How Gary Ablett became untouchable Son of a gun Gary Ablett, with his second Brownlow Medal yesterday, in front of large photo of his famous father, Gary Ablett Sr. Source: Getty Images GARY Ablett's transformation from a reluctant footballer to the best player of his generation began in modest surroundings. There is not much to Modewarre, a small township not far from Geelong. As Jack Bolton, a childhood mate of Ablett, told The Australian yesterday: "There's a general store, a petrol pump, a pub and not much else." There is also a footy club that can boast Ablett as its most famous player, that can brag it helped start one of the most decorated AFL careers of all time. Earlier this year, Malcolm Blight recalled that in the latter stages of Gary Ablett Sr's career, he would struggle to set foot in Geelong's locker rooms without stumbling over Gary Jr and his little brother Nathan. By the time Ablett had reached his teens, football had lost its lustre. Growing up in the shadow of a famous father was never going to be easy, and the spotlight is something Nathan struggled with during his brief career as a Cat. As Ablett said after he pipped former teammate Joel Selwood to win his second Brownlow Medal on Monday night, he preferred to do anything but kick a footy. "I wasn't thinking about footy too much at the time, to be honest," Ablett said. I grew up in a coastal town and a lot of my best mates at the time were into surfing and skating. For a couple of years there I wanted to be a pro surfer but I figured out pretty quickly that I wasn't much good at it so I had to try something else, and then I moved on to basketball and realised I wasn't tall enough, so I thought I might as well go back and have a crack at footy. Bolton and his twin brother Matthew were two of those skating mates. Bolton recalls they successfully petitioned the local council to install a skating ramp in Modewarre. But the twins, whose father David Bolton played for Geelong and Sydney, also loved their footy and managed to twist Ablett's arm into playing for the local team. "They were a couple of great mates growing up and they played down at Modewarre ... and I remember them saying to me that I should come out and have a run around and have a kick again and I went out and I did and I started enjoying my footy again," Ablett said. The reluctance remained, Bolton recalled yesterday, but there was never any doubting the talent their mate possessed. The sons of stars formed so strong a combination they took their club to its first finals series in the Bellarine Peninsula League . "He was always running late, so we used to have to go and pick him up to make sure he would get to training or to games," Bolton said. But he played the way he does now. He has not changed at all, just got stronger and stronger. Of that there is no doubt, as the accolades he has claimed this month attest. A best afield performance in round 23 against Greater Western Sydney ensured he became the 14th player to become a dual-Brownlow Medallist. Last Monday, the 29-year-old was named an All-Australian for a record seventh year in succession. A week earlier he was recognised by his peers as the Players' Association's MVP for the fifth time. Runner-up Selwood believes Ablett is continuing to improve, something he described as scary. And Hawthorn midfielder Brad Sewell has no doubt a third Brownlow is a possibility. "He is untouchable in terms of what he has done and he still has years left in the game, so you wouldn't rule anything out," Sewell said. But just as he credited the Boltons for dragging him back to football, Ablett also paid tribute to the teammates he won two premierships with at Geelong for giving him a much-needed kick up the backside in 2006. At the time Ablett, who was playing predominantly as a forward, felt he was doing all he could. His teammates were adamant he could do far more. The game is better for the harsh words those Cats exchanged. "As a kid, when you first get to a football club, you actually think you're training hard and working hard but you don't actually understand what it takes to be a consistent player at the top level," Ablett said. I remember when they sat me down and they told me that I needed to be training harder and that I could be that player. At the time I was like, 'I kind of am training hard, maybe you're not watching me out on the track'. I walked away from that and I found it hard at the time but I look back now and those guys only said it because they cared about me and they wanted me to make the most of the ability I had. I'm just so thankful to those guys and we still talk about it today. That is the type of impact Ablett is now having on his younger teammates at the Gold Coast who closely watch his every move at training.