he put into making himself the best he could be.

The part that still stands out is how it began. In 2002, he said, he was really nervous when he walked into the club and was not sure if he was going to be good enough. His first aim was modest: do enough in the first two years to earn another contract and make the most of his first one. For a player who would later collect medals and accolades at a rare rate, that doubt was part of the story too.

Ablett’s rise began long before the honours, with football already in the family and training sessions at the Cats’ rooms alongside his father, Gary snr, and brother Nathan. He said that when he was little, he knew his dad played footy but did not yet understand how good he was. The Hall of Fame vote now confirms what the game came to learn quickly enough: the nervous recruit became one of its greats, and the only open question is when the formal induction will follow.