For all the analytics, coaches and laptops in the AFL today designed to stop goals, former Western Bulldog Daniel Southern has revealed the ingenious way he was able to reduce Gary Ablett Snr's impact.
Geelong legend Ablett kicked a bag of seven at Kardinia Park in Southern's second game back in 1994.
“You had no hope, you had no chance,” Southern told Channel 7's The Front Bar.
But Southern had more luck in the next encounter due to a valuable lesson he learnt that day.
“Gazza use to commentate the game,” Southern added.
“It’d be in the middle and he’d say ‘Barnsey gives it to Hocking, out to Bairstow, out to Couch’ and then he’d give you a whack and away he went.
“So, the next time I played on him I listened to his commentary and he only kicked two!
“I learnt my lesson.”
Southern would play 103 games for the Dogs before calling time on his career at the age of 25 due to a chronic knee injury.